On the early morning of July 6th, Sonya Massey, a resident of Woodside Township, Illinois, suspected a presence outside her home which was located three hours southwest of Chicago. As a result, she called the local sheriff’s emergency number for assistance. The operator delegated two deputies to examine the safety of her property.
Patrol officer Sean Grayson, who was leading the operation, proceeded to knock on Massey’s door after completing the inspection. Almost five minutes had passed before she answered, possibly contributing to Grayson’s emerged aggressiveness due to the delay. Alternatively, he could have been disturbed by her lack of engagement and apparent confusion, as he later mentioned that she was having difficulties adhering to simple conversation. It could have also simply been the instinctive reaction of a towering, muscular police officer standing over a petite woman situated at the entrance of her dilapidated house, following a seemingly unnecessary emergency call.
Rather than notifying her that all was safe and departing the scene, Grayson questioned her tardiness in answering the door. He also enquired about the ownership of a car positioned next to the house and, upon receiving a negative response, tasked his partner with verifying the car’s plates. Furthermore, he asked for her driving license and accompanied her inside the house as she retrieved it.
They entered a dimly lit room which was divided into a living area, crowded with two sofas, and a kitchen by a countertop. Massey spent a minute or two searching through her handbag for her license whilst sat on one of the sofas, Officer Grayson standing before the other with a clear view into the kitchen. It was here he spotted a pan of water simmering on the stove, which he perceived could pose a threat. He subsequently instructed her to turn it off.
She rose from the sofa, strolled to the stove, turned it off, and proceeded to drain the contents of the pan into the sink. Although she was a good 15ft distance from Grayson, he retreated a step. When she enquired why he was backing away, he responded, “To avoid your boiling water.”
“You’re dismissed in the spirit of Christ,” she countered, her voice so monotone it might have been a religious invocation.
“What?” was Grayson’s response. Again, she dismissed him, maintaining the same tone.
Suddenly, he was yelling at her that she “must not” carry out an act he left unspecified, threatening to end her life if she dared. She didn’t move but looked up from the sink, turning her gaze to him. He pulled out his duty firearm, pointed it at her, and ordered her to “release the damned pan.” She ducked, instead of obeying. He sidestepped the counter that had been between them, shouting at the top of his voice about the pan. A furious white police officer was moving towards a frightened African-American woman when a gunshot to her head left her deceased.
This incident took place four years after George Floyd’s murder by a police officer ignited one of the largest public demonstrations ever witnessed in U.S. history. The massive impact of Black Lives Matter is undeniable, attracting an estimated 12% of Americans to join at least one related protest in summer 2020, exceeding the total protest participation of the 1960s by 2%. The backlash sparked by Floyd’s death seemed to jolt the U.S. into a long-overdue racial introspection, not seen since the apex of the 1960s civil rights movement. Cities were compelled to dismantle statues glorifying the Confederacy and other relics of the nation’s prejudiced history. Institutions reassessed their syllabuses while companies established diversity initiatives. Furthermore, it embodied the potential to shake the racially biased judicial system that has guided the American concept of justice for years.
However, it abruptly crumbled.
Critics have fairly pointed out that the very cause was its own downfall, by primarily advocating for a deeply unpopular campaign to deplete police funding. Nonetheless, the demonstrations also yielded tangible suggestions, including a bill proposed by then-senator Kamala Harris in June 2020. This legislation aimed to leverage the federal government’s power to meaningfully transform local law enforcement agencies.
The proposed Bill was met with strong Republican resistance, typical of the movement’s prevalent challenges. Trump led the offensive during the pinnacle of the summer’s commotion with a confident display taking centre stage in the public area, directly opposite the White House. His autumn presidential campaign was persistently marked by the image of uncontrolled anarchy ignited by radical demonstrators who, as he claimed, had ravaged the central city areas and posed a threat to outlying suburbs. Meanwhile, other Republicans readied themselves for a grim post-election campaign to depict newly proposed educational and diversity policies as dangerous representations of inverse racism, aimed at indicting white individuals for transgressions they had not carried out.
While these contentions were entirely absurd, they resonated with perennial racial attitudes deeply ingrained within the nation. Over numerous decades, white Americans have historically viewed black Americans, especially black men, as inherently violent. Simultaneously, they have seen racism as a significant yet distant concern, detached from their personal experiences. These views significantly shaped their understanding of 2020. A summer survey revealed that 75% of white respondents deemed the protests following Floyd’s death as notably violent, even though more than 90% of these demonstrations were peaceful. Also, while half of the white respondents acknowledged the existence of systemic racism in the US, over 70% felt that their local communities treated blacks and whites equally.
These perceptions were not enough to secure Trump’s re-election in November 2020. However, they did compromise the movement’s backing which, by the end of the year, had decreased by 12 points from its high point during the summer.
The post-election backlash from the Republicans compounded the issue. In the early part of 2021, they induced nation-wide fear over purported attempts by teachers to indoctrinate pupils with radical racial theories. This led to the passing of laws restricting schools’ abilities to educate about race in 28 states. An additional eight states implemented bans on diversity training in public institutions. Consequently, that autumn, the police reform Bill that Harris and her fellow sponsors had proposed the year before was quashed by Senate Republicans. It has not been put forth for voting since then.
Data reveals a worrying rise in fatalities from police shootings during the last three years. As per statistics, the count increased from 1,050 in 2021 to 1,161 by 2023. In the present year, the figure stands at 730; maintaining this trajectory, 2024 risks being the record year for lethal police incidents. Disturbingly, black Americans are disproportionately represented in this trend, marking a racial discrepancy. Of the 143 black individuals who were fatally shot by the police in 2024, the figure rose to 162 in just under two months. Blacks account for 22% of this year’s fatalities, despite only making up 12% of the US population.
During one such event, officer Grayson did not have his body camera activated during his confrontation with a victim named Massey. Nonetheless, substantial footage was available from his colleague’s camera. The local prosecutor used this evidence to accuse Grayson of first-degree murder, and subsequently made the footage public. Despite Grayson pleading his innocence, small protests have ensued, leading to high-profile reproofs from key political figures like President Joe Biden and Vice-President, who linked the incident to systemic racism in the US justice system.
However, it appears unlikely that Vice President Kamala Harris will prioritise racial reform in her presidential bid. It seems she is more focused on challenging Trump’s persistent law and order rhetoric by emphasizing her background as a staunch prosecutor. Notably, eight weeks after Massey’s death, there lacks a significant public outcry to remember her name or demand justice.
Kevin Boyle, a respected author and history professor at Northwestern University in Illinois, is scheduled to speak publicly at the University of Galway in Dungloe, Co Donegal, on August 31st, followed by an appearance at Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop in Galway on September 3rd.