A church in west-suburban Chicago is naming its annual diversity institute after a black woman who died in a Texas jail cell three days after she was arrested during a contentious traffic stop last summer.
The Naperville Sun reported that DuPage African Methodist Church in Lisle will hold the Sandra A. Bland Diversity Institute on Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The 28-year-old Bland grew up in the church.
Lamounte Coleman organizes the program. He says the institute aims to teach children about civil rights and community involvement.
Bland was pulled over July 10 for making an improper lane change. She was taken to jail and remained there when she couldn't raise about $500 for bail. She was discovered dead three days later, hanging from a cell partition.
