Kamala Harris Calls Families Of Sonya Massey And D’Vontaye Mitchell

"She gave us her heartfelt condolences, and she let us know that she is with us 100%,' said Massey's father, James Wilburn, of Harris' call.

Vice President Kamala Harris took time from her presidential campaign schedule to call the families of Sonya Massey and D’Vontaye Mitchell, both recent victims of racism and police brutality, to send “heartfelt condolences.”

Harris spoke with Massey’s family on July 26, just days after body cam footage showed former Illinois Sheriff deputy Sean Grayson fatally shooting the 36-year-old woman in the face inside her home as she crouched down by her kitchen cabinets. Massey was killed on July 6 after calling the authorities over a suspected prowler in her home. The victim’s father, James Wilburn, said receiving a call from the VP helped him some. “It’s made me feel a lot better today,” Wilburn said.

“She gave us her heartfelt condolences, and she let us know that she is with us 100%, that this senseless killing must stop.”

Massey’s cousin, Shadia, was overwhelmed by Harris’ call, saying it “broke every last one of us down.”

“Out of all the phone calls, all the thousands and thousands of messages, and phone calls and inboxes, this one here really meant the world to our family,” she said. “It was her voice for me. It was just me, being Shadia Massey, and I was able to speak with the vice president of the United States. For her to take time out of her busy schedule to just make that one little phone call to our family, that meant the world to me.”

After describing the moment as “the most amazing thing that’s ever happened in my life,” Shadia knows exactly who she will be voting for in November. “She definitely has my vote,” she added.

Harris also left a voicemail for D’Vontaye Mitchell’s mother, Brenda Giles. Mitchell lost his life on June 30 after being held down on his stomach by security guards outside of a Hyatt hotel in Milwaukee. He was allegedly beaten repeatedly with a retractable baton while witnesses did nothing to intervene. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee can be heard on a recording of the voicemail telling Giles “how very sorry” she was for her loss and more so for the way he died.

Of attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Mitchell’s family, Harris said, “He is a true fighter for justice. But I am thinking about you and I am sending you my prayers and all my best wishes.”

She added during the call, “And I will talk to you sometime soon. Take care. It’s Kamala Harris. Bye-bye.”

The VP, who was called a “childless cat lady” by GOP vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, also had time to deliver her motherly concern to the victim’s 17-year-old son, Malachi Hill Massey, who was overcome with emotion while talking to her. “I really don’t have no words,” the grieving son said. “I got very emotional. Like, I don’t know. I started crying. Like this, this is crazy. I don’t have no words for this, honestly.”

President Joe Biden released a statement regarding Massey’s death, according to The Hill, reiterating that the family deserves justice. He also lit a fire under Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a police reform bill named after the Black man killed by a Minnesota police officer in 2020.

Crump said this is not the first time the Vice President took the time to call the families he represents or has represented in the past. “As busy as she is right now dealing with foreign countries and leaders to say, ‘I won’t forget this Black woman and her family,’ that speaks to her character,” Crump said.

He highlighted that Friday’s call marked the former prosecutor’s persistent commitment to civil rights and justice.