On July 13, #BlackLivesMatter activist Sandra Bland was found dead in a police holding cell, three days after being arrested by a Texas state trooper during a routine traffic stop. Her death led to calls for an investigation and protests across the country.
At the time of her arrest, Bland was collaborating with longtime friend and writing partner Chenai Okammor on a website — called Woman4Woman — devoted to empowering women around the world to write and share their stories.
Okammor spoke with “Girls” creator and Lenny newsletter co-founder Lena Dunham about Bland’s life and death, and their passion for helping women express themselves.
Lena Dunham: Where did you meet Sandra?
Chenai Okammor: We met when I retired and joined a church committee that she was on. She reminded me of myself when I was younger. There was a lot in me but the self-confidence wasn’t there.
I was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and came from a tradition where women and young girls have a very specific role. If I was sitting down to have dinner I would not start eating until all the older people around me had started. As a woman in my culture, you don’t talk about a lot of things.
Sandy was raised by a single mother with a bunch of sisters. And she said that when she was growing up, she held back her thoughts at times. What became clear to me as I met more with Sandra was that she was finding her own voice.
She once said to me, “I’m 28 and I’m just now beginning to identify what I stand for.” When she started working on this project, I asked her what she wanted to accomplish with it. She said, “I want to be able to share my story with young women out there.” Because she still thought she was alone in her quirkiness.
She had such a commitment to having women tell their own stories, and she helped them talk about things they hadn’t talked about before.
At the time of her arrest, Bland was collaborating with longtime friend and writing partner Chenai Okammor on a website — called Woman4Woman — devoted to empowering women around the world to write and share their stories.
Okammor spoke with “Girls” creator and Lenny newsletter co-founder Lena Dunham about Bland’s life and death, and their passion for helping women express themselves.
Lena Dunham: Where did you meet Sandra?
Chenai Okammor: We met when I retired and joined a church committee that she was on. She reminded me of myself when I was younger. There was a lot in me but the self-confidence wasn’t there.
I was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and came from a tradition where women and young girls have a very specific role. If I was sitting down to have dinner I would not start eating until all the older people around me had started. As a woman in my culture, you don’t talk about a lot of things.
Sandy was raised by a single mother with a bunch of sisters. And she said that when she was growing up, she held back her thoughts at times. What became clear to me as I met more with Sandra was that she was finding her own voice.
She once said to me, “I’m 28 and I’m just now beginning to identify what I stand for.” When she started working on this project, I asked her what she wanted to accomplish with it. She said, “I want to be able to share my story with young women out there.” Because she still thought she was alone in her quirkiness.
She had such a commitment to having women tell their own stories, and she helped them talk about things they hadn’t talked about before.
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