National Day of Mourning: Justice for Sonya Massey & Alexander Antonio Lopez
On July 6, a 36-year-old Black woman, Sonya Massey, called 911 to report a suspected intruder at her home. Her first words when she opened her front door to them were “don’t hurt me.” Instead of protecting her, Springfield, Illinois police shot and murdered her inside of her own home. The sheriff who killed her, Sean Grayson, was on duty in his 6th policing job of his career after being disciplined in five previous police departments.
Sonya is more than a victim of the police state. She was a mother, a sister, a daughter and a loving community member. We say her name as we continue to rebuke the paradigm that dying at the hands of the state is an unpreventable leading cause of death for our people.
Join us on Sunday for a vigil, healing ceremony and community gathering. There will be speakers, performers, healing justice practitioners and an open community mic.
As we join in this national day of mourning, we also want to honor the life of Alexander Antonio Lopez who was murdered right in our backyard by SFPD just last weekend.
Antonio was killed in the Tenderloin, in an area where homeless folks are frequently swept. As the state cracks down on people sleeping in the streets with nowhere to go, we call out this murder as part of the state’s efforts to disappear our people in the name of maintaining the illusion that the status quo of white supremacy and violence works for us all. It never has and it never will. We rebuke it in the name of our divine humanity.
Sonya Massey should still be alive. Alexander Antonio Lopez should still be alive. We continue to fight for a better world in their names.