(STAFF, ST. CROIX, July 28, 2024).
A video last month went viral, and the power of social media was evident as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook were flooded with the tragic story of a senseless murder. The graphic video of a white police officer gunning down an unarmed, young Black woman in her own kitchen was shared and reshared, sparking trending topics related to racism, police brutality, and social injustice.
Sonya Massey, 36, mother of two teenage children, called for police help to investigate noises outside her home. She was alone, frightened and suspected an intruder might be outside her home. Less than a hour later, she was dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
Social activists effectively are using various streaming platforms to disseminate messages, news reports, and photos about the previously suppressed incident in Springfield, Il. Advocates of free speech and social injustice continue to question the unexplained murder and demand accountability.
Memes, articles, op-eds, and editorials pervasively appear alongside mainstream media coverage.
National TV/covered interviews with her parents, teenage son, lawyer, and advocates of social justice reform, such as Black Lives Matter and the National Black Leadership Caucus of the Southeastern Region [of Illinois], who have been actively involved in demanding accountability and justice for Sonya Massey.
A Rap song by model333 has nearly 30k likes and is gaining popularity on TikTok along with artwork by James Dean featuring the song Enough by Amahlah, which had more than 125k hits after five days.
Officers delayed calling for medical help, and the initial reports included false statements from the deputies at the scene. Family members claim they were given different versions of the cause of death.
Explanations ranged from an intruder break-in to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. James Wilburn, the father of Massey, spoke on CBS Morning,
“I was never told it was a ‘deputy-involved’ shooting. We were under the impression that she was killed by the intruder or some other person from the street. And that they [police] just went in and found her dead body.
In the interview, he explained, “We were all misled. There was even a story that this was self-inflicted.” It was only after the body cam footage was released that they understood that she had been killed by police.
Following community protests, repeated requests, and an official demand from the public, body cam footage from the incident was released on Monday, July 22, fifteen days after the murder.
At a vigil in Wilmington, local activist Rebecca Trammel asked, “How many times’ or ‘say his name’—another hashtag? Another statistic?”
She passionately says, ‘How many times have we had to say, ‘say her name?’
The public’s reaction to the body cam footage was immediate and intense.
The outrage was palpable, and swift action was taken against the perpetrator, Sean Grayson, 30, who was fired from the department.
Two weeks after murdering Massey, he is arrested and booked on five counts, including three counts of first-degree murder, denied bond.
Her parents and the infamous attorney Ben Crump allege that the murder is part of a police cover-up that includes false reports initially given by police officials.
Wilburn maintains, “The cover-up started right after it happened…thank God for the body cam footage.
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