Mourners are gathering in their hundreds today for the funeral of Tyre Nichols, who died following a brutal beating during an arrest stop by Memphis police.
Nichols died in hospital three days after the attack, in a condition his mother described as being “beaten to a pulp.”
Five police officers were fired and charged with murder and their specialized unit has been disbanded, while two more officers have been suspended.
Today however, friends, family and those who have also lost loved ones at the hands of police brutality gathered to remember 29-year-old Nichols, who his stepfather said “wouldn’t lay a finger on anyone”.
His loved ones will remember and celebrate his love for skateboarding, photography and his family.
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Vice President Kamala Harris is also among the congregation at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church today.
Family members of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, victims of high-profile police killings in 2020 in Louisville and Minneapolis will also attend.
Kamala Harris spoke at the service after the Rev. Al Sharpton invited her to the pulpit. She condemned police violence that led to Nichols’ death.
She said: “Hiis violent act was not in pursuit of public safety. Was he not also entitled to the right to be safe?
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“Tyre Nichols should’ve been safe.”
Harris also demanded Congress pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, adding: “We should not delay and we will not be denied, it is nonnegotiable.”
At the beginning of her address, she told Nichols’ parents: “You have been extraordinary in terms of your strength, your courage and your grace, and we mourn with you and the people of our country mourn with you.
“Mothers around the world, when their babies are born, pray to God, when they hold that child, that that body and that life will be safe for the rest of his life.
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“Yet, we have a mother and a father who mourn the life of a young man who should be here today. They have a grandson who now does not have a father.”
Tyre’s funeral comes the day after loved ones and activists gathered at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis – the historic landmark is where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech the night before he was assassinated nearly 55 years ago.
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The service opened with a montage of images of Tyre as child, through to adulthood – as well as some images he had taken through his passion for amateur photography.
The Rev. Al Sharpton thanked the families of other Black people killed at the hands of police, including George Floyd’s family, for joining the service for Tyre Nichols.
Sharpton asked the families to stand as they received applause from the crowd. Sharpton said the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Botham Jean and others were present.
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“They know what it’s like to sit at a funeral like this,” he said.
Nichols worked making boxes at FedEx and made friends during morning visits to Starbucks, and always greeted his mother and stepfather when he returned home with a sunny “Hello, parents!”
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He was the cherished baby of the family, born 12 years after his closest siblings.
His family described how he worked hard to better himself and provide for his son.
Nichols grew up in Sacramento, California, and loved the San Francisco 49ers. He came to Memphis just before the coronavirus pandemic and got stuck.
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Friends at a memorial service last week described him as joyful and kind, quick with a smile, often silly.
“This man walked into a room, and everyone loved him,” said Angelina Paxton, a friend who traveled to Memphis from California for the memorial service.
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Nichols’ funeral will be held at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church beginning at 1 p.m. Central time, its start delayed because of icy weather and travel delays.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, will deliver the eulogy. Ben Crump, a national civil rights attorney who represents the Nichols family, will deliver a call to action.
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Sharpton said the family intends to have a “dignified funeral service, not a marathon.”
“This is not about politics, it’s about justice,” Sharpton said.
“People are coming from all over the world, and we are coming because we’re all Tyre, now.”
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Those expected to be in attendance include Vice President Kamala Harris; Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor; and Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.
The deaths of Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police sparked protests across the nation about racial injustice.
The beating of Nichols happened after police stopped him for an alleged traffic violation Jan. 7.
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Video released after pressure from Nichols’ family shows officers holding him down and repeatedly punching him, kicking him and striking with him batons as he screamed for his mother.
Nichols’ death was the latest in a string of early accounts by police about their use of force that were later shown to have minimized or omitted mention of violent encounters.