02/12/2023
On January 7, 2023, Mr. Tyre Nichols, a young Black man was beaten to death by five Black police officers in Memphis, Tennessee. The horrific, inhumane, and painful nature of his death should remind us of all of the injustices and imbalance of power in law enforcement and policing that plagues our society. The GW University NAACP Chapter wants to recognize this painful loss and extend our deepest condolences to Nichols’ family, friends and community. We do not condone the actions of these police officers and will work closely with others as best possible to ensure that justice is served on behalf of Mr. Tyre Nichols.
This injustice is the kind of event that we within the Black community and beyond can all recognize occurs too frequently in our society, yet we see little being done to end this cycle of young Black men and women dying at the hands of police officers. Tyre Nichols did not deserve to be beaten in the manner he was and to the extent he was because of a traffic violation. His death, along with other similar deaths in this regard, begs the question of whether the institution of policing will ever respect the laws that they “enforce”?
During Black History Month, but most importantly every day of the year, we urge citizens, law enforcement officials, elected officials and community organizers to actively continue these conversations about these issues. Too often we see these fatalities and injuries happen, talk about them for a little while, and continue to operate without paying attention to the action items that need to be put in place to prevent them from reoccurring until the next incident happens. It is a cycle we are all susceptible to, but it really must end now. BLACK MEN AND WOMEN DESERVE THE RIGHT AND RESPECT OF EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER THE LAW LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN SOCIETY! THEY DESERVE TO GROW OLD!