ROCHESTER — People who attended a vigil for Tyre Nichols Sunday are already taking a step toward preventing police violence, event organizers said.
Nichols, 29, of Memphis, Tennessee, died Jan. 10, 2023, three days after being beaten by Memphis police officers.
Organizers with the Rochester branch of the NAACP, who planned the event, said people must come together to prevent ongoing deaths of Black men at the hands of police.
Attending the Sunday evening vigil at the Rochester Civic Theatre was a good start, they said.
“It means not observing the issue, but doing something,” said Wale Elegbede, president of the Rochester NAACP. “Everyone is needed to stop this.”
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Elegbede read a eulogy for Nichols.
“We see him now as a person,” said Barbara Jordan, secretary of the Rochester branch of the NAACP. “We’ve heard his voice; we know he’s real.”
Jordan read a list of 25 other Black men who also died at the hands of police. She said the list was an incomplete snapshot of a larger reality. Too many Black men have lost their lives to police violence to name during the vigil, she said.
“There are too many names,” she said. “We’d keep you here for hours.”
The list included George Floyd, who was murdered by Minneapolis Police in 2020 and Philando Castile, who was shot and killed by a St. Anthony, Minnesota police officer in 2016.
“Our goal is to ensure that these victims are always remembered as we continue to fight for change,” Jordan said.
People responded, “We are done dying,” as each name was read. They also turned on their cell phone flashlights to create pins of dozens of lights in the black box theater space.
Jordan and Elegbede thanked the approximately 50 people who attended for taking a step toward pushing for change. However, they added being present is the first step toward making change and policy change will come only if people speak up.
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“I plead with you to not keep silent,” Elegbede said.
“We won’t stop until there’s actionable change,” Jordan said.
Hanan Abdelgadir, who is from Sudan, attended the event. She said she found the video of Nichols’ encounter with police disturbing but knew it was a call to action.
“We need to get bigger,” she said. “We need to make our voices louder so we can make the changes that need to be made.”
Tawonda Burks, who also attended the vigil, said as a mother she found Nichols calling out for his mother heartbreaking. Nichols was beaten by police less than a block from where his mother lives.
Jackie Trotter, who has four sons and three grandsons, said she prays for them every morning.
Elegbede said the police killings affect everyone and it’s up to us to push for systemic change.
“We have it within our will to change this,” he said.
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The Trust Project
