USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Hoping, praying’ for change
Rayshard Books honored by tributes at funeral
ATLANTA – Rayshard Brooks was remembered Tuesday in a private funeral at the church where Martin Luther King Jr. once worshipped amid powerful pleas that the 27- year- old's death in a police shooting would not be in vain.
“It’s very overwhelming, and it’s something that I feel like in my heart should not have happened,” said Glenda Caruthers, who stood outside Ebenezer Baptist Church before the service started. “I may not even know him, but it seems like I do in a way. It saddens my heart, but things like this keep happening in our world today. I’m hoping and praying that there is a change coming so that nothing else like this happens again.”
The Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor at Ebenezer and a Democratic candidate for U. S. Senate, eulogized Brooks. The father of three young girls and a teen stepson, who has been called a "girl dad" by his loved ones, died June 12 hours after celebrating one daughter's eighth birthday. His death came just weeks after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and further stoked outrage and protests over racial injustice.
King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, denounced structural racism in remarks at the funeral and called for demonstrations in support of racial equality to continue.
“If we miss this moment, we will find ourselves returning again and again to a pathway of chaos and selfdestruction,” King said. “So to all of my activists, to all of my organizers and people of good will, we cannot stop our cry for justice and our fight for freedom. We cannot stop our demonstrations until our voices are heard and our demands for police reform are met. We must not stop until white supremacist policies and practices are no longer the order of the day.”
King later paid tribute to her father's “I Have a Dream” speech and declared: “Rayshard Brooks did not die in vain, because justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
A video montage tribute, showing photos of Brooks, often with his family and friends, was broadcast inside the church. A song by Yolanda Adams played while the images shuffled.
Among those at the service were Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller; Stacey Abrams, the former state lawmaker who has been mentioned as a potential running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden; and Jon Ossoff, a young Georgia media executive who broke fundraising records amid an unsuccessful run for Congress in 2017.
Some mourners wore T- shirts with Brooks’ picture. Nearly everyone wore face masks to protect against the coronavirus.
“We demand police reform,” Warnock said in the eulogy. “We need police reform, God knows we do. But hear me. ... This is much bigger than the police. Police brutality is as predictable as it is tragic. We will always have police brutality as long as we remain a nation committed to mass incarceration.
"Systemic racism is the framework. Mass incarceration is the beast. And all beasts have to be fed. The escalation of encounters between police and citizens is the means through which the beast is fed.”
Outside the church on Tuesday, a Jumbotron was placed in front of the bell tower to stream the service. A livestream was also offered for others to observe online.
Brooks' family attorney, L. Chris Stewart, said last week that comedian and actor Tyler Perry would pay the funeral costs. The private service came one day after hundreds lined up for a public viewing at Ebenezer. Brooks was to be buried in Atlanta.
Brooks died after an altercation with police who were responding to a call about a man being asleep in his car while in line at a Wendy's drivethrough. He failed a sobriety test and was being handcuffed when he struggled to get away from police. Video from the scene shows Brooks fleeing with an officer's Taser when an officer shoots him from behind. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office ruled Brooks' death a homicide.
Brooks was not among the church’s 6,000 members, but his death sparked protests in Atlanta and beyond.
Founded in 1886, Ebenezer Baptist Church was Martin Luther King Jr.’ s church for most of his life. His father was the pastor there for 44 years, and King served as co- pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. The funeral for the civil rights leader was held at the historic church site.
It is home to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site and includes several buildings around the King home on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta's historic Sweet Auburn district.
Will Brooks' death bring change? “I know it will,” McCoy said. “Not just his death, but the movement that’s going on right now in America, to bring more light to Black lives. It’s going to change because it’s already in effect.”