07/24/15 07/24/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> why am i being apprehended? >> high said, get out of the car. i am giving you a lawful order. i am going to drag you out of here. get out of the car. i will light you up. get out now. amy: "i'm going to light you up," the words of a texas police officer demanding 28-year-old african-american sandrabland get out of her car after she allegedly failed to signal giving a lane change. video captures her saying "you are slamming my head and the ground" and an "i can hear." she was then jailed with bond

set at $5,000. three days later, she was found dead in her jail cell. authorities now say sandrabland committed suicide. her family strongly disputes that account. we will speak with sandra bland's sister sharon cooper and with the family's attorney cannon lambert. any blacklivesmatter movement takes center stage. >> let's be clear, every single day folks are dying. not being able to take another breath. we are in a state of emergency. we are in a state of emergency and if we -- if you don't feel that emergency, you're not human. amy: we will speak with a three founders of the blacklivesmatter movement, patrisse cullors alicia garza and opal tometi

fohosting a movement for black lives convening in cleveland this weekend. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in lafayette, louisiana, at -- three people were killed when a gunman opened fire in a packed movie theater. the shooter, described by authorities as a "lone white male," killed two people and wounded nine others before fatally shooting himself. the shooting came the same day a jury in colorado unanimously concluded james holmes could face the death penalty for his mass shooting in an aurora movie theater, which left 12 people dead almost exactly three years ago. just hours before the shooting in louisiana, president obama told the bbc the failure to pass gun control laws in the united states is his biggest frustration. >> if you ask me where has been the one area where i feel that i

have been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the united states of america is the one advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient common sense gun safety laws, even in the face of repeated mass killings. and, you know, if you look at the number of americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it is less than 100. if you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it is in the tens of thousands. amy: turkey has taken two major steps to escalate the war against the self-proclaimed islamic state following monday's deadly suicide bomb attack in the turkish city of suruc. the turkish government agreed thursday to allow the united states to use two of the country's air bases, a move that one obama administration official told the new york times was a "game changer." turkish forces also carried out

the country's first direct attacks against the self-proclaimed islamic state, shelling militants along the turkish-syria border and launching airstrikes against targets in syria. meanwhile, the turkish police detained more than 250 people in turkey this morning in raids targeting both suspected isil members and suspected kurdish militants. in related news, syrian army has launched an offensive to recapture the historic city of palmyra, which has been under the control of the self-proclaimed islamic state since late may. u.s. defense secretary ash carter announced today that a u.s. airstrike killed a senior al-qaeda operational commander two weeks ago. the announcement comes as the u.s. has stepped up its airstrikes in afghanistan this summer, despite obama's announcement earlier this year the u.s. had officially ended combat operations in the country. president obama is arriving in kenya today in his first visit to his father's birthplace since taking office.

he is holding talks in the capital nairobi about trade security counterterrorism, and human rights before visiting ethiopia, working the first time a sitting president has visited the country. at least 10,000 police officers have been deployed across nairobi to ensure a obama's security. obama's speech before the african union will mark the first time a sitting u.s. president has addressed the body. in news from japan, the country's former prime minister tomiichi murayama joined the protests aimed at stopping the government from rewriting japan's pacifist constitution. the 91-year-old joined a crowd of more than 2000 people gathered outside the japanese parliament building to denounce thursday the security bills passed by the parliament's lower house a week ago. the measures would clear the way for japanese forces to fight overseas for the first time since world war ii. he vowed to defend the peas constitution. >> i don't know how many years i have left, but as long as i

live, i will do everything i can to protect the peace constitution. let's all work together for this. amy: in news from mexico, the country's independent national human rights commission has found serious flaws in the state's investigation of the disappearance of 43 students last year from the southern state of guerrero. the commission's report, issued thursday, said that the attorney general's office has failed to investigate the suspects in the case and has not even gathered basic information about the students from the teachers college, who authorities claim were killed by a local drug gang after being detained by local police. his reports appointed of the possible role of federal authorities. their disappearance sparked mass protests and calls for a mexican president enrique pena nieto to resign. commission president gonzales spoke thursday. >> the case has proven the level of barbarity we have reached, in this is just one case. the abandonment of the law and forgetting justice. it waller joins other great

situations that of happened before and others that of happened after that makes it evident that as long as authority's do not watch after human rights when they occur, we will continue to be witnesses to similar incidents that we do not want. amy: meanwhile, in two related incidents this week, mexican soldiers are being accused of fatally shooting a 12-year-old boy on sunday in the western indigenous state of michoacan and for being involved in the kidnapping of 7 people found dead saturday in the northern state of zacatecas. law enforcement officials in waller county, texas, say the cause of sandra bland's death in police custody was suicide. bland was initially stopped for allegedly failing to signal a lane change. dashcam footage shows texas state trooper brian encinia forcibly removed her from her car and threatened to "light her up" after she failed to put out her cigarette. on thursday, assistant prosecutor warren diepraam said preliminary autopsy results indicate bland hanged herself in jail. >> the only injury which was president on her head or neck was what is called a ligature

thorough, or ligature mark. this is consistent with a suicide and according to the institute of forensic science because the mark on her neck which i will show pictures of at the completion of this discussion, is a uniform and consistent mark around the neck of ms. bland. had this been a violent struggle or a murder, you would most likely not expect to see a consistent and uniformed ligature mark around her neck. amy: sandra bland's family has questioned the official account, saying they don't believe she committed suicide. we will speak with sandra bland's sister, sharon cooper, and the family's attorney, after headlines. house lawmakers have passed a measure to block states from requiring labeling of genetically modified foods. the measure would nullify existing gmo labeling laws which have passed but not yet taken effect in vermont, connecticut and maine. , dubbed the denying americans the right to know or dark act, the bill was backed by corporate food interests, including the

grocery manufacturers association and monsanto. democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton may face a criminal investigation over the private email account that she used while serving as secretary of state. two inspector generals have asked the department of justice to open an investigation over whether she mishandled classified information by using a private email address and private server. the justice department has not yet announced whether it will take up the investigation. meanwhile, in more news from the clinton campaign, the intercept is reporting that at least one of clinton's top campaign lobbyists is also a registered lobbyist for the private prison giant geo group, raising questions about the candidate's recent statement that, if elected, she would work to end mass incarceration. and in chile, a judge has charged former military officers 10 in the 1973 murder of the beloved singer and political activist victor jara. a member of the communist party, jara was brutally murdered after the coup of u.s.-backed dictator augusto pinochet. soliders cut off his fingers broke his hands and wrists and

finally shot him more than 40 times. his family has long sought justice in his case. following the judge's announcement, four of the ten former officers turned themselves in immediately. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. law enforcement officials in waller county, texas, have concluded that the cause of 28-year-olafrican-american woman sandra bland's death in police custody was suicide. bland was initially stopped for allegedly failing to signal a lane change. in a nationally televised press conference thursday, assistant prosecutor warren diepraam said preliminary autopsy results indicate bland hanged herself in her jail cell three days after the traffic stop escalated into an arrest. >> the only injury which was present on her neck or head was

what is called a ligature thorough or a ligature mark. this is consistent with a suicide according to the institute of forensic science because the mark on her neck, which i will show pictures of us completion of this discussion, is a uniform and consistent mark around the neck of ms. bland. had this been a violent struggle or a murder, he would most likely not expect to see a consistent and uniformed ligature mark around her neck. nermeen: diepraam said the report showed no defensive injuries that are typical in cases of violent homicide. but he said it did find indications bland had tried to harm herself before. >> suicide has become a possible issue in this particular case. as to that, there were on her left arm what they pathologist conducting the autopsy described as cut marks. there were approximately 30 cut

marks on her left wrist, which were also in a state of healing. these roughly 30 cut marks were both in a state of scarring and scabbing indicating they may have been placed on her body roughly two to four weeks prior to her incarceration. nermeen: earlier this week waller county sheriff glenn smith said bland told jailers she had previously attempted suicide, but bland's family and friends dispute claims she was suicidal and have called for a second autopsy to be conducted. they also say there is no evidence she previously tried to kill herself. many argue bland should never have been arrested in the first place. she was in waller county to begin a new job at prairie view a&m, a historically black university. on her way to campus, she was pulled over for allegedly failing to signal a lane change. dashcam video of what turned into her arrest shows texas state trooper brian encinia approaching the driver's side of

bland's car and asking her why she appears to be irritated. bland responds, acknowleding she is a little irritated because -- , "you were speeding up, tailing me, so i move over, and you stop me." moments later, encinia tells bland to extinguish her cigarette. bland objects and points out she's in her own car. at that point, encinia orders bland out of her car. when bland refuses, encinia threatens to forcibly remove her. >> you seem very irritated. >> i really am. i was getting out of your way. you were telling me, so i move over, and you stop me. yeah, i am a little irritated. but that doesn't stop you from giving me a ticket, so. >> are you done? >> you ask me what was wrong and i told you, so now i'm done yes. >> ok. do you mind putting out your cigarette, please? if you don't mind? >> i'm in my car, why do i have

to put out my cigarette? >> well, you can step on out now. >> i don't have to. >> step out of the car. >> why -- >> step out of the car. >> you do not have the right to do that. >> i do have the right. nermeen: as the dashcam video continues, officer encinia escalates the situation when he threatens to "light her up" >> why am i being apprehended? >> i am giving you a lawful order. i am going to drag you out of here. >> your threatening to drag me out of my own car. >> get out of the car! i will light you up! amy: a video taken by bystander shows sandra bland singh she was slammed to the ground and can no longer here. >> you slammed into the ground. i can't even hear. you slammed me into the ground

and everything. amy: sandra bland was then taken to jail. she had $5,000 bond set. three days later, her body was found in her jail cell. sandra bland's body was returned to the chicago area after the first autopsy, where she lived. her funeral will be held there saturday. as her case continues to draw national scrutiny. we go now to chicago where we are joined by sharon cooper, who is sandra bland's sister. also with us is cannon lambert the attorney representing sandra bland's family. we welcome both of you to democracy now! sharon, first, our condolences to your family on this terrible loss. >> thank you very much. amy: can you respond to the texas authorities saying that sandra committed suicide using the plastic garbage bag liner that was in her jail cell? >> i wish that i could provide

you with a thorough response. unfortunately, we have not received a copy of their completed autopsy or any type of the luminary report. everything we have received to this point has been through the media, so i steal feel very -- i still feel very misinformed. amy: what was your reaction to the's conference yesterday and to you feel they should have met with you before they held a news conference? >> we would love to have documentation to at least look through it, understand it, and post questions. to this point, they have not provided us with anything, although we have asked time and time again since we were initially notified last monday that our sister passed away in their custody. nermeen: sharon cooper, your response to the claims or sister had a previous suicide attempt? >> what we have seen in the jail documents that have referenced again, have been seen only through the media, nothing has

been given to us directly. what i have seen i can assure you that it doesn't contain her signature, so we question the authenticity of those documents as well. nermeen: i would like to ask cannon lambert, the attorney representing sandra bland's family, if you could talk about your response to the per luminary results of the autopsy report, and what the significance is legally of the fact that they claim that a lot of marijuana was found in sandra bland system? >> first, thanks. i will be honest with you, the trickling of information relative to the autopsy is a little troubling. normally what will happen, you will get the full autopsy and then you're able to review it as opposed to just getting snow information. that being said, as a result -- as it relates to the legal aspect of marijuana being in her system, frankly, i'm not sure it has any real relevance to either of the two circumstances that we find ourselves in.

if you look at, for example the stop. there's no question about the fact she was lucid. there's no question that she was not in any way intoxicated. the officer did not look to try and arrest her on those grounds and in fact, the documentation they .2, though we don't know the authenticity of it as mentioned, they don't make a rerence to it of her being intoxicated or having been arrested because of intoxication. if you look at her responses you can see she is responsive in a very real way, in a way that psychologically or otherwise she is not altered in any way. and then when you move to the jail aspect of this case, you know, the thing is, practically, on a legal front, it is a must better for a civil litigation case if in fact she were to have obtained marijuana in the jail. that just allies any sort of --

belies any sort of real logical that they were doing what they needed to do at the jail if she were able to do that. so you also ask yourself about whether or not they did inadequate search. presumptively, there wonder tell us she did. how would she have brought marijuana into the jail to consume it as has been kind of's adjusted? there is no real legal relevance as far as i'm concerned as it relates to her having ingested marijuana. amy: i want to read from the text exchange between waller county district attorney, elton mathis and our guest sandy bland's family attorney, cannon lambert. it is a remarkable series of texts. mathis writes -- "looking at the autopsy results and toxicology it appears that she may have swallowed a large quantity of marijuana or smoke[d] [it] in the jail. since your clients have possession of ms. bland's body i must ask that it not be disturbed anymore [t]han necessary and that a proper

chain of custody be kept so that she will be available for future examination by qualified experts. this will of course be very relevant in any future criminal or civil litigation and since the potential evidence is in your possession, custody and control." then you respond saying -- "why did ranger ellison release her body to us if they or you needed her to be preserved in a particular state? wouldn't they have done all they needed to do regarding your criminal investigation prior to releasing her to us? please advise." mathis then explained saying -- "they were trying to accommodate the family. who did the autopsy here? perhaps it can be avoided." lambert says -- "i expressly asked ranger ellison if she was ready for release and he told me that she had been released by harris county coroner." finally, mathis writes -- "she was. the tests they need to conduct now are not customarily done in custody deaths, but the large amounts of drugs in her body would need another procedure.

if you can share your autopsy results or allow us to talk to your expert we may be able to work things out. no one had any idea she would've been smoking that much marijuana or possibly ingested it during the stop." so this is a series of texts between you, cannon lambert, and the district attorney. how unusual is this? and are you going to be conducting a second autopsy? >> i think it is extremely unusual for a couple of reasons. we actually were in immediate contact with the medical examiner's office when we did find out that sandra passed away in police custody. they made it very clear to us that it would be counterproductive to come to texas to retrieve her body without the autopsy being completed. we asked for no, nations. we ask they complete a thorough and complete litigation given the reason for debt that was given. we realize that is challenging

for some to accept, however, we were open to that. we just wanted it to be complete and thorough. so when we intercepted sandy's body, which was on friday, when we got there, they confirmed with us that they had completed a full and thorough investigation -- i'm sorry paul and for autopsy of her body at that time and that would have been inclusive of -- inclusive of a toxicology report. >> look, let me explain. now it seems he is walking back the notion that he has asked for what he asked for in those text messages. with those text messages were very real. and the reality of it is, we received those text messages on the same day that this family had brought sandy back to prepare her for her home going. the troubling thing about those texts was to us that the initial autopsy was supposed to be full and complete. and it is important that take

place because ultimately, this family just once to understand what happened to their daughter, to their sister, to their aunt and so forth. so when we got the text messages after they had released her to us -- mind you, we would have been able to get her absent to them releasing her to us. but after they released her to us, we did our own independent autopsy. and thereafter, she was involved . so the concern we had is that they were looking to try to do a third autopsy. they have since said that is not what they're going to look to do at this point. so it seems that they have walked back from that series of representations. nermeen: cannon lambert you have indicated now and previously what is unusual in this case, one of the things that is unusual is the fact that you've only been receiving partial information, information has been trickling in about the autopsy report. could you tell us why you think

that is and how typical that is in these kinds of cases? why haven't you received the full autopsy report in one go? >> i'm not looking to try and evade the question, i don't know the answer that is really -- that is really more a question you would almost posed to them. they're in a position where they're sitting on all of the information. they have people autopsy apparently, because it is supposedly to be released today. that we have not received it as of now. and why was released to the media when we have been asking for for some time, i'm not altogether sure. we have not received the police reports. we did not receive the booking reports from them. instead, we have been getting this stuff through the media. they might suggest, because i think they have said, and were looking to preserve the privacy of the family. but it just doesn't releasing the make sense that you would be trying to preserve the privacy of the family from the family. it just doesn't make sense.

instead, we just want to get our hands on all they have so we can look at it and find out what we believe took place, and then move from there. amy: a local abc station in texas obtained a voicemail that sandy bland left for a friend while she was in jail that weekend. >> this is me. i was just able to see the judge. they had me at a $5,000 bond. i'm still just at a loss for words, honestly, about this whole process, how switching lanes is no turn signal would turn and all this, i don't even know. but i'm still here. call me back when you can. amy: that is sandy bland herself recorded in a voicemail message to a friend. sharon she had a $5,000 bond set? did you understand that weekend what was happening about your

sister being in jail? had you, yourself, talked to her? >> i did not myself speak with her, however, my older sister spoke with her. she spoke with her roughly at about 1:50 saturday afternoon were she essentially shared the very same thing you hear and no voicemai she does say that she was stopped for failure to signal a lane change and that shed a $5,000 bill, which meant she needed $500 bond. my sister told her, absolutely, i will get with the rest of the sisters and work expeditiously to get you out of there. and she said ok, totally understand. to be honest with you, that voicemail simply corroborates what is on the dashcam, which is simply disbelieve that she is in their with a $5,000 bond for a routine traffic stop. nermeen: cannon lambert, could you tell us what you would like to happen next legally in this case? >> first, i would like to get

all of the documentation they have, photographs, i would like to get all of the reports they have all of the medical they have. i just want all of the information they have. then from that, we will be able to make our way through that information. we are also doing their own independent investigation as well. and ultimately, we will be able to chart our course. whether it means we end up bringing action or whether it means that we come to a conclusion that is consistent with what they represent, at least we will be in a position where we can share with the family what our findings are and thereafter they can make decisions. amy: i want to ask about the waller county da. in 2014, elton mathis was accused of sending threatening text messages after an african-american clergyman asked waller county to provide data on prosecution rates by ethnicity. reverend walter pendleton says after he accused da mathis of selectively prosecuting minorities mathis texted him with threats.

mathis reportedly told him -- "you're tootupid to know what that word means. the prosecutor excited texted " "my hounds ain't even started yet dumb ass...when i talk people will listen. keep talking and i will sue your ass for slander." i am saying these words because they were chronicled in the paper. in response to: prominent reverence concerns. >> you never want to have a public official engage in that kind of rhetoric and -- there is no question there is an atmosphere where

african-americans are having difficulties with the way we are dealt with with the police in many instances. not all of the time, but there's no question that we as a community, we feel targeted in some way. you know, i don't make any bones about the fact that we as african american people have every right to assert our rights. when i look at sandy and i see that she is doing nothing more than saying, i want to be treated the right way, i want to be treated equal i say, i celebrate you, sister, that's the way i see it. i don't think there's anything wrong with making a stand when it comes to being treated fairly. it is hard for me to get beyond the fact that this officer that stopped her made a u-turn right after looking her square in the face as she made a right-hand

turn to go about her business. she did not do anything wrong when she made a right-hand turn or traversing on the street. it looked very much like she was targeted. amy: is this da mathis whose text i just read to a reverend and town was concerned about selective prosecutorion, is it this prosecutor who will determine whether this officer in this case is indicted? >> well, let's just put it this way. i think there's a lot of things, and those things we are aware of. there are a lot of things that really cause concern. and so while you want to try and feel like you give everybody the benefit of the doubt, you don't dumb yourself down to the fact that there are factors to be considered. you don't pretend. and so, you know, the reason this family wants to see independently what is going on is because i think very much if

you don't want to put yourself in a position where he had to fully rely on others. amy: sharon cooper, can you tell us about your sister sandy bland, who'll be putting to rest tomorrow, the funeral is set for tomorrow? tell us about sandy. >> absolutely. she was a fantastic individual. very vibrant, externally intelligent. i was felt she was curious. what we have been able to bear witness to over the last almost two weeks now is her commitment to raising social awareness around the very types of issues that we are discussing today. and the overwhelming feedback that we have received worldwide is just astounding. and i stand in awe of her. i am proud of her. to echo cannon's point, i celebrate her as my sister. i really do. amy: she did this really

interesting series called "sandy speaks" and she was in outspoken member of the blacklivesmatter movement. i wanted to play a clip of what she said. she would talk about social justice and racism on her facebook page as well. i want white folks to really understand out there, black people are truly -- we're doing as much as we can post up not all of us, but some of us are really doing as much as we can. and we can't help but does we see situations where it is clear that black lives didn't matter. for those of you questioning why was he running away? because in the news that we is seen as of late, you can stand there, surrender to the cops and still be killed. amy: that is sandy bland in her "sandy speaks" series. as you listen to her today sharon, your thoughts?

>> i am amazed at the fact it she took the initiative to anchor herself in a movement that she believes strongly in and the fact that that voice is reverberating through social media, whether it is twitter or facebook or instagram, and i am amazed at how many people she was able to touch on a daily basis. and the irony of the fact that some of her concerns, right, we hear from her directly in terms of the you know, what may have -- may have been in impact to what happened to her ultimately. amy: cannon lambert, just understand, and i think she is saying this in the police dashcam, is she saying that she didn't signal when she was changing lanes because she was changing lanes because the cop was coming up on her? like many people, she might've been very nervous at that moment.

that was number one. and number two, if they thought she was suicidal, if she said she had attended suicide in the past, why wasn't she under suicide watch? why was there a large garbage can in the middle of the cell she was in with a plastic lining and it? >> that is part of it. i mean if they do know that she has certain tendencies then they really have significant problems because you have to do certain things to ensure the people that are under your charge are safe. and so it is kind of a sword that cuts either way for them. and i think what you have heard from this family is that they can't conceive of it because that is just not who she was to them. they can't conceive of sandy killing herself. and it is because they and their interaction with her, walk away

just thinking that is not happen mobile -- fathomable. they did have certain obligations. if they failed to meet those obligations, then there is going to be some accountability that has to be had. amy: sharon, shia just got a job at her alma mater at her review a&m, historically black college in waller? >> yes. yes, ma'am. she was thrilled about it. my mom and herself -- my mom and myself, we were fortunate to have voicemails from her reagan here the joy and excitement in her voice, to build a do it most of us love to do, which is secure new opportunities and pursue our dreams. that is exactly what she was doing. amy: your mom raised you as a single mom. how many sisters do you have? >> there are five of us. we refer to ourselves as the fa

ve five. amy: and how you want us to remember sandy? >> as someone who is unapologetically confident. and that is ok in today's world. some of the who was assertive and somebody who truly stood for what she believed in. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us, sharon cooper is sandra bland sister. sandra bland will be laid to rest. the funeral is tomorrow. cannon lambert is the attorney representing sandra bland's family. they are speaking to us from chicago. when we come back, we will be joined by the three women who started the blacklivesmatter movement, which sandy bland considered herself a proud member of. we will be back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh.

nermeen: this week protests across the country have called for justice in sandra bland's case. here in new york at least a dozen people were arrested wednesday after sitting down and locking arms in the street. they also raised questions about the death of kindra chapman, an 18-year-old african american found dead in her jail cell in alabama just one day after cell in alabama just one day -- and her jail cell just one day after sandra bland was found dead. chapman was arrested july 14 on accusations of stealing a cellphone. just like in bland's case authorities have claimed she hanged herself, but her family does not believe it. at the protest in new york demonstrators also mourned india clarke, a 25-year-old african-american transgender woman who was found beaten to death in tampa, florida, tuesday. these are some of their voices. >> i am second year in college. i go to the new school. >> i came down because i was informed by one of my friends this was happening. >> it doesn't seem like it is a

very well known topic. things like eric garner and never think of everybody know about that, but not many people knew about this so i felt it was my duty to spread the word about what had happened. it felt more urgent to me. >> saying her name means she is not forgotten, that her spirit lives on in that her presence is here and that she has a voice and her lives matter. and because her life matters all of our lives matter. >> my organization for this demonstration on today because we really just want answers answers to questions we already know what happened to sandra bland, kindra chapman, what happened to stanley jones. we know we live in a country of white supremacy that is continuing to kill black and brown people, but men women and children. basically, we organize this because we are fed up and we are

no longer taking it anymore. >> my name is kim early. -- my name is kimberly. i have been coming up since the fall for mike brown. a few months ago, there was a rally for rakia boyd. only about 25 people showed up for that. ever since then, i felt it was very important whenever something happens to a black woman to also show up. it is disheartening to see we don't get the same numbers, really, as we do when a man is killed. so i wanted to come out and honor her, you know just respect her life. i feel like it is our responsibility as black women to mention it. if we are not mentioning it, no one else is going to know. amy: the lives of sandra bland michael brown, eric garner tamir rice, kajieme powell, john crawford and so many others will be the focus of a national

-- major movement gathering in cleveland this weekend. people from all over the world are expected to attend. for more we go to cleveland, where we are joined by the three founders of black lives matter. patrisse cullors is the director of truth and reinvestment at the ella baker center for human rights in oakland, california and the founder of dignity and power now, a grassroots organization in los angeles fighting for the dignity and power of incarcerated people and their families. alicia garza is special projects director for the national domestic workers alliance and opal tometi is executive director of the black alliance for just immigration. welcome all of you to democracy now! alicia garza white of you begin on the significance of what is taking place, what you're doing -- why don't you begin the significance of what is being taken place. >> dozens are coming together to commemorate the lives of family members that of been taken way too soon from us by police terrorism and state violence. also coming together to build a vision for the kind of world that we want to see.

we want to see a world where blacklivesmatter in order for us to get to a world where all of our humanity is respected. domingoterming code nermeen: could you tell us when you began the term blacklivesmatter? >> when it started, it was a similar moment to this where trayvon martin had been murdered by george zimmerman and george zimmerman was acquitted in that murder. so while george zimmerman got to go home to his family, trayvon martin's family will always have a nifty seat at the dinner table. we decided to design blacklivesmatter as an opportunity for black folks to come together to love on each other, to celebrate our resilience in the face of such adversity, but also to come together to organize and to build our social, political, and economic power, to change our condition. what is happening here with sandra bland is so different.

sandy bland was driving, minding her own made -- business and that traffic stop ended her life. we all have questions about what happened in that jail cell. we have questions about why we she pulled over in the first place? the larger question at stake is why do black lives have such little value in our society that they can be taken at whim with no answers no, ability, and no justice. amy: patrisse cullors, the allegation is that she hung herself, that sandy committed suicide, that she had expressed that she had attempted suicide in the past. they did not put her in suicide watch, if this is all true. you deal with issues like these are people who are in prison. >> yes. i don't believe sandy committed suicide. and forcefully, this issue of people found hanging in their

cells is very common inside u.s. jails and prisons. for one, oftentimes guards are killing people inside u.s. jails and prisons, and then hanging them to cover up the death and e murder. and then secondly, for those folks who actually do commit suicide, it is often because they aren't being cared for in the hands of sheriff's and prison guards, so we have this crisis inside u.s. jails and prisons where people are left in vulnerable and they don't have a camera like we do on the streets, and they don't have a hashtag like we do for folks who are dying at the hands of one forstmann. i think this case is really, really import first to take a look at the u.s. incarceration system and the impacts it has on black lives. nermeen: patrisse cullors, your report specifically on county jails and sandra bland died, was

found dead in a county jail. could you talk about what the specific context and situation is in county jails as against other prisons in the u.s.? >> yes, the county jail is where you go while you are awaiting trial, before you meet a judge. a county jail is where you go to go through the process of whether you're going to be prosecuted or not. and so what we is seen across the country as a trend where people are ending up in county jails and being completely neglected, severe medical neglect in county jails and a significant amount of beatings that happening county jails. you have seen this in los angeles county and in new york and in chicago and now in waller county. this isn't new, unfortunately.

sandy was a victim, a victim of state violence. amy: opal tometi, you are involved in immigration issues as well as the whole issue of the way authorities treat people of color. you are the daughter of to niger in -- nigerian immigrants. can you talk about the intersection of immigration and how people are treated of different hughes in this country? >> the reality is, criminalization of people of color is impacting us whether you're a citizen of the united states or you're not. and what we're seeing right now is the mass criminalization that is leaving the cap people of color immigrant communities whether you have legal permanent resident status, whether you are undocumented, and is leaving them particularly vulnerable to

the whims of local law enforcement and immigrations customs enforcement. what we're seeing now is the deputizing of local law enforcement officials, so police, sheriffs, and so on, giving the authority to act as if they are ice agents. and so this leads to all mishandling's does all sorts of mishandling of cases of folks who might be in orut of status in this country, and we're seeing this collusion between immigrations, customs enforcement and local law enforcement is causing for rampant immigration detention as well as deportation. so the vast numbers we're seeing, the growing numbers every day, worsening thousands and thousands of people being deported. this is the result of the ways in which our immigration system and criminal justice system have now been intertwined.

amy: we're going to go to break and come back to this discussion. our guest are opal tometi alicia garza, and patrisse cullors, the three cofounders of black lives matter. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "strange fruit" about lynchings in the south. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. our guests are the three founders of the black lives matter movement, patrisse cullors, alicia garza and opal tometi. we turn to what happened last weekend, members of the black lives matter movement staged a protest inside the netroots nation conference in phoenix by repeatedly interrupting democratic presidential candidates senator bernie sanders and former maryland governor martin o'malley. the activists interrupted o'malley's portion of the event . >> let's be clear. every single day folks are

dying. not being able to take another breath. we are in a state of emergency. we are in a state of emergency. and if you don't feel that emergency, you are not human. amy: patrisse cullors, can you take it from there? what you hoped to accomplish by addressing governor o'malley as well as the group addressing bernie sanders and what has come of it? >> yes, the action -- yes, it was about the presidential candidates. but it was also about challenging by progressives. about challenging the notion that there is only the lens of the economic justice agenda and really challenging folks to look at the crisis in black america. folks were very emotional during

that rally, as you can hear in my voice. sandy had just been murdered. we were trying to figure out how we were going to hold stage for her at netroots nation. we wanted to lift up her name and make sure that folks did not go on with business as usual. part of that push inside of the presidential forum was to spark a debate, to spark a national debate amongst the candidates. and hillary clinton wasn't there, but it was to challenge her as well to test people are often afraid to say black lives matter, often afraid to use the word "black." and we are not. we are in this moment because it is absolutely necessary that we start to figure out the black agenda. otherwise, we will continue to see the deaths of black folks at the hands of law enforcement,

the hands of the state. otherwise, we will continue to be in this crisis. nermeen: i want to go back to the gathering. after the interruption, senator sanders threatened to leave the stage. >> black lives of coarse matter. as been 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights and dignity. so if you don't want me to be her, that's ok. >> no, sir, we want you to be here. >> i don't want to out screen people. nermeen: meanwhile, governor martin o'malley responded to the interruption by saying "black lives matter. white lives matter. all lives matter." >> black lives matter. white lives matter. all lives matter. black lives matter. white lives matter. all lives matter. nermeen: governor martin o'malley later issued an apology for the comment. >> admit no disrespect to the

point which i understand -- i met no disrespect to the point which i understand black lives matter. when i ran for mayor baltimore, the majority african-american city, when we allowed ourselves to become the most violent, part of what -- part of what i called is to as a people was to the justice of realizing that you yes, black lives matter and when we allow ourselves to assume that every year as a city, we just have to accept 300 young black men will die violent deaths, we have to do a checkup from the neck up and realize as a people, that of 300 young poor white men were dying, we would have a different reaction to this as a state and as a metro area and as a city. so i -- that was a mistake on my part. nermeen: patrisse cullors, can you respond to how your direction was responded to does your interruption was responded to? >> i think they residential

candidates response was, we are important. what they did is they actually probably went to their teams had a discussion about the responses, and regretted it. i think they both did pretty horribly on stage. they both were unable to really listen to the needs of the black lives matter protesters. i think they were defensive. since then, we have seen a number of them sort of release statement saying black lives matter. but at this point, we have to move beyond rhetoric. i think it is great they're finally saying black lives matter, but if there is no agenda, if there's no policies that are going to back that up then what is it worth? amy: and your meeting taking place this weekend, opal tometi? >> in many ways, the meeting we are having in cleveland, the movement for black lives, is a gathering of hundreds and even over 1000 black young people,

elders and various people from different walks of life, who are coming together networking, sharing ideas building our knowledgebase for what is going on, and developing strategies to combat the pervasive violence we are experiencing at the hands of law enforcement, but also all across the board. so we're looking for a progressive comprehensive racial justice agenda that really cuts across various issue areas. for me, for example, i am looking for candidates to deliver on a racial justice agenda that incorporates the needs of black immigrants from different parts of latin america, caribbean, and so on. i think it's important that we are having these gatherings, able to raise our voices share the unique ways in which we are impacted by state violence and articulate a new vision for black life in the united states of america and across the world.

amy: alicia garza, the whole issue of the $15 a our minum wasome people might say, why bring that io isight now? but it seems thela matter movement is the intersection of all these different movements, whether we're talking immigration whether we're talking about police brutality, or even the $15 minimum wage. can you talk about how that relates? >> the black lives matter movement has to, by its very nature, be intersectional because of the complexities of who black people are in this country and throughout the world. there is nothing separate about wages from black life in the survival of black people than police violence and police terrorism. we even still have a situation in this country where we have black workers who are not covered by federal delivered -- federal liberal protections. police violence is the tip of the iceberg when it relates to

the conditions overall a black people across the globe. and so as opal mentioned, this weekend, people are coming together from across sectors, from across communities, from a wide range of walks of life to really try to both understand our complexities and understand how we use our complexities as a way to leverage power. we're ultimately here to figure out how is it we transform conditions in this country so that we can transform the conditions and our world? amy: you are three powerful women. did you ever think the black lives matter movement would take off in this way? >> i think that we are all deeply, eply committed to the liberation of black people. and so when you put people together who have an share that commitment, the sky's the limit. we operate with incredible incredible team that is networked throughout 26 chapters across the world, and this

movement would not be possible, this kind of excitement in the generation of energy would not be possible without a brilliant, courageous, bold and innovative team of people. amico alicia garza, patrisse cullors and opal tometi think you for being with us. we will continue the conversation and post it online at democracynow.org. the three cofounders of black lives matter. that does it for our broadcast. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

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