Alvin Motley laid to rest

‘Why would he shoot a man that says, ‘Can we talk like men’’

At the funeral service for Alvin Motley Jr., relatives recalled Motley’s significance in their lives, civil rights attorney Ben Crump renewed his call for a grocer’s accountability, and civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton spoke of systemic racism that undergirds the shooting deaths of unarmed Black men and women.

Motley was shot and killed in Memphis on Aug. 8, during an argument with a security guard working at a Kroger gas station. The guard, Gregory Livingston, is currently in custody awaiting a preliminary court hearing on a charge of second-degree murder.

According to Memphis police, Livingston shot Motley as he was approaching him with a beer in one hand, and a cigarette in another. The pair had been arguing over the volume of the music from the car Motley was a passenger in.

Sharpton and Crump joined clergy, friends, and family members at Freedom Baptist Church in the Chicago area for Motley’s funeral Wednesday.

As they have done before, family members laid

emphasis on Motley’s reported last words, “Let’s talk about this like men.”

Alvin Motley Sr. reiterated that his son’s last words were not a threat. Motley was unarmed when he approached Livingston. Building off of the elder Motley’s remarks, Sharpton leveled his view of why Livingston, who is white, felt empowered enough to shoot Motley in his chest.

“Why would he shoot a man that says, ‘Can we talk like men,” Sharpton asked. “It’s because of a mentality that is supported and upheld by systematic discrimination. You don’t have to talk to people that you think are beneath you, you can execute them and not think anything about it.”

Crump, as he did in his initial visit to Memphis after being retained by the Motley family, floated the idea of a boycott. Kroger, in Crump’s approximation, has a role in Motley’s death as the grocer contracted the security company that hired Livingston.

Sharpton echoed Crump’s call to deprive the grocer of “Black dollars” until they properly compensate the Motley family.

“Pay the community, pay the family. Because justice would be us not even standing here. You’d think Kroger would have done some screening, to make sure people they contracted were not people that would just grab a gun and shoot. That’s why Kroger has to be a target in this,” Sharpton said.

It’s unclear what legal action Motley’s family plans to take against the chain grocery store.

Prior to Motley’s funeral, Crump called for the special prosecutor assigned the case to release the security footage of the shooting, which police say shows Motley walking towards Livingston unarmed.

Livingston’s defense attorney, Leslie Ballin, said in court Tuesday that the video’s release to the general public would taint his client’s chances at a fair trial. Ballin als

Livingston is due in court again on Sept. 28.

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.

SUBMITTED Alvin Motley, Jr., seen here in a photo provided by Ben Crump’s law firm, was shot and killed in Memphis at a Kroger gas station. Police say a security guard fired at Motley as he was walking toward him in a dispute about playing music too loudly.

/ ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR SCOTT P. YATES The Rev. Al Sharpton and attorney Benjamin Crump and members of the Motley family speak during a news conference before a funeral service for Alvin Motley, Jr. on Wednesday in Hillside, Ill.

PHOTOS BY SCOTT P. YATES / ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Alvin Motley Jr.’s funeral service at Freedom Baptist Church on Wednesday, in Hillside, Ill.

Solo singer Latanya Hughes performs over the casket of Alvin Motley, Jr..