MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: Thursday, 30 July 2015

CONTACT: Brett Abrams : 516-841-1105 : brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com

WASHINGTON, DC — On Thursday, July 30th, representatives from a broad coalition of organizations—including MoveOn.org, ColorOfChange.org, MomsRising.org, UltraViolet, and Presente.org—will rally on the steps of the Justice Department to deliver more than 500,000 signatures calling on Attorney General Loretta Lynch to immediately investigate the Waller County Police Department and Prosecutor’s Office in the arrest and death of Sandra Bland.

WHEN: Thursday, July 30th, 2015 at 10:00am ET

WHERE: The US Department of Justice, on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue, NW and 10th St., Washington, DC

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ and executive director of Faith Strategies an organization that protects human and civil rights Lois Wilkins, Michigan MoveOn member and mother of four whose petition has been signed by more than 370,000 people.

Rashad Robinson, executive director at ColorOfChange, the country’s largest online civil rights organization, leading on issues of criminal justice and police reform Clarise McCants, Campaign Manager at UltraViolet, a leading women’s rights organization Nina Perez, Associate Campaign Director at MomsRising.org, an online and on-the-ground grassroots organization of more than a million people. Eugene Puryear, Stop Police Terror Project – DC

The petition campaign from the various groups involved follows the release of new footage in the arrest of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old Black woman who died in custody after being physically restrained and arrested following a minor traffic infraction.

“From the beginning, Waller County officials have failed to expose the truth about what happened to Sandra Bland,” said Rashad Robinson, executive director of ColorOfChange.org. “We’ve seen it time and time again, from the police killing of Mike Brown, Rekia Boyd and countless other Black victims of police violence. Waller County and Sandra’s death are no different. Officer Brian Encinia violently and illegally arrested Sandra Bland and then wrongfully detained her under the leadership of a District Attorney and Sheriff known for misconduct and racism. We want the full truth of what led to Sandra’s death and accountability for those responsible. The only way to get that is for the Department of Justice to intervene.“

View ColorOfChange.org’s petition, signed by more than 130,000 people here:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/sandra-bland/ “The circumstances surrounding her traffic stop are suspicious and deserve an independent, thorough, accountable investigation—especially in light of new video footage,” wrote MoveOn.org petition creator Lois Wilkins. “The Department of Justice has the authority—and power—to find out what happened to Sandra Bland.”

View MoveOn.org’s petition, signed by more than 370,000 people here:

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/federal-investigation-2

“We cannot allow Sandra Bland’s possible murder at the hands of police to be swept under the rug,” said Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of UltraViolet. “We cannot allow the police to investigate themselves. The lives of black women matter and we demand a full investigation by Attorney General Lynch, and the DOJ Civil Rights Division into Sandra’s death and bias in the Waller County Police.”

View UltraViolet’s petition, signed by nearly 50,000 people here:

http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/sandra_bland/?t=1&referring_akid=2141.896840.KRfRvt

“Sandra Bland, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray all matter – and no mother – no one should ever have to fear that a loved one could be killed at the hands of those we charge with protection,” said Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising.org. “We stand with Sandra Bland’s family in seeing her tragic death as yet another case of racial profiling with lethal results. Plain and simple – the police cannot police themselves and MomsRising’s more than one million members join the call for President Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch to use the full power of the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those who played a role in the arrest and death of Sandra Bland.”

“The violent arrest of Sandra Bland and her death in police custody is a story that’s all too familiar both to Black and Latino families in America,” said Arturo Carmona, Executive Director of Presente.org. “We need the DOJ to take action now to show that violent and discriminatory policing won’t be tolerated or swept under the rug.” View Presente.org’s petition here: http://act.presente.org/sign/sandra/ For more information, or to speak with a representative from MoveOn.org, ColorOfChange.org, UltraViolet, MomsRising.org, or Presente.org, please contact Brett Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email at brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com.

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With more than 1 million members nationwide, ColorOfChange.org is the country’s largest online civil rights group.

MoveOn.org Civic Action is a community of more than 8 million Americans from all walks of life who are using innovative technology to lead, participate in, and win campaigns for progressive change.

UltraViolet is an online community of over 700,000 women and men who want to take collective action to expose and fight sexism in the public sector, private sector and the media. Find out more at WeAreUltraViolet.org.

MomsRising.org is an online and on-the-ground grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to achieve economic security for all families in the United States. MomsRising is working for paid family leave, flexible work options, affordable childcare, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes so many others. MomsRising also advocates for better childhood nutrition, health care for all, toxic-free environments, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families. In 2013, Forbes.com named MomsRising’s web site as one of the Top 100 Websites For Women for the fourth year in a row and Working Mother magazine included MomsRising on its “Best of the Net” list. MomsRising also maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.

Presente.org is the nation’s largest online Latino organizing group with more than 300,000 members, all working to amplify the political voice of Latino communities.