Brother Everett Winchester
Minister of Information for the UNIA-ACL
President UNIA-ACL Baltimore Division 106
email: [email protected]
THE OFFICIAL UNIA-ACL STATEMENT ON THE SONYA MASSEY SHOOTING
On July 6, a 36 year old black female named Sonya Massey was shot and killed in her home by by a white deputy named Sean Grayson of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s office in Woodside Township near Springfield, Illinois. Ms. Massey had placed a 911 call about a possible prowler on her property. Officer Grayson and an unidentified deputy conducted a search around Ms. Massey’s property before entering her home. Once entering the home, deputy Grayson directed Massey to check on the boiling pot of water on her stove, things became more intense, as deputy Grayson screaming he would shoot Ms. Massey in the f- – – ing face”. Deputy Grayson then shot Massey three times, killing her. Following the shooting, Grayson was fired from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s office and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, among other charges.
I know a lot of UNIA members have been waiting on a statement from the HIGH EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ( HEC ) OF THE UNIA-ACL. As Minister of Information for the entire UNIA, I am also a member of the HEC and spoke to our President General personally. Here is his statement which I support 100 percent.
My brothers and sisters, the UNIA-ACL morns the death of sister Sonya Massey. We demand justice for such a horrific crime. As a community we want to have faith that the police department is there to protect us, with a well trained and unprejudiced mindset. But history shows us that for the black community, we cannot expect such things to take place. Far too long, way to many incidents, have shown us that the black community will not get treated the same as other cultures and races. There is a reason why you do not see or hear these issues in the Asian community. You don’t hear or see these things happen in the Jewish community. We must demand justice, but more importantly we must unite to protect ourselves and our community. As Marcus Garvey, the founder of the UNIA-ACL stated, everywhere he went black people were on the bottom. Until we as a people come together with an agenda to uplift ourselves with education, economics, institutions, etcetera, we will continue to let this beast of an oppressor kill us, disrespect us, abuse us, and keep us at his mercy. I ask that you join us in the fight to unify our people under the flag of the UNIA and the colors of the RED, BLACK, AND GREEN. Join us to fight for liberty and justice. Until we truly unify we are just pawns in the game. This police officer should be thrown under the cell. But as we all know, the system does not justly punish crimes of the police on black people. It is our duty to make sure justice will be given for our sister Sonya Massey. But it is also our duty to unify and show strength in our community so that these things will stop happening. Join us! Let’s make a change.
Sincerely,
Michael R. Duncan
President General of the UNIVERSAL NEGRO IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION- AFRICAN COMMUNITIES LEAGUE