When Sonya Massey was shot to demise in her kitchen by a white Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy, the tragedy devastated the Black single mom’s kids and her massive, prolonged household within the Springfield space.
However the ripple impact of Massey’s July 6 demise in her Woodside Township house has prolonged far past central Illinois. It put Sangamon County within the nationwide media highlight in ongoing conversations about race relations, institutional racism, police brutality, financial inequities and psychological well being care.
Whereas Massey’s alleged assassin, former deputy Sean Grayson, 30, of Riverton, sits in jail awaiting trial, his actions, captured on body-worn police cameras, proceed to reverberate in the neighborhood by means of the newly shaped Massey Fee, the hiring of a brand new Sangamon County sheriff and ongoing scrutiny of the sheriff’s workplace and different police companies.
Individuals saying Massey’s title in Springfield, Chicago and Washington, D.C., proceed to advocate for justice, not simply domestically however by means of the Black Lives Matter motion and efforts within the Illinois Basic Meeting and Congress to reform policing.
The choice by readers of Illinois Occasions to vote Massey “Finest Unsung Hero” was gratifying to her niece, Shadia Massey, one of many first family members on the scene of her demise – somebody who helped clear up her aunt’s blood from the kitchen ground.
Shadia Massey, 43, a Springfield resident who works as an authorized nurse assistant and bar supervisor and is a single mom herself, mentioned she was amazed Sonya’s demise may “pull so many individuals collectively.” Shadia mentioned she is grateful that “persons are appreciating” her aunt.
One type of native appreciation got here with the Springfield Metropolis Council’s resolution to rename the Clear Lake Avenue pedestrian bridge because the Massey Memorial Bridge. On the bridge is a mural of Sonya Massey painted by Springfield artist Austin Wells.
The mural was voted “Finest Public Artwork” within the 2024 Better of Springfield contest.
Shadia Massey, one in all three cochairs of the Massey Fee, a gaggle tasked with advising elected leaders on methods to revive belief in police, mentioned her aunt is a “hero for Springfield” who, even in demise, “is making change to our neighborhood and to the world.”
