COLUMN: The Heartbreak of Injustice, Remembering Sonya Massey

By Dr. James S. Bridgeforth, M.Ed. On July 6, 2024, Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old mother known for her boundless love, was brutally taken from us. Her life was extinguished in an act of violence that defies understanding—shot in the face by an Illinois police officer. The details of her death are gruesome: a bullet entered her left eye and exited through her neck killing Ms. Massey. This was not just an act of violence; it was a stark reminder of an ongoing and unforgivable injustice of innocent African Americans murdered by police. Sonya Massey’s death is not an isolated tragedy but part of a grievous pattern. Another name added to the list of innocent African American victims killed by police—George Floyd, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Daunte Wright, Andre Hill, Manuel Ellis, Tanisha Anderson and so many others—that echoes with a chilling consistency that continues to haunt the Black community. Al Jazeera’s article, “Know Their Names: Black People Killed By The Police In The US,” chronicles the heart-wrenching reality that these are not mere statistics, but real lives lost to systemic failings. As each name is read, our shared grief deepens. Our collective sorrow must be matched with a...