Who was Sonya Massey? I have searched Google for Sonya's story twenty pages deep. I know Sonya was a mother and a graduate. I know Sonya was a daughter from the heart-wrenching cries of her parents. I know Sonya was deeply loved by her family, rallying for justice. And I know she was senselessly and violently murdered by Deputy Sean Grayson, whose background I know more of than Sonya Massey’s.

My mind flashes back to Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. I can say their names and vividly recall the circumstances surrounding their tragic deaths, but I know very little about the whole lives they led before their murders, offhand.

The blatant disregard for our person, our bodies, our womanhood, and our motherhood was supported by law in the year 1662; the history of violence inflicted on Black women woven into the American flag.  

Too often, the media sensationalizes our tragic endings, dismissing our beginnings and in-betweens. Upon our arrival in colonial America, we were stripped of our identity, culture, names, tribes, and stories. Black enslaved persons were often buried nameless and faceless. Why...?  Because identity defines our personhood and humanness and gives us a sense of belonging, respect, and regard as human beings.

I pray for justice for Sonya Massey, I pray for her family’s healing and our nation's healing, and I pray and hope we remember not just her name and the circumstances surrounding her murder but that we remember her life!

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We celebrate your life, Sonya Massey!

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Sheryl Mallory-Johnson