USA TODAY International Edition
Sharpton to give eulogy at Nichols funeral
Church’s pastor Turner expects 2,500 and more
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death, the Rev. Al Sharpton called Nichols’ parents to let them know he and the National Action Network – the civil rights organization he founded – would support them in any way they could.
“They asked me if I would come do a eulogy,” Sharpton told The Memphis Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Monday afternoon. “I told them I’d be honored to do it.”
As video footage was released that showed Nichols was brutally beaten – and stories about his life circulated around the nation – his funeral began attracting a number of prominent officials, including a delegation from the White House.
Wednesday’s remarks will not be Sharpton’s first high- profile eulogy, nor will it be the first one he has done for the family of a victim of police brutality. He said he believes he knows the direction his eulogy will take.
“Tyre will be known as one of those police brutality victims that cause the whole nation, if not the whole Western world, to stop and deal with the question of police abuse,” Sharpton said.
He said delivering Nichols’ eulogy is an opportunity to let family, friends, local activists and national politicians know that the fight for justice for Nichols, along with the fight for changes in policing, will not end when the service finishes Wednesday.
“Think about the linchpin that made the ’ 60s civil rights movement work: It’s that they came out with the ’ 64 Civil Rights Act, they came out with the ’ 65 Voting Rights Act,” Sharpton said. “We’ve been able to get state laws passed. We have the movement ( for police reform), but we have not had the legislation at the federal level. It’s like if King got Alabama and Georgia to do things on integration, but not the Civil Rights Act.”
Nichols’ funeral is set for Wednesday at 10: 30 a. m. CST at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. He died Jan. 10, three days after a beating by officers from the Memphis Police Department sent him to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition.
The church’s senior pastor, the Rev. J. Lawrence Turner, said he expects the service to be “at capacity” and has been planning with his church and those close to the family.
“I think there will be north of 2,500 persons there,” Turner said. “Our staff and a committed team of volunteers are working together in coordination with the team from the Crump ( law) firm and the National Action Network to accommodate everyone who is coming to celebrate Tyre Nichols’ life.”
Turner said there will be security at the service, but he expects “everybody to have a safe experience.”
He said he isn’t sure if there will be a strong reaction to the presence of highprofile officials, but he believes it shows a sense of solidarity and will help bring further attention to what happened.
“There is a profound sense of sadness and outrage about what happened to Tyre Nichols,” Turner said, adding that he is grieving as a Black man, with a Black son.
Five of the officers involved in Nichols’ death have been indicted on second- degree murder. Two additional officers were relieved of duties. And three people from the Memphis Fire Department were fired Monday for not providing adequate medical aid to Nichols.
“Inhuman, heinous, vicious, depraved” were the words Turner used in his Sunday service to describe the footage of Nichols being punched, kicked, pepper- sprayed and struck with a baton. The footage was released Friday.
“We’re living in a Good Friday moment,” Turner said Monday. “But a resurrection always is a possibility, and that’s what I believe has to come from this moment. We cannot let Tyre’s death be in vain. We want to get justice for him and his family, but it’s also important that we do the work to make sure this stuff never happens again.”