Lisle church to remember Sandra Bland
Parishioners who knew Sandra Bland as a spunky, spiritual teen who sang gospel in a youth choir will light candles in her memory Sunday at their Lisle church.
The 28-year-old who grew up in Villa Park and later lived in Naperville died one year ago this week in a Texas jail cell three days after her arrest in a traffic stop near her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University.
The DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church will mark the first anniversary of her death with a brief reflection during its regularly scheduled services Sunday morning.
"Sandy B" was a member of DuPage AME for 18 years, joined youth ministry programs and participated in the church's Women's Day celebration.
The ceremonies are one of several observing the anniversary of her death.
Last July, Bland had been preparing for a new job at Prairie View, when she was arrested by state trooper Brian Encinia during a routine traffic stop that quickly escalated. The traffic stop was recorded in a highly publicized dashcam video that showed Encinia pointing his stun gun at Bland and yelling, "I will light you up!"
Encinia has since been fired and pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor perjury charge.
Three days after the arrest, Bland died in a small jail about 60 miles outside Houston. Authorities said her death was a suicide. Her family has not accepted that ruling and has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Bland's funeral drew overflow crowds that packed DuPage AME last July. Earlier this year, organizers also renamed the church's Diversity Institute - an annual event for students about civil and human rights - after Bland.
More recently, about 200 people joined Bland's family and friends for a vigil Wednesday night in Chicago's Federal Plaza. Organizers set a somber tone after a week in which two black men were fatally shot by police in Minnesota and Louisiana.
Those who gathered held up posters and wore shirts reading #SandySpeaks, referencing a video series Bland posted on Facebook last year about racism and police encounters.
The vigil ended with a release of balloons and Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, and her sisters thanking crowds for their prayers.
"I want everybody here tonight to understand that this right here is only going to change if we keep speaking," Reed-Veal said.