When I believe about the violence that killed Tyre Nichols, I truly feel betrayed

When I 1st listened to Tyre Nichols’ name circling all-around social media, I figured it was a different common case of a white law enforcement officer racially profiling a Black gentleman. I avoided looking into his circumstance for a couple of times, with thoughts of dejà vu plaguing my soul. Why study about still yet another promising Black man slain by the process? 

Then a pair of days later, I was casually scrolling by way of my Instagram, seeking for a distraction from the research I must have been executing. I usually pace-run via these stories, until something catches my eye. And so, as I was tapping away, I observed a story reel with the words “five Black police officers” followed by a online video: 13 minutes of the cops brutally beating and tasing Nichols through a website traffic quit. 

I made a decision to tap again and view the reel, which talked about Tyre’s killers. I couldn’t look at the complete issue — not simply because of the graphic information (I am desensitized by now) — but mainly because of my shock in discovering it was five officers that appeared just like me and Tyre.  

Right after confirming this from a few other resources, I felt … various. This was not the chilly, hurting emotion evoked from viewing Derek Chauvin forcing his knee into George Floyd’s neck, or viewing the quite comparable bludgeoning of Rodney King. 

This time around, my blood boiled in not just anger but betrayal. The actions dedicated by these officers did not just volume to police brutality. This was a situation of intra-group violence that feeds into the exact same damaging strategies we in Black local community want to dispel. As a Black gentleman in this culture, I am pressured to identify that there is a goal on my back, but the battle for equality results in being even more durable if I have to stress about my own brothers and sisters perhaps targeting me as very well. 

I’m 18 now, and a senior at Brooklyn Latin. As I transition into my adulthood, I want to pursue a career that will allow me to be an advocate for social modify and the empowerment of persons of coloration and marginalized communities. These officers had been in positions of electric power. As Black folks, we must use our electrical power to uplift our community, not tear it down. A person who goes into policing must come to feel that they have just as considerably option to uplift their neighborhood as someone who gets to be a protection legal professional. Possibly much more. 

As the planet awaits the fate of individuals officers, who have been fired, arrested, and have pleaded not responsible to felony costs, I sympathize and mourn with the household of Tyre Nichols. He was a devoted father to a youthful son and a loving son to RowVaugn and Rodney Wells. He was also an up-and-coming photographer and a skateboard fanatic.  

All I can hope for is for this to be a lesson for all people. Tyre Nichols’ existence was taken, but it shouldn’t be in vain. We all require to do far better. Black folks in positions of power need to heed the ethical essential to uplift and assistance Black individuals and communities. 

Enoch Naklen is a senior at The Brooklyn Latin School and is a 2022-23 Chalkbeat Student Voices Fellow. He encourages youthful grownups to have challenging discussions.

A model of this piece very first appeared in Youth Interaction.