Canopy at Tom Lee Park named in remembrance of Tyre Nichols
A smile stretched across Rowvaughn Wells’ face as she looked up at the first plank of wood that was placed on the top of the canopy in the renovated Tom Lee Park.
Wells — the mother of Tyre Nichols, who died three days after being beaten by Memphis police officers on Jan. 7 — was with her husband, Rodney Wells, activists and local officials to sign the slat for the canopy that is now named in memory of her son.
Now known as the “Sunset Canopy,” it will be the park’s main event space overlooking the Mississippi River.
“I know my son is smiling down right now and just jumping for joy,” Rowvaughn Wells said Friday afternoon. “It’s an honor to have this dedicated to our son and his memory.”
In the month since Nichols died, he has been remembered for his love of photography, specifically that of sunsets over the Mississippi River and at Shelby Farms.
“Tyre would love this,” Rodney Wells said. “There was nothing he liked more than watching that sunset on the Mississippi. He’s a California kid, so for him to come out here, to Memphis, and be embraced by all of you is a beautiful thing. This is another historic day. We’ve had quite a few in the past few days, but for our family, I think this is the best one.”
Both Rodney and Rowvaughn Wells were in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. They were invited as his guests. The weekend prior, the couple had flown out to Sacramento for a memorial with some of Nichols’ friends and family in California.
Funding from the Hyde Foundation, a philanthropic organization, helped build the canopy and it was originally named in the Hyde family’s honor.
“It just felt to us like the right thing to do. Rather than name this for us, or anybody else, to give it a name that the community could embrace.” said Barbara Hyde, the chair and CEO of the
Hyde Foundation’s board of trustees. “We all love the sunsets, but it’s also a name that would honor Tyre’s memory, because he loved the sunsets and took those photographs.”
Before the first slat of the canopy was hoisted off the ground and put in place, Rodney and Rowvaughn Wells wrote messages on the board.
“Mommy misses you so much! Love you,” Rowvaughn Wells wrote.
Hyde said she was grateful to have had to chance to met Wells and hold her hand.
“I, personally, feel grateful to have had the opportunity to hold her hand and to express my shared grief,” Hyde said. “She also noticed, when we signed the beam, she said, ‘Oh, look, they’re facing it where he can read it,’ as [construction workers] lifted it up. I’m very grateful to have had that personal moment with her.”
The park is scheduled to open Labor Day weekend this year.
Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @Lucasfinton.
“I know my son is smiling down right now and just jumping for joy. It’s an honor to have this dedicated to our son and his memory.” Rowvaughn Wells
Mother of Tyre Nichols