Al Sharpton speaks at Tyre Nichols funeral

The funeral of Tyre Nichols was held on Wednesday in Memphis, Tennessee. Those who were in attendance included Vice President Kamala Harris, White House Director for the Office of Public Engagement Keisha Lance Bottoms, Senior Advisor to the President Mitch Landrieu, as well as Al Sharpton, who had been chosen to deliver the eulogy.

The plans for Sharpton to speak at the funeral were made when his organization, the National Action Network, called Nichols’ parents and offered their support after his death. He was then asked to give the eulogy and he accepted it.

He spoke for about 20 minutes to a crowd of about 400 people who cheered him on, some standing with raised fists. The funeral service was nationally broadcasted across major news networks.

During his speech, Sharpton called out the five black officers who had been charged in the death of Nichols, saying that they had betrayed their brother and everyone who had worked to help get them where they are, as well as calling what they did “insulting and offensive.”

“There’s nothing more insulting and offensive, to those of us that fight to open doors, that you walked through those doors and act like the folks we had to fight for to get you through them doors,” he said. “you didn’t get on the police department by yourself.”

He also called out the entire police department claiming that they keep the crime down on the “white side” of town and treat them better and with more respect than in the black community.

He went on to say that he believes if Nichols had been white, then “you wouldn’t have beat him like that.”