‘He was robbed of his life’: in Memphis, tributes to Tyre Nichols – and a call to action

Hundreds braved the cold in Tennessee to grieve the 29-year-old Black motorist who died after being beaten by five officers

On a frigid Wednesday afternoon, RowVaughn Wells looked into the crowd of hundreds inside the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, and gave her own call to action in the funeral service for her son Tyre Nichols, who was beaten to death by Memphis police earlier this month. Her voice cracked as she joined a fellowship of other Black mothers who lost their children to police violence over the years.

Wells remembered her son as a beautiful person", adding that for this to happen to him is unimaginable".