MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – The funeral for Tyre Nichols began with host of drummers who marched into the sanctuary of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church singing, “We love you, Tyreeeee.” There was a beautiful obituary designed by Angeliq Creations, filled with pictures of Nichols and photos that he took during his career as a photographer.
“People have a story to tell,” Nichols once said, as quoted in the program. “Why not capture it [in pictures] instead of doing the ‘norm’ and writing it down or speaking it?”
The 29-year-old is survived by his son, Milo.
The service was the latest platform for social justice leaders to voice objections to the way Nichols died, as a result of being beaten by multiple Memphis police officers during a traffic stop on Jan. 7. The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy and special guest Vice President Kamala Harris spoke as well with similar messages of how to move forward after Nichols’ tragic loss.
“I was, as a senator — as a United States senator — a co-author of the original George Floyd Justice in Policing Act,” Harris said. “And as vice president of the United States, we demand that Congress pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Joe Biden will sign it. And we should not delay, and we will not be denied. It is nonnegotiable.”
Harris even cited the Bible as a way to further justify the next tangible steps to end the issue of police brutality in America, with family members of Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd also present.
“Luke 1:79, which tells us God will help us to shine a light ‘upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace'” Harris said. “Let our memory of Tyre shine a light on the path toward peace and justice.”
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 is a bill that would hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct, limit qualified immunity as a defense to liability, and allow the Department of Justice to have subpoena power in pattern-or-practice investigations.
“It establishes a framework to prevent and remedy racial profiling by law enforcement at the federal, state and local levels,” a summary of the bill reads on congress.gov. “It also limits the unnecessary use of force and restricts the use of no-knock warrants, chokeholds and carotid holds.”
The House passed the bill in March 2021, but the Senate hasn’t voted on it yet, as of Feb. 2, 2023.
“George Floyd was murdered almost a year ago,” President Joe Biden said in April 2021, according to NBC News. “It shouldn’t take a whole year to get this done.”
