Speaking to stop the silence: A womanist ethical confrontation of injustice

Sandra Bland’s death was unfortunately not the first or last for Black women in the custody of police during this Movement for Black Lives era. However, the unique legacy she left through social media enabled her death to have far greater reach, impact, and influence than many others. In this article, Mingo draws from four tenets of womanist theological ethics—radical subjectivity, traditional communalism, redemptive self-love, and critical engagement—to argue that confronting injustice requires challenging the ways that we see, hear, advocate for, and remember Black women victims of state-sanctioned violence. Both Bland’s commitment to speak to stop the silence about Black violence and erasure and the work Black women have continued to do after her death offer models for a womanist ethical confrontation of injustice.