Sonya Massey and the lynching of Black America

Most Americans are likely to be aware of the horrific death of Sonya Massey at the hands of a sadistic police officer. Massey, a 36-year-old Illinois mother, had called 911 because she believed an intruder had entered her home. Two Sangamon County deputies arrived, and one of them, Sean Grayson, began spewing a tirade of profanity-laced threats during an argument over a pot of boiling water she was holding.

Grayson shot Massey at close range as she ducked behind a counter saying she was sorry. In fact, the first thing she said when the officers arrived at her residence was “please don’t hurt me.”

Bodycam footage revealed Grayson, a 30-year-old member of the force, ordered her to her kitchen to turn off a pot of boiling water. My heart almost froze and my ears cringed as I saw and heard him ruthlessly pump six bullets into her petite body. He murdered her as she was holding her pot.

Police department records revealed Grayson had a history of misconduct. Why he was not previously disciplined is disturbing. Grayson has been terminated and charged with first-degree murder. He’s a cold-blooded killer who should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and never see the light of day again.

The truth is Sean Grayson is just a microcosm of the larger issue of violence against Black people. The death of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement has become so commonplace and routine that many of us who are Black have managed to become simultaneously outraged and psychologically numbed. Over the past several years, we have become front row spectators to grainy and, in some cases, graphic footage of police officers engaged in horrific levels of violent behavior toward people of African descent.

The list is endless, including the names Tamir Rice, Ousmane Zongo, Rekia Boyd, Walter Scott, Eric Garner, Kajieme Powell, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and so, so many others. Unfortunately, we now have to include Sonya Massey among a list of victims that had deadly encounters with the people charged to protect them.

Massey’s son, Malachi, told reporters how much he loved his mother’s food and described her as a loving “ball of energy.” The comments were simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Thankfully, Grayson’s defenders seem few and far between. But there are those on the fringe perversely defending his character, citing the fact Massey had a pot of hot water as justification for him to feel physically threatened. Let’s say for the sake of debate he did feel threatened. Did such fear give him permission to fatally pump several bullets into another human being while that person was unarmed? The entire issue is disgraceful.

The undeniable reality is that, since stepping foot on the shores of America, Black lives and bodies have been routinely scrutinized, objectified, sexualized, and racialized. For many in our society, Black people have never been seen as fully human. All too often, we have been seen as men and women who are largely primitive and invisible, denied any degree of humane acknowledgment from mainstream society.

One has to ask whether the average White person is likely to be the victim of such random violence by police officers. The answer is absolutely not! The fact is that

If white people, particularly those in the middle and upper class, were routinely and randomly subjected to police violence and gunned down in the street by law enforcement at the same rate as Black and Hispanic people, there would be calls for congressional hearings and massive demonstrations. Cries of protest would reverberate so loudly and fiercely it would be political suicide for any politician or police force that dared to ignore them. The same social outrage must become a reality for people of color as well.

These killings are modern day lynchings. Such sadistic behavior and wicked disregard for people of color cannot continue.

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.