Local exhibit carries on Sandra Bland’s legacy
Mother says work is ‘one of the most powerful pieces of art’ she’s seen
Sandra Bland’s mother was going through a dark season before the multimedia exhibit honoring her daughter diminished the doldrums that have engulfed her from time to time.
Geneva Reed-Veal was having what she describes as a “spat of Sandy,” so grief-stricken that she would only rise to eat breakfast and then go back to bed. But she was moved to get up and go to the exhibit’s opening night at the Houston Museum of African American Culture, which brought her to tears at how her deceased daughter was brought to life.
“This is probably one of the most powerful pieces of art that I have ever seen in my lifetime,” said Reed-Veal by phone on Friday. “Not just because it’s my baby, but because it was done well. It was done with love.”
The exhibit pays homage to Bland, then 28, who was arrested during a July 2015 traffic stop and found dead three days later hanging inside a Waller County Jail cell. Her death sparked months of legal turmoil for her family and heightened the national conversation about the treatment of African-Americans by police.
The family in 2016 settled a wrongful death lawsuit for $1.9 million with Waller County officials and Brian Encinia, the state trooper who arrested Bland near Prairie View A&M, her alma mater. Encinia was also terminated from the Texas Department of Public Safety and cannot get another job in law enforcement as a result of the incident.
The Bland exhibit was the idea of John Guess Jr., the museum’s chief executive officer. Guess said he wanted it to accurately depict Bland’s personality and kindle a larger discussion about the fear AfricanAmericans feel when they are stopped by law enforcement. It debuted on Feb. 3 and was only expected to run through Black History Month, but based on widespread demand will now remain open until the end of April.
“We needed to show the Bland family from the African-American community, that we understand the pain that was caused to them and the tragedy of their daughter that happened in our state,” said Guess.
Accurate depiction
The exhibit’s portrayal of how police treat AfricanAmericans is personal for Guess. He’s said he’s been stopped several times by police and knows the fear Bland felt when she was pulled over.
“We are nervous when we see them,” said Guess. “I wanted people to be able to feel that.”
Guess and a small team in August began to create the exhibit and over the next several months continued construction until the show opened.
Bland’s family played a very small role in the creation of the exhibit honoring their relative. Guess didn’t even know Bland’s mother planned to attend opening night until the day of the event.
“All we did was give them photos,” said ReedVeal. “We didn’t tell them where to put them. We didn’t tell them anything.”
When Reed-Veal walked through the exhibit for the first time, she was blown away by how accurately the museum pieced together the story of her daughter, and that hundreds of people would show up for the opening. Guess let ReedVeal and Bland’s sister Shanté Needham have the first look before the throng of other guests could walk through. Reed-Veal said she was so touched that at one point she stopped and did “the ugly cry.”
“It is the most humbling thing that I’ve ever seen because when I lost my daughter, I thought I was going to die,” she said.
The exhibit takes guests through four different sections. First, guests can sit through a documentary produced by the New York Times where parents discuss preparing their African-American children for interactions with police. Then, they venture into another section that is set up like a living room where pictures of Bland supplied by the family are displayed and museumgoers watch a video of her.
The video plays clips from her YouTube channel Sandy Speaks. In the next room, guests sit inside a makeshift car and watch the infamous dashcam video that displays Bland’s interaction with Encinia.
Guess describes that section as the most painful for museumgoers.
“Did it not seem like Encinia was coming right towards your face?” ReedVeal said about the video. “It was almost like you were really having an interaction with this guy.”
The last room mirrors a chapel where guests can reflect on the entire exhibit. At the altar, sit candles and white flowers with a photo of a smiling Bland.
Legacy lives on
Reed-Veal said her visit to the museum has helped to overcome her “spat of Sandy.”
“As much as I would love to say that I want to be angry still, I’m not,” said Reed-Veal. “The reason why is because even though Sandy left here
the way that she did, even though it was really heinous, she’s still speaking. Her spirit is still speaking all over this country.”
Guess said he has been amazed by the outpouring of support from the community and across the country. He’s watched guests leave in tears and others have suggested the exhibit be shown in other cities.
Reed-Veal, who last summer announced she was moving to Waller County, said she now splits her time between Chicago and Houston and is poised to join a weekday radio show. She hopes to spend more time in Houston helping out with the exhibit and within the coming months is supposed to speak at the museum.
While the spotlight on Bland’s story has dimmed, her legacy lives on.
“I have met children who have changed their majors to criminal justice because of her story,” Reed-Veal said. “I go down to the memorial down on the Sandra Bland Parkway, and if I’m there replacing roses, the moms and dads they U-turn, they stop over and they take pictures. It’s amazing.”
Despite her steps forward, Reed-Veal insisted the exhibit does not comfort her about Bland’s passing.
“It does not give me a sense of peace about her death. Absolutely not, because I still don’t know how she left here,” said Reed-Veal. “It gives me a sense of peace about the fact that it was necessary for me to participate in the carrying on of her legacy.”