Our Board

The Sandra Bland Center for Racial Justice is being founded to support the families who suffer similar trauma, to that which I experienced upon Sandra’s sudden and tragic death.

Geneva Reed-Veal

Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old woman who was pulled over for a traffic violation in 2015, arrested, and then found dead in her jail cell three days later. She is a sought after speaker on racial and social issues, and is working toward fighting racial injustice and demanding police reform.

Maria Hamilton

Founder of “Mothers for Justice United” after her son Dontre was murdered by Milwaukee Police Officer Christopher Manney on April 30, 2014. Her goal is to unite with other mothers who have lost children to state and vigilante violence, to make their voices heard in the halls of government, to demand justice for their murdered children, and to put an end to the race-based policies of police and vigilante violence in minority communities.

Dr. Alex del Carmen

Dr. Alejandro del Carmen is currently serving as the Executive Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Tarleton State University in Fort Worth. Prior to joining Tarleton, Dr. del Carmen served as Chair and Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at The University of Texas at Arlington. He is certified as a grant evaluator/reviewer for the Department of Justice and as an instructor for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE).

Dr. Dwight Steward

Dwight D. Steward, Ph.D. is a fellow of IPAC and an economist by profession. Dr. Steward works with the director of IPAC, Dr. Alex Del Carmen on the statistical and content analysis of police procedures and policies related to police use of force and racial profiling. Dr. Steward also works with Dr. Del Carmen and IPAC on developing donor and sponsorship relationships within Tarleton University, The Texas A&M University System. police agencies, and community stakeholders. Dr. Steward has performed research on issues related to police procedures, use of force, and racial profiling for over twenty years. Dr. Steward in conjunction with the Texas NAACP, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, and ACLU of Texas produced one of the first and largest analyses of police racial profiling data in the nation. Over his career, Dr. Steward has worked with Dr. Del Carmen, and numerous police agencies on the statistical analysis of police procedures as a consultant and expert witness in police conduct lawsuits. Dr. Steward is currently a principal economist at EmployStats (www.employstats.com). EmployStats is a statistical and economic research consulting firm specializing in the analysis of issues related discrimination in employment and police procedures and policies. EmployStats is based in Austin, Texas and performs work for clients across the nation.

Cariol Horne

Cariol Horne served Buffalo, New York, as a police officer for twenty years before being fired for stopping a fellow police officer from choking a handcuffed African-American man during an arrest. During this encounter, Ms. Horne was physically assaulted by her fellow officer, which had a physical and psychological impact. Ms. Horne speaks on how PTSD has interrupted her life since this incident and how speaking out has impacted her livelihood. Although the officer that physically assaulted her is serving time in prison due to another physical altercation, he will receive his pension when he is released, while she will not. After being fired, Ms. Horne has become an outspoken advocate for stopping police brutality and encouraging other officers to speak out against injustice and police brutality. She remains a trailblazer for justice and a solace for those who have been victims of police brutality. Her story sparked Cariol’s Law, the Duty-to-Intervene law, which passed in Buffalo in 2020.