June 5, 1993 – January 10, 2023

“The past is never dead,” said William Faulkner. “It’s not even past.” And America’s past will always be with us.
Tyre Nichols, age 29, of Memphis, Tennessee passed away on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.
He was a beautiful, sensitive young soul, beaten and left to die by five Black police officers because of racism, thuggery, and self-hate.
We see the racism in the dehumanization of Mr. Nichols, the thuggery in the group dynamic, and the self-hate in the vicious, violent attack.
Dr. Joy DeGruy might cite it as an example of Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome. Professor Amos Wilson would call it the demon within us.
Research shows that emotional trauma can impact DNA and be passed on to the next generation.
Enslaved Africans were subjected to over 250 years of mind-twisting terror. And for these killers, the sight of a helpless, unarmed Black man under their control filled them with the power of the master, giving all of us a glimpse into what was a commonplace “occurrence” in the past. Mr. Nichols is survived by his son; his Mother, RowVaughn Wells; and his Father, Rodney Wells.
A good man is gone, and a price will be paid by these officers.
David Mark Greaves