ATLANTA (AP) — Scores of mourners, some dressed all in white and others wearing Black Lives Matter shirts, gathered at the historic Atlanta church that was the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s pulpit for a funeral Tuesday for the Black man whose killing by police in a fast-food parking lot stoked protests across the U.S. against racial injustice.
“We are here because individuals continue to hide behind badges and trainings and policies and procedures rather than regarding the humanity of others in general and Black lives specifically,” the Rev. Bernice King, the civil rights leader’s daughter, said at the private service at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
She noted ruefully that the killing took place in Atlanta, the “Black mecca” and “the city that is supposed to be `too busy to hate.’”
But in a powerful echo of her father’s “I Have a Dream” speech, she declared: “Rayshard Brooks’ death will not be in vain because justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, sat surrounded by family and friends dressed in white. Former state lawmaker Stacey Abrams and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, both of whom have been mentioned as potential running mates for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, were there.
Some mourners wore T-shirts with Brooks’ picture. Nearly everyone wore masks against the coronavirus.
“We would be dishonest if we did not discuss what got us here in the first place,” said the Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist. “Rayshard Brooks is the latest high-profile casualty in the struggle for justice and a battle for the soul of America. This is about him, but it is so much bigger than him.”
He recited a long list of names of Black people to die at the hands of police in recent years, including Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Philando Castile and George Floyd, lamenting in front of the congregation: “Sadly we’ve gotten too much practice at this.”
Brooks, 27, was shot twice in the back June 12 by Officer Garrett Rolfe after a struggle that erupted when police tried to handcuff him for being intoxicated behind the wheel of his car at a Wendy’s drive-thru. Video showed Brooks snatching a police Taser and firing it at the white officer while running away.
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