“All too often, when we see injustices, both great and
small, we think, ‘That’s terrible,’ but we do nothing. We say nothing. We let
other people fight their own battles. We remain silent because silence is
easier... When we say nothing, when we do nothing, we are consenting to these trespasses
against us.” — Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist
Our community is tired, frustrated, grieving… at a loss for
words. We are betrayed by a system that is supposed to serve and protect us,
but when a Black woman calls to receive aid from a sworn-in officer, she
receives a bullet instead. Our community is heartbroken. These senseless and inhumane
shots to the face robbed her of human worth, led to her very last breath and
ended a mother, a daughter and a loved one’s life. Say her name … Sonya Massey!
For the last few weeks, advocates and organizers have
organized protests, healing circles, press conferences, voter registration,
motorcycle cruises, rallies and other advocacy and activism events to bring
awareness and get ACTIVE. The community moves without straightforward answers,
without transparency and with still many questions.
Springfield the community also witnessed a monumental event
conducted by our judicial system that, in less than two weeks, indicted a
former deputy and set a grand jury. The community echoes the words of civil
rights attorney Ben Crump: “Charges are not enough!”
The Massey family, organizations, elected officials, and
community members call for a transparent and justice-informed process. Our
community demands that those who have answers bring clarity and accountability
to officials and one another. Together, we must devise actionable solutions on
the local, state, and national levels that set policies in place which will
dismantle a hostile and violent law enforcement culture, harmful hiring
practices, and continued modern-day lynching of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people
of color) globally.
Say their names:
Tamir Rice
Trayvon Martin
Sandra Bland
Mike Brown
George Floyd
Sonya Massey … egregiously the list goes on.
“As of December 18, 282 Black people were killed by the
police in the United States in 2023. This compares to 201 Hispanic people and
495 white people. The rate of police shootings of Black Americans is much
higher than any other ethnicity, at 5.9 per million people. This rate stands
at 2.5 per million for Hispanic people and 2.3 per million for white people.” –
Published by Statista Research Department, July 5, 2024.
We call for answers. Below are questions that have not been
answered regarding the killing of Ms. Sonya Lynaye Massey and the hiring of
former deputy Sean Grayson.
1. What were Shawn Grayson’s reasons for leaving for other
county employment after such short periods of time (Pawnee, Kincaid, Virden,
Auburn, Logan and Sangamon)? Why was a thorough hiring process and background
check not completed and documented by the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office?
2. Why was the statement of self-inflicted brought up on the
call to dispatch? Why did the call seem unclear?
3. Why is the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office not in
compliance with the Supreme Court-mandated Brady List (1963)?
4. In the call for transparency, why is the second officer's
name still officially concealed? What, if any, disciplinary actions were taken,
including training, for the second officer? What charges are now considered for
the second officer by the state attorney’s office?
5. Why weren’t the full details of Ms. Sonya Lynaye Massey’s
shooting disclosed to the family within hours of being notified of her death?
6. What are the full hiring protocols and training taken by
Sangamon County deputies? Does this protocol include removal of tattoos
signifying racial hate groups or removal from the department if such tattoos
are acquired after hiring?
7. Does the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office require mental
health case worker assistance on mental health calls? If not, why?
8. How many CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) training hours
are required to be a sheriff’s deputy, as a significant number of emergency
calls need de-escalation? Have all sheriff’s deputies received the recommended
40 CIT training hours? How often must officers re-certify?
For every problem, there is a solution. The calls to action
to pass legislation and policies around law enforcement practices are a matter
of life and death. In that same breath, we ask that our leaders and
decision-makers sign bills and ordinances into law and adopt effective
solutions to stop taking the last breath of numerous women, children, and
Black, Indigenous and people of color by hostile attitudes, violent actions,
and harmful practices and procedures.
We offer the following solutions:
● We call on the U.S. Department of Justice to fully
investigate the Sangamon County Sheriff's Department and former deputy Sean
Grayson.
● We call for legislative solutions, such as the passing of
the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
● We call for the mandatory submission of law enforcement
names to the statewide Brady list, in compliance with Supreme Court ruling(s).
● We call for complete nullification of qualified immunity
for members of law enforcement.
● Amendment of The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and
Equity-Today Act, commonly known as the SAFE-T Act, to include policies on
decertification of law enforcement, including involvement in hate groups, and
terminations in certain circumstances which qualify for decertification.
● We call for any law enforcement officers who have been
terminated or who have resigned from any law enforcement agency twice within
two years to be put on a statewide registry (open to the public) including the
reason for termination and resignation.
● We call for the suspension of state funding for law
enforcement agencies that are not in compliance with federal, state, and local
mandates.
● We call for the establishment of a Community Deputy Review
Oversight Commission which includes at least 51% community members with no
history of employment in law enforcement.
● We call for mandatory bi-annual emotional intelligence and
racial anti-bias training for all law enforcement officers.
Join us at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Sangamon County
Board meeting, 300 S. Ninth St. (first floor). We will unite in solidarity with
organizations and community members as they address the Sangamon County Board.
If you are interested in speaking, sign up by 4:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12, by using
this link:
This article was submitted in collaboration with Faith
Coalition for the Common Good; Black Lives Matter Springfield; The Springfield
Black Aldermanic Caucus - Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory, Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams and
Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase; District 186 School Board member Erica Austin; Sangamon
County Board member Gina Lathan; Dr. Lesa Johnson, UIS/Unveiling Black
Springfield; Ken Page; One In A Million, Inc.; Juneteenth Inc.; National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People Springfield Branch President
Austin Randolph; and the family of Ms. Sonya Lynaye Massey.