In the wake of Tyre’s Nichols’ death and as Black History Month begins, End Abuse calls for systemic change and individual action that fosters healing, transformative justice, and an end to racialized violence.
“Justice goes beyond immediately firing those who murdered Tyre,” said End Abuse Executive Director Monique Minkens, “though that is an appropriate change from the standard we’ve seen, which includes some combination of administrative leave and acquittal of police brutality against Black bodies. Justice looks like the healing and thriving of those against whom violence has been systemically woven into daily life. Justice looks like systems that support all aspects of community and individual health. Justice looks like an end to brutality against those most impacted by white supremacy.”
On January 7, 2023, 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was severely beaten for several minutes by five Memphis Police Department officers during a traffic stop, during which Tyre called out for his mother as he was attacked. After three days of hospitalization in critical condition, Tyre died from these injuries. In the final days of January 2023, following the release of video footage showing the murder, Tyre’s family and local activists call for justice.
“As an anti-violence organization that sees the connections between all forms of violence, End Abuse echoes the demands of Tyre’s community. As we mourn, once again, we are reminded of how the U.S.’s anti-Black history informs the present reality, right down to who survives a routine traffic stop.”
Protests and calls for justice across the country for Tyre – a young photographer and skateboarder described by those who love him as a gentle, kind, and joyful man – come after the January 3 Los Angeles Police Department tasing and killing teacher and father Kennan Anderson, and after Georgia state patrol troopers killed environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terán on January 18.
“This first month of the new year,” said Minkens, “has been overwhelmed by violence. We see how anti-Blackness is internalized by all, regardless of race or ethnicity. State sanctioned violence, including police brutality, is inextricably linked to our work against domestic violence. For survivors of color, our movement’s reliance on carceral systems -including police – in domestic violence response has never been safe, as a whole. We remain determined to build a violence-free future in which racialized and gendered violence no longer live within the systems supposedly intended to ‘protect and serve’ us. Our work continues.”
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CONTACT: Elise Buchbinder | Director of Communications, End Domestic Abuse WI | eliseb@endabusewi.org
End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (End Abuse, www.endabusewi.org) is the leading voice for victims of domestic abuse in Wisconsin. At End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, we educate shelter and program volunteers and advocates, law enforcement, legislators, and community members to provide safety and support to survivors. We strive to shift Wisconsin from the attitudes and beliefs that cause domestic violence to values of mutual respect and equity, and we partner with communities in the effort to prevent and end domestic abuse. We encourage reporters to include the National Domestic Violence Hotline number [1−800−799−SAFE(7233)] in their stories for victims who need help. A list of local Wisconsin domestic violence victim service providers can be found at www.endabusewi.org/get-help