“We still haven’t gotten justice and it’s time.”

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Dameon Johnson of Springfield said he did not know Sonya Massey.

But when Johnson, chairman of the East Springfield Community Center Commission, heard that a New York City group was organizing a nationwide day of mourning for Massey, the 36-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot in her home in an unincorporated section of Woodside Township on July 6, he knew he had to act.

“Everything I’ve read, everything I’ve seen, she’s like my little sister and I have a personal connection to this issue, to this tragedy,” Johnson told a crowd of about 300 to 350 people at Comer Cox Park on Sunday. “Look, this is ground zero (for this). When you look around here, it’s truly astonishing.”

Many in attendance wore purple, Massey’s favorite color, and wore shirts that read “Say Her Name: Sonya Massey.”

Afterward, the crowd marched to Bunn Park, closing Clear Lake Avenue for about 45 minutes.

Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean P. Grayson, 30, was charged with murder and pleaded not guilty in Sangamon County Superior Court on July 18. He remains in custody.

The chaotic and sometimes gruesome bodycam footage, made public on July 22, prompted an investigation by the US Department of Justice.

KJ Moore of Springfield said she lived several blocks from Massey.

Moore, like Massey, had a daughter who had a mental health crisis last spring.

Springfield police came twice within 48 hours, but Moore said, “They showed compassion. If I hadn’t been an advocate or a voice for her, the same thing could have happened. It would have been a totally different scenario.

“Mental illness is real and as part of police training that is something that is relevant.”

Police had been at Massey’s home the day before the shooting because of a mental illness. A family member said at a news conference last week that Massey had been diagnosed with “paranoid schizophrenia.”

Joe Feiden of Springfield came to Sunday’s meeting carrying a sign that read “Campbell Resigns,” a reference to Sheriff Jack Campbell, who has come under fire for his appointment of Grayson.

“The Illinois Constitution does not allow for impeachment,” Feiden said. “A sheriff can be impeached if a lynching occurs while someone is in his custody. I would argue that this is a modern-day lynching.”

Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, grew up with members of the Massey family.

While she said she was proud of how respectful the Springfield community has been in its response to the shooting, “we’re going to do what we have to do to hold everybody accountable, every person accountable, because there are layers to this thing. We’re going to peel back this onion.”

Austin Randolph, president of the Springfield NAACP, said there was “no excuse, no explanation, no reason for Ms. Massey not to be here today.

“We have to be peaceful. We have to be positive. We have to help each other, but we have to keep our eyes on the prize.”

Massey’s mother, Donna, thanked the crowd for their support.

“This isn’t just for Sonya,” she said. “This is for all of us. We still haven’t gotten justice and it’s time.”

Union Baptist Church pastor Rev. T. Ray McJunkins said he praised the peaceful nature of the protests in Springfield, but that “we’re still ignoring the fact that we’re hurting and grieving. (The listening session) gives us an opportunity to come forward and say, ‘I’m shocked that this is still happening.’

“I want the community to speak out because it’s so easy to point fingers and blame someone.”

Ccontact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; [email protected]; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

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