Leaders Continue to Plead for Justice
Religious leaders made collective legislative appeals amidst their grief. Among them was Church of God in Christ Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard, who issued a statement.
“We unequivocally applaud the daily commitment of most police officers and appreciate their willingness to put their lives on the line,” Sheard said in the statement. “However, we cannot ignore that many individuals have experienced unjust targeting, humiliation, loss of physical freedom, physical harm, and even death at the hands of relatively few officers.”
On the first day of Black History Month, Feb. 1, people gathered for Nichols’ funeral. The service blended prayers with pleadings for reform. Vice President Kamala Harris was among the speakers at the funeral.
“Mothers around the world, when their babies are born, pray to God when they hold that child that that body and that life will be safe for the rest of his life,” the vice president said. “Yet we have a mother and a father who mourn the life of a young man who should be here today.”
Solutions Sought in the Wake of Tyre Nichols’ Death
Racial tension, brutality, and the desperate need for justice require a “holistic approach,” according to one Mississippi pastor. Bartholomew Orr, senior pastor of Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, recently spoke with the Baptist Press about how to move forward.
“I believe the consensus is that the police chief (Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis) and the D.A. (Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy) have acted appropriately in this situation,” said Orr. “No one can control anyone, and unfortunately we’re going to always have this issue because we’re dealing with human beings and they’re flawed. Their hearts are flawed and we just need ways that when this happens, we can be able to deal with it.”
Author James Emery White, who also pastors Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, has often publicly shared his views on racial reconciliation, justice, and mercy.
When referencing the murders of Tyre Nichols and George Floyd, White shared, “… no matter how much we talk about it, or how much we legislate it, or how much we take to the streets about it, … nothing changes. But I will take the risk. I will name the disease, and I will name the cure. The disease is the human heart.”
White argues that the disease manifests in many ways—including murder. The disease causes humans to harass others, to engage in road rage, and to treat fellow humans with anything other than love, grace, and respect.
“The disease is a calloused human heart toward other humans, and there is only one cure for that,” White wrote. “And that cure is Jesus.”
