QC Interfaith hosting Sonya Massey vigil

Quad Cities Interfaith is hosting a Say Her Name Vigil for Sonya Massey on Sunday, August 4 at 1:30 p.m. at the Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad Cities, 2930 W. Locust Street in Davenport. Community members will gather to stand against police violence against Black women.

Speakers will share what happened to Sonya Massey and reflect on the impact for Black women. Participants will read the names of Black women killed by law enforcement since 2019 and NAACP President Michael Guster will ask the community to act by urging area Senators to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Massey was killed on July 6 by a deputy with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in Springfield. Sean Grayson has been arrested and is being held in the Menard County Jail on three counts of first-degree murder. Massey, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, had called police when she thought she heard an intruder outside her home. Event organizers say Massy’s death is part of a larger pattern of violence against Black women in society.

Janice Williams, a board member at Quad Cities Interfaith, organized the vigil in honor of Massey because “As someone who has an unseen diagnosis and as a Black person, and as a Black woman, I feel like I have to be on guard. Sonya Massey’s death –as well as the countless other instances of police brutality against Black women–makes me afraid of law enforcement when I should feel safe.”

Organizers are asking the community to support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act . “We organized this vigil because we cannot let Sonya’s death be swept under the rug,” said Arayah Westomoreland, a St. Ambrose student and Integrative Voter Engagement Intern at Quad Cities Interfaith. “Her name will be remembered. And we cannot let the violence against Black women continue to happen over and over again,” They support the bill because they think that it can prevent police violence and hold officers accountable for misconduct.

George Floyd’s murder in 2020 by Minnesota police officer Dereck Chauvin sparked global demonstrations against police brutality. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was introduced during President Biden’s administration. The bill would limit qualified immunity, create a National Police Misconduct Registry and require law enforcement officers to complete training on racial profiling, implicit bias and the duty to intervene when another officer uses excessive force. The House of Representatives passed it on a nearly party line vote of 220-212, but it is currently stalled in the Senate.

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