by Zakiyyah Muhammad
MEMPHIS—It was a silent, eerie, and bitterly cold evening on January 7 as the family of Tyre Nichols, activists, and community members gathered to commemorate and honor the young, Black man’s memory. Despite standing in below-30-degree weather ahead of a snowstorm, those who gathered to demand full justice still remain resilient.
“Two years ago, my brother lost his life right here on this corner. Two years ago, I was on the phone with my mother wondering what was taking him so long since she made his favorite meal.
My family had to not only sit through federal court for a month, we had to walk within feet where the murderers who killed my brother,” Kianna Dixon, sister of Tyre Nichols, told the crowd at the vigil, held in Memphis.
“We had to sit and listen to medical examiners name 50 plus abrasions, bruises and scars to my brother’s body. We had to sit and we had to listen to officers’ testimony that my brother was never a threat and that he had a bad day.
We had to sit and listen to my brother’s screams and cries. But tonight we stand, we stand together and we stand for accountability and justice for my little brother.”
The tragic death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black FedEx worker and beloved son of Rowvaughn and Rodney Wells, following a violent arrest by Memphis police officers in January 2023, sparked widespread outrage and renewed calls for police reform.
Mr. Nichols was pulled over for a traffic stop on January 7, 2023. The encounter escalated, leading to a brutal beating by five Memphis police officers:
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith. Mr. Nichols sustained critical injuries and died three days later in the hospital. The release of bodycam footage documenting the violent arrest ignited public anger and sparked protests across the nation and internationally.
The incident reignited conversations about police brutality, systemic racism, and the need for accountability within law enforcement. All five former Memphis police officers were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.
A federal jury convicted three of the former Memphis police officers of some federal civil rights violations. Two of the officers pleaded guilty and testified against the others.
Desmond Mills Jr. pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Emmitt Martin III also pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, and Justin Smith were found guilty of federal felonies related to Nichols’ death by a federal jury in October 2024. However, the verdicts were mixed, with some officers acquitted of the harshest charges. Currently, the state criminal trial for the five former officers is ongoing.
Community leaders in attendance at the vigil included Tennessee District 86 Representative Justin J. Pearson; Shelby County General Sessions County Clerk Tami Sawyer; Attorney Benjamin Crump; activist Kareem Ali of the Ben Crump Law Firm;
Student Minister Abdul Muthakkir Muhammad of Mosque No. 55 and Amber Nicole of Decarcerate Memphis. James Wilburn, the father of Sonya Massey, a Black woman fatally shot by a police officer in her home near Springfield, Illinois, in July 2024, traveled to Memphis to pay respect and support the Wells family.
“I work in those courtrooms and jails every day and I watch injustice happen as we are preparing to evict 50,000 or more people in 2025 weather like this, in the heat in the summer, as we, as a city, continuously deny justice and the rights of Black people to live,” said County Clerk Sawyer to the crowd while addressing injustices in Shelby County, which includes Memphis.
“We don’t pay for the housing on the homes filled with lead paint. We don’t pay for the schools where children are currently attending, such as Overton High without heat. But when our Black boys and girls turn 18, we put them on the streets and we deny their personhood. We call them criminals. We denounce them,” she added.
Student Minister Abdul Muthakkir Muhammad provided a spiritual word to the family and community members gathered. “This country is in trouble for the treatment of His (God’s) people,” he said. He also offered condolences to the family of Mr. Nichols.
He also explained as taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan that true justice will not come from political administrations but will come from God.
“I think that we’re going to have to call on the God, the Most High God, to render justice to us,” said Student Min. Muhammad.
In April 2023, Decarcerate Memphis and many local activists with the support of the Tyre Nichols family advocated for Ordinance 5849, known as the “Driving Equality Act in Honor of Tyre Nichols.”
The ordinance was passed while former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland was in office. One of the demands in the ordinance included data transparency on police activity and an end to pretextual traffic stops.
However, many demands have yet to be implemented despite a unanimous vote of 11-0. In December 2024, a Department of Justice report demonstrated findings that the Memphis Police Department routinely discriminates against Black civilians (See The Final Call, Vol. 44 No. 12).
The Tyre Nichols case has faced multiple delays in trial dates at the federal, state and local levels. Recently, the trial date for the $550 million civil lawsuit against the city of Memphis was reset a second time for July 2026. It was previously set for March 2025 with the original trial date for January 27 of this year.
Rodney and RowVaughn Wells share their reflections and how they have been holding up since the tragic day of January 7, 2023.
“You know, there’s been highs and there’s been some horrible lows, you know. In the beginning we had to walk our family through a lot. We’re getting stronger, but we’re not there.
I don’t know when we’re going to get there, but we’re going to keep striving to get there,” Mr. Wells said. The vigil took place at the intersection of Raines and Ross Streets.
“This corner right here, you know, we stayed three doors down. Our son didn’t make it. And you know what’s the sad part about it? If our son did not get killed, he would be in jail for something he didn’t do. How many kids are out there? They’re in jail for something they didn’t do for a quota?” explained Mr. Wells.
“I won’t be able to hug my son. I won’t be able to get a text from my son. I won’t get a happy Mother’s Day or anything. And it finally, the reality finally set in,” shared Mrs. Wells.
“And I just want to say thank you to this whole community. Like I said, the city of Memphis did something very special for me and my family, but the community of Memphis has left their arms around us.”