SANDRA BLAND
Sandra Annette Bland was one of five sisters. Raised by a single mother, she grew up in Naperville, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and attended Willowbrook High School. She went on to attend Prairie View A&M University in Texas, where she earned a degree in agriculture.
​
During her time at Prairie View A&M, she was a summer counselor, played in the marching band, and was a volunteer for a senior citizens advocacy group. She played the trombone.
​
After college, Sandra returned to Chicago and worked for a food-service equipment supply company, and began to become involved in civil rights and the Black Lives Matter movement.
1987 - 2015
Sandra posted videos under her personal account on varying subjects - among them the mistreatment and police violence perpetrated against people of color.
​
In 2015, Sandra accepted a position at her Alma Mater, Prairie View A&M, and returned to Texas to begin her new job. She would never get to begin her new role.
​
Sandra 'died in police custody' in 2015.
