The East Bay Alliance for A Sustainable Economy (EBASE) condemns the brutal murder of Tyre Nichols. We send love to his family and to all families who have lost loved ones to state-sanctioned violence. Our hearts are heavy living in this reality where one more Black life has been unnecessarily and unjustly stolen.
This news of Tyre’s death on top of the recent mass shootings in Los Angeles, Half Moon Bay, Monterey Park and East Oakland are painful and daily reminders of the widespread need for deep care, resources, and healing. We stand with our allies in calls to divest from policing and invest in services that create holistics safety in our communities.
We share this statement on behalf of the Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy (FAME), written by our FAME organizer Reverend Jeremy McCants.
FAME Statement for Tyre Nichols
2023
Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy (FAME), stands in solidarity with the family of Tyre Nichols and calls for the indictment of all involved in the modern day crucifixion of our dear brother, Tyre Nichols. FAME stands and acts in solidarity with low-wage workers, neighbors, immigrants, and all people who struggle for an economy that treats life as sacred. We pursue policies that sustain lives with dignity by improving wages, benefits and working conditions. We bring the gifts of our diverse religious traditions to help us in this struggle and to creatively engage them in our faith-rooted organizing work to build an economy that is just and life-giving in the East Bay.
We are even grateful that with our FAME Oakland Campaign, we have been able to focus specifically on Black lives and workers during these turbulent years. We understand that what happened to Tyre could have happened in the Bay Area. For this reason, we must raise the discipline of accountability for our elected officials and leaders and address the need to reimagine our systems of care and safety.
Tyre Nichols. We say your name. A father to a four-year-old son, who worked for FedEx and was an aspiring photographer. A California son, as he was born in Sacramento but relocated to Memphis in 2020. We hope and pray with our feet that justice will prevail, not just for Tyre, but for all of the generations that will come after Tyre. We come together to imagine and fight for a future that affirms, protects and keeps sacred the life and lives of Black folx. We pray for the Nichols family and for all who have been affected by violence. We pray for the many families who have also been impacted by violence in Los Angeles, Half Moon Bay, Monterey Park, East Oakland, and of those we don’t know. And we recommit ourselves to the work of getting in good trouble, so that Black trauma does not continue to be our daily bread.