'Sonya Massey called for help. Sonya Massey was a human being worthy of care, patience and respect. Sonya Massey mattered' (2024)

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When her sons were old enough to understand, Michelle Turner sat them down for what’s known to many Black parents simply as “the talk” — about how to act, and how not to act, if they’re ever stopped by law enforcement.

“But I never imagined preparing and training Black girls,” says the principal at Urbana’s Dr. Martin LutherKingJr.Elementary. “This makes me rethink everything.”

A week that started with the historic news of the Democratic Party backing a Black woman for president took a turn for the horrific a day later, when body-cam video was released Monday showing a White sheriff’s deputy, who was responding to a Springfield woman’s 911 call, shooting 36-year-old Sonya Massey three times in the head in her own kitchen.

“What was he scared of?” wonders Champaign native Lisa Gaye Dixon, a University of Illinois professor emerita and one of two dozen local Black women who shared their feelings with The News-Gazette this week for a two-part series. “A woman — a petite woman, in her nightgown, and the one who had actually called them.

“I always think: Are the officers so scared of all people of color so much that they feel they are in danger from us all the time?”

In one of her first statements since being tabbed by Joe Biden to take his spot atop the Democratic ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris called the footage “disturbing” and a sign that, four years after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd, “we have much work to do to ensure that our justice system fully lives up to its name.”

In the days leading up to Sunday's National Day of Mourning, we asked local women: If you could bring yourself to watch it, what emotions did you feel while viewing the body-cam video made public by the Illinois State Police.

MARGARETH ETIENNE

Carl L. Vacketta Professor of Law, University of Illinois

“As a criminal law scholar, several key words come to mind. Cruel. Premeditated. Malicious. Unjustifiable. Murder.

“But ultimately, ‘predatory’ is the word I return to.

“This interaction was not about typical law enforcement concerns: safety, violence or investigation. From the moment the officer came to her door, he spoke to her as if she were a roach or other infestation to be exterminated. Not like a human being whose life — though perhaps different from his — had meaning and mattered.

“Women’s lives — and the choices they make that govern their lives — matter. Black lives matter. This is the society we enable when we forget that.”

CAROL BRADFORD

Senior clinical therapist, Rosecrance Central Illinois

“I was facilitating a therapy group when I received your email. There are three African American women in the group. One of them actually brought the video up and asked if anyone else in the group watched it.

“Some group members hadn’t heard about it, others had but hadn’t watched the video, and some had seen the video. It was interesting when one of the white males in the group said rather non-chalantly that he doesn’t pay attention to things that don’t affect him.

“I don’t think he meant any harm and spoke from a place of self-care. Yet, it resonated with me. It reinforced what many in the African American community feel is indifference towards the daily grievances we as a people deal with on a daily basis.

“We deal with the emotional weight of acts like these occurring one after another with no change in the foreseeable future. The load is heavy!

“How do I feel? I hurt for her loved ones. I have a mixed bag of emotions from sadness and grief to frustration and anger. But mostly, I feel demoralized, devalued; yet I remain committed to making a difference through each life that I touch in my daily life and work.”

ANGELA SLATES

Program manager, Cancer Center at Illinois

“I watched some of the full video. Don’t do it. You can’t unsee or unhear her gurgling and gasping for air.

“As a Black woman, I was positively horrified and sickened. Devastated.

“Yet another reminder that we reside in the belly of the beast. It’s depressing.”

NIKI PETTIT

Vice president, Rantoul City Schools board

"To be 100 percent honest, I didn't watch the video until you mentioned it. When I first heard what happened, I was upset. My initial thought was, of course, this has happened again. So, I was sad that another person had to die, but honestly, I moved on from the news.

"However, now that I have watched the video, I'm enraged. My daughter is upset. She had her Emmett Till shirt on when she watched the video and the first thing she said was, 'When are we going to Springfield to protest?'

"I don't understand why this keeps happening. I don't understand why white people don't understand us. 'I rebuke you in the name of Jesus' is a common saying for us. I've cried several times. It makes me sick to my stomach.

"I want to write more, but the reality is I've said how I feel, and I would just keep repeating myself. I don't understand why the color of our skin evokes so much fear. I don't understand why this keeps happening. I do think that it would help if white people took the time to learn more about Black people and their culture. It would also help if cops had more training in mental illness. However, it’s not just white cops doing this to Black people. It is also Black cops doing it to other Black people.

"In my opinion, it would help if the police had better training. Perhaps with better training and tougher consequences, it won't appear that all cops are part of a 'good ol boy' system. A system that allows them to literally get away with murder."

MARNITA HARRIS

Assistant dean of students, University of Illinois

“When I first heard that Sonya Massey was murdered in her home by a police officer, I felt numb. When I saw the video, I was enraged.

“I see so much of myself in her. I am also a 36-year-old Black woman and mother living in central Illinois so to see a deputy sheriff shooting her point blank in the head was beyond disturbing.

“I think Black women living in America are on the cusp of a pivotal moment in time. On one hand, you have Sonya Massey and other Black women dying at the hands of those who are supposed to serve and protect, and on the other hand, you have Kamala Harris, a Black woman who stands a good chance of becoming our nation’s next president.

“The juxtaposition of these truths is hard to reconcile. I stand in solidarity with Sonya Massey’s family and I pray justice is served and the officer is convicted for her senseless killing. She should still be alive.”

KIM TATE

Dual-language teacher, International Prep Academy

“Not again. I’m so heartbroken for Ms. Massey’s family. I’m weary at once again returning to school in the wake of a senseless tragedy like this one.”

JENNIFER IVORY-TATUM

Superintendent, Urbana School District

“My initial reaction was one of outrage, disgust and overall sadness at the senseless nature in which Ms. Massey was murdered. How does a woman who is clearly seeking help, and obviously needing it in many ways, become the victim of her own pleas for assistance?

“Even if there were mental health concerns, there were so many other scenarios in which this incident could have been avoided non-violently; competent, trained officers would have engaged in de-escalation methods instead of quickly taking the situation in a completely unnecessary direction.

“If Deputy (Sean) Grayson cared about and valued human life, there would have been more concern for her mental health and wellness. She needed a helping hand and instead was murdered. It is unacceptable to treat a Black woman — or anyone, for that matter — as less than human.

“I hope justice is served and the life of Ms. Massey is vindicated; my thoughts and prayers go out to her children and family.”

TINISHA SPAIN

Environmental reporter and ‘Mid-American Gardener’ host, WILL

“It feels too close, too familiar and terrifying.

“It’s difficult to put into words what it is like to watch another Black person lose their life in a senseless way at the hands of someone who was supposed to help. Sonya Massey called for help. Sonya Massey was a human being worthy of care, patience and respect. Sonya Massey mattered.

“As a Black woman, mother, sister, and daughter, seeing Sonya Massey be murdered in her home reminds me that we as Black people are still in pursuit of the fundamental American dream. I find myself asking: How can we as Black Americans enjoy liberty and the pursuit of happiness if we are still in a fight for our life?”

ALEXANDRA HARMON-THREATT

Associate professor of entomology, University of Illinois

“The release of the video of the murder of Sonya Massey the same week we have our first Black woman nominee for president, Kamala Harris, highlights the truly dichotomous role Black women play in America.

“The shift from victim to assailant or respected to hated can happen in moments as the prejudices around sex and race intersect. I hope and pray that we are moving in a direction where Black women can simply exist and be treated with the same kindness and grace given to others.

“The sheriff’s office’s quick action to fire the deputy is a step in the right direction but true justice will require a jury to honor the life of Sonya and recognize that she was a victim the entire time and a ‘trained professional’s’ fear is not justified simply because she was Black, a woman or otherwise.”

ASIA FULLER HAMILTON

Principal, Garden Hills Academy

“‘I rebuke you in the name of Jesus!’ — Sonya Massey.

“To invoke a rebuking in the name of Jesus signals that someone has identified something in someone that is not aligned with good — a detection that there is something afoul.

“Sonya Massey knew. She saw the darkness within the man in front of her. A darkness that was illuminated both before and after her murder.

“In the stated intent to shoot her in the face. In the inaction and refusal to assist her after shooting her. In the callous way he described her by saying, ‘She’s done.’ In the subsequent lies he proffered to try to absolve himself.

“Sonya Massey was light — and her light showed us why the rebuke needed to be issued.”

LILY WALTON

Executive director, Housing Authority of Champaign County

“The shooting of Sonya Massey is a heart-wrenching reminder of the vulnerabilities people of color face daily.

“As I reflect on this tragedy, I am overwhelmed with a profound sense of grief and frustration. Sonya, like countless others, was more than a statistic; she was a mother, a daughter and a cherished member of our community whose life was unjustly cut short.

“This incident underscores the urgent need for meaningful changes in our society — changes that ensure the safety, dignity and justice for people of color. It is disheartening that we continue to face such peril simply for existing, and it highlights the crucial need for enhanced training for our police officers.

“They must be better equipped to handle situations involving mental health crises compassionately and effectively, ensuring that they can serve and protect all community members without resorting to lethal force.

“Our lives matter, our pain is real, and our stories deserve to be heard and respected. Addressing these systemic injustices with the seriousness and urgency they demand is imperative.”