The King Center Mourns Tyre Nichols’ Death as Nation Witnesses Deadly Beating After Simple Traffic Stop

The King Center Mourns Tyre Nichols’ Death as Nation Witnesses Deadly Beating After Simple Traffic Stop

Time and time again, our nation reckons with radicalized police violence towards predominantly Black and Brown people. This traumatizing reality must be confronted and changed.

Human beings deserve to be treated with respect, including by police officers who wield weapons and can inhumanely weaponize their positions.

Even as Nichols was fighting for his life, the officers and first responders ignored the clear signs indicating that he needed medical assistance. This reprehensible behavior took his dignity and subsequently his life.

This is a deeply rooted cultural and systemic issue that cannot be solved by good thoughts and well-wishes. We must employ a Beloved Community Mindset to transform, and, in some cases, deconstruct, these unjust systems that continue to devastate families and communities.

We call for justice, which is a component of true peace. Justice not only includes accountability for the officers who beat and killed Nichols but must also entail accountability for the system which consistently perpetuates this violence.