A weekend of anger over the police murder of Sonya Massey in Illinois culminated on Sunday with a tearful vigil in Greenwich Village.
The demonstration was part of what organizers called a “National Day of Mourning” for Massey, who was shot and killed by an Illinois sheriff’s deputy in her own kitchen on July 6. Some 30 cities across the country joined in vigils and rallies in somber remembrance of the 36-year-old; New Yorkers joined that rallying call in Washington Square Park on Sunday afternoon by demanding justice for Massey and condemning police brutality.
“This is the hardest thing we have ever been through,” Shadia Massey, cousin of Sonya Massey, said in a press conference.
These words were echoed by many New Yorkers of color gathering not far from the iconic Washington Square Park arch who voiced their own trauma over another instance in which police killed an unarmed Black American.
Clutching signs depicting the faces of other Black women who have been killed during police brutality over the years, speakers at the vigil decried a death they believe only occurred because of the color of her skin.
“They don’t like our flesh because it’s Black, and beautiful, and joyful, and resilient, and it just keeps on bouncing back no matter what this nation delivers to us,” Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis said. “They weaponized the pot on the stove so they can shoot again.”
A large portion of the rally also touched on recent remarks made by former President Donald Trump, who recently declared that he would give police officers immunity. This has left many concerned, especially in light of the Sonya Massey shooting.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams brought his two young daughters to the stage and revealed that he too is concerned over the future and pledged support to Kamala Harris.
“Under a Kamala Harris administration, we can at least lift our voices and try to push accountability without fear of the army coming and killing us — that’s the difference. I want you to understand that there is a difference. And that’s why we have to do what we have to do, not because someone is so great, it is actually because someone is so bad. Trump cannot bring fascism and Nazism back to this country. He just cannot,” Williams said.
