The incoming New Year has brought many unfortunate global and national events. There are so many crisis we are facing as a country and around the world that I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the horrifying death and police brutality of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee.
Five Black police officers -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith -- are now facing charges for that very dreadful night on January 7. My sincerest and deepest condolences are with the entire Nichols family as we pray for healing and understanding as the investigation continues to move forward. Our family will stay In continued prayer for all the suspected parties involved and my hope is that repentance will fill the hearts of those responsible for Tyre Nichols death.
We are living in a time now that we as a society are losing our humanity for our fellow man, we all have a responsibility in the light of human decency to be just towards one another and value our human and civil rights that we are honored to have as citizens of the United States of America.
Seeing Nichols fighting for his life and being completely neglected not just by officers of the law but also by emergency medical workers and others brought up many past and very hurtful emotions. Watching Black men exhibit barbaric behavior towards another Black male is something that we in Black America have been fighting for years to address with our epidemic of Black-on-Black violence that has been taking place for decades now in many cities around the country.
Growing up on the East Coast in the height of the years of the Drug War and Mass Incarceration, I along with all of my Black brethren were subject to constant stop-and-frisk, checkpoints and total abuse by many police officers who would constantly push us around and beat on us while we were constantly called the N- word and other racial epithets while trying to honor all their many commands. The extreme tension we were under in our communities many days was just unbearable and literally made you feel that your life never mattered and that no one ever cared about what we were facing in our daily lives.
This scar of trauma Is something many African Americans have learned to just compartmentalize and suppress deep within in order to cope and survive in modern American society. Hip hop legend, philosopher and teacher KRS ONE, one of the great authors of the “Stop the Violence Movement” back in 1993, wrote about “Black Cops” and their involvement in being a tool to suppress our communities, something we have just witnessed In Memphis with this special task force called the “Scorpion Unit.”
I believe fully in law and order to protect the innocent and to have a just and orderly society. We are in desperate need in our nation for the men and women in uniform whom have vowed to protect and serve to police our communities with dignity and respect. The consequences grow greater each year with the loss of life, destabilized communities and deep mistrust for law enforcement officials.
The death of our own family member, Andrew Brown Jr. of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, to police violence, along with the unfortunate deaths of now Tyre Nichols, George Floyd, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor and so many other victims over the past several years could be a true teaching moment to the state of Utah and the Salt Lake City region to analyze and learn from.
Utah is rapidly growing and will surely increase its diverse population over the coming years. By the year 2033, in just a short decade from now, Utah will look more like the diverse populations of Texas and California. Law enforcement must prepare now for the rapid change that’s coming.
Memphis has always been the city and crossroads for change for we as African Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave some of his most prophetic and encouraging speeches to motivate and make America move towards becoming a better nation along with advancing civil rights.
Black America, it is time we take a look at ourselves in the mirror. Black lives will matter to no one else unless we take accountability and responsibility for where we are in this period in time. We can’t expect other ethnic and racial groups to continue to march and protest for our equal human and civil rights unless we eradicate Black on Black violence in all areas of our lives, from police violence, domestic violence, drug, gun and homicide violence.
Black Lives Matter must be first honored and preserved by us in Black America. Once we do the work to end the violence amongst ourselves and one another, then we will be able to obtain police reform and legislation that will make our communities safe and also respected by society as a whole. Amen.
Pastor Andre' Miguel Boyd
Pastor Andre’ M. Boyd is the founder and pastor of Tuviah Christian Ministries. He and his wife, Leona (Sunshine) Boyd are also apart of the Fellowship of Prophetic Churches and Ministries out of Northern Virginia in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., metropolitan region. Their son Jordan Micah serves in the United States Air Force, where as a family they currently reside in Farmington, Utah.