In Washington, D.C., Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland, spoke at the newly formed Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls’ first symposium about the death of her daughter, who was found hanged in a Texas jail cell in July 2015, three days after she was arrested over an alleged traffic violation. Reed-Veal maintains her daughter did not commit suicide. During her testimony at the Library of Congress Thursday, she highlighted the high number of women who die in U.S. jails.
Geneva Reed-Veal: “Show of hands: Can anybody in the room tell me the other six women who died in jail July 2015 along with Sandra Bland? That is a problem. You all are among the walking dead. And I am so glad that I have come out from among you.”