Sonya Massey Should Still Be Alive, Say Activists

Jul 31, 2024

Activists across the United States held vigils on Sunday, July 28, as part of a for Sonya Massey, a Black woman recently killed by a white sheriff鈥檚 deputy near Springfield, Illinois. Massey, a mother, had called for help thinking there was an intruder in her home.聽In the wake of the killing, that she had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and drew attention to the disproportionate police violence inflicted on Black people and disabled people鈥攃ompounded further for Black disabled people and those struggling with mental health.

Graphic shows Illinois Sheriff鈥檚 Deputy Sean Grayson asking Massey to remove a pot of boiling water from her stove, which she did, and then shooting her in the face. Grayson also as Massey lay dying. Grayson was fired and has been with three counts of first degree murder. In a separate incident, Massey鈥檚 4-year-old cousin had also been killed by Illinois police in March. Prosecutors refused to charge the officer.

, an organizer, activist, performer, and host of the radio program on KPFA Pacifica Radio in Berkeley, organized a vigil in Oakland for Sonya Massey on July 28. She is the cofounder and executive director of the , where she was instrumental in the formation of , a non-police alternative for people experiencing mental health crises. Brooks spoke with YES! Senior Editor Sonali Kolhatkar on YES! Presents: Rising Up With Sonali about Massey鈥檚 killing.

Sonali Kolhatkar joined YES! in summer 2021, building on a long and decorated career in broadcast and print journalism. She is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and host and creator of聽YES! Presents: Rising Up with Sonali, a nationally syndicated television and radio program airing on Free Speech TV and dozens of independent and community radio stations. She is also Senior Correspondent with the Independent Media Institute鈥檚 Economy for All project where she writes a weekly column. She is the author of聽Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice聽(2023) and聽Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence聽(2005). Her forthcoming book is called聽Talking About Abolition聽(Seven Stories Press, 2025). Sonali is co-director of the nonprofit group, Afghan Women鈥檚 Mission which she helped to co-found in 2000. She has a Master鈥檚 in Astronomy from the University of Hawai鈥檌, and two undergraduate degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin. Sonali reflects on 鈥淢y Journey From Astrophysicist to Radio Host鈥� in her 2014聽聽of the same name.