As Sonya Massey's death mourned, another tragedy echoes in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. − Even if she didn't know her, Lisa Clanton said she felt a connection to Sonya Massey, who was fatally shot by a law enforcement officer in her home on July 6, in a case that has sparked cries for racial justice across the country.

Sean Grayson, the sheriff's deputy who shot Massey while responding to her 911 call, was fired and charged with first degree murder. Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell retired in the aftermath of the incident, and Illinois residents continue to call for further investigation of Massey's death.

Speaking at a memorial service for Massey at a local church, Clanton said she saw herself "reflected in her in that dire situation."

"We're Black women," Clanton said Wednesday at Springfield's Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, which was founded in 1895. "She called for help. Unfortunately, help did not come to her. Quite the opposite, she lost her life to someone who was supposed to protect and to serve."

About 100 people gathered for the service, which featured civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who also represents the Massey family. Massey's mother, Donna Massey, was present, along with Jeanette "Summer" Massey and Malachi Hill-Massey, Sonya Massey's children.

Wednesday also marked the 116th year since the start of the Springfield Race Riot, in which at least eight people were killed and more than 100 injured after one Black man was accused of sexually assaulting a white woman, and another was accused of murdering a white man.

Clanton, 46, said the church, and faith, linked her with and Massey, 36, who she called "my sister in Christ."

Both grew up in the Baptist tradition and Clanton said she well understood Massey's directive at Grayson just before he shot her in the face −"I rebuke you in the name of Jesus."

"She was rebuking an evil presence that she recognized in the sheriff deputy," Clanton said. "He was confused and didn't understand cultural reference."

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This week, President Joe Biden announced he intends to use the Antiquities Act to make the site of riots along local railroad tracks a national monument under the National Park Service.

Fittingly, Sontae Massey, Sonya's first cousin, explained at Wednesday's memorial service that the family had ties to William Donnegan, an elderly Black man and one of the city's best-known citizens, whose throat was slit and body hung during the riot.

Crump, reciting a long list of Black victims who had been shot by police or others in authority, cautioned that it was time for Springfield to stand up for Massey.

"We can't be scared," Crump said. "We have to speak truth to power."

Recalling a quote from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Crump said the coward will ask the question, "Is it safe?" Whereas expediency, he said, will ask the question, "Is it politically correct?" Vanity will ask, "Is it popular?" he said.

"Conscience comes along," Crump said quoting King, "and asks the question, Is it right? My brothers and sisters, it is the right thing to do to stand up for Sonya Massey. It's the right thing to do to speak up for Sonya Massey. It is the right thing to do to fight for Sonya Massey."

After the service concluded, Pleasant Grove pastor, the Rev. William DeShone Rosser, said the evening struck "a 10 out of 10."

"Everything I had in mind came about and more," Rosser said. "The choir lifted us and got us inspired. (Ben) Crump preached tonight, and he touched our spirits, touched out hearts."

Clanton said as result of Massey's death, the Springfield community was brought together, evident at rallies and gatherings supporting the Massey family. Clanton said she took part in a rally at Comer Cox Park on a National Day of Mourning for Massey on July 28.

"She gave her life," Clanton said of Massey. "Hopefully to move us forward, to call for reform, everything from the sheriff retiring to reform in hiring practices to transparency in background checks."