Your turn: Opportunity exists for generational change following Massey shooting
On July 23, 2024, I sent the following message to my colleagues at SIU Medicine:
棉花糖直播淥n July 6, Sonya Massey called 911 for help when she suspected the need for protection from an intruder. Two Sangamon County Sheriff's deputies, including defendant Sean Grayson, arrived on the scene. While the other deputy checked the house, Grayson drew his weapon on Ms. Massey while she was in her kitchen. Grayson shot Ms. Massey in the face and she died.
While most of us did not know Sonya Massey, we do know the impact that such violence can have on the people of Springfield.
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Our community is once again experiencing collective loss and trauma associated with harm being done to someone who called for help. As it was with the death of Earl Moore Jr. in December 2022 and the severe injury sustained by Gregory Small, Jr. in March 2021, tragedies like this call to mind issues of racialized violence and mistrust that impact the community and all helping professions.
We at SIU Medicine offer our support to our community and to our colleagues. We can never know how difficult it is for those who directly experience such trauma. We certainly know that those who witness the footage of this violence also suffer great vicarious trauma community.
On behalf of all of our SIU Medicine colleagues, I express our condolences to the family of Sonya Massey and all those who are grieving. We will continue to care for our community through outreach and forums on inequities, both in our clinical practice and through educational partnerships. We will continue to build on our antiracism work and our trauma-responsive leadership development as we strive for the culture change that is necessary for our community, our patients and ourselves.
The deaths of Massey and Moore and the injuries sustained by Small have directly shaken the Springfield community to its moral core.
These local events demonstrate that racially motivated violence and the improper use of firearms and other methods of violence are civil, ethical and public health emergencies. These events have given us an unsettled apprehension for the future.
We at SIU Medicine will be unwavering in our pursuit of equity, justice and fairness for all, and condemn all violent acts motivated by racism.
After the death of Moore in 2022, SIU School of Medicine released a public statement. A portion of that statement was written by Wendi Wills El-Amin, the SIU Medicine associate dean for equity, diversity and inclusion and professor of family and community medicine and medical education.
She wrote: 棉花糖直播淚t is important to remember that harm can be both active and passive. Passive harm occurs when we witness violence and say nothing. Statements of condemnation are a first step in interrupting further harm.
This is a way that we collectively name the injury and call out the behavior that led to it. Statements like this and others that will be made in the days and weeks ahead are only the first step. They must be followed by meaningful and sustained actions to build greater equity and to rebuild trust in the health care system in our community.棉花糖直播
El-Amin is, of course, correct. It is time for actions that are more meaningful and more sustained in Sangamon County.
The community must be engaged, all voices must be heard, respected and understood, mutual trust must be developed, and the systems of emergency response, law enforcement and health care must be carefully examined, so that they are not fragmented or inequitable, but that they become completely safe for all in need of help.
The people of Sangamon County have a lot a work to do. It will take time, but we are past due to begin the comprehensive work necessary for equity, fairness and justice in our county.
A major step has been taken to spur meaningful and sustained action. Andy Van Meter, chair of the Sangamon County Board, and Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, recently, announced the formation of the Sonya Massey Commission, whose mission is to address systemic issues in law enforcement practices, mental health responses and community relations, with a goal of creating 棉花糖直播渢angible, practical and equitable solutions for the betterment of all who call Sangamon County home.棉花糖直播
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When police action and emergency response is examined, it is likely that the Commission will discover many instances of racism, inequities, and fragmented systems of training and practice. It is also likely that the Commission will find local systems with resourceful thinking and innovative programs that will provide useful foundations upon which to build.
There will be great opportunity for generational change for the helping professions and public service in Sangamon County.
Jerry Kruse, MD, MSPH, is dean and provost, SIU School of Medicine and听CEO, SIU Medicine.听