The Sandra Bland Movement partners with The Shout curated by movement member Hannah Bonner. 

The Shout is a spoken word poetry focused arts and justice movement that began in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s shooting on August 9, 2014 and held their first large event on September 25, 2014.

Since that time, they have maintained a rhythm of weekly Whispers (community building conversations), monthly Shouts (large performance focused, community events where musicians, poets, and dancers respond through their craft), and daily Echoes (the way that participants in the Shout community are expected to live out justice in an active and vocal manner).

When the student body returned to Prairie View A&M University for the Fall semester of 2015, they returned to a campus that had been largely silent about the arrest of Sandra Bland as she left the campus to pick up groceries on July 10.

Engaged students present over the summer pushed back against the silence by holding a Candlelight Vigil for Sandra Bland on July 19th, as well as participating in the marches, memorials and the vigil at the Waller County Jail.

Several students connected more deeply with members of the movement at the “Let’s Get Organized” workshop. Students continue to engage in their own conversation on campus, creating social awareness through activities and events. 

Prairie View A&M University professor Toniesha L. Taylor with co-curator Sam Houston University professor Phillip Sinitiere have created #WallerCountySyllabus in much the same way that Georgetown University history professor Marcia Chatelain created #FergusonSyllabus.

The goal is to engage scholars, activists, students and the community--adding to the list of readings on Twitter. Ultimately these readings are collected to curate conversations and engaged learning on multiple campuses.

Submissions of books and journals to #WallerCountySyllabus are being collected and archived by Coleman Library at Prairie View A&M University.

For more information click the link below.