Tyre Nichols was laid to rest Wednesday in a ceremony held at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, three weeks after he died following a brutal beating by police after a traffic stop in early January.

In attendance Wednesday was Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as family members of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, delivered the eulogy Wednesday, and invited Harris onstage for a surprise address. 

“We are here on behalf of the people of our country and our president, Joe Biden. And we are here to celebrate the life of Tyre Nichols,” Harris began. 

“When we look at this situation, this is a family that lost their son and their brother through an act of violence at the hands and the feet of people who had been charged with keeping them safe,” she continued. “And when I think about the courage and the strength of this family, I think it demands that we speak truth. And with this I will say: this violent act was not in pursuit of public safety.” 

“...One must ask, ‘was not it in the interest of keeping the public safe that Tyre Nichols would be with us here today?’” Harris went on to say. “Was he not also entitled to the right to be safe?” 

Harris also called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, saying: “Joe Biden will sign it. We should not delay and we will not be denied. It is non-negotiable.”

Rev. Sharpton followed Harris’ impassioned speech with one of his own, saying in part: “Even as I stand over the casket of this innocent young boy – this young man, 29 years old with a four-year-old son that his mother and father and his siblings have to raise – I believe that God will take him Tyre out of that and use him as a symbol for justice all over this country. 

“I believe that babies unborn will know about Tyre Nichols because we won't let his memory fade,” Sharpton said. “We're going to change this country because we refuse to keep living under the threat of the cops and the robbers. 

He too called for legislative reform, saying of the fight for justice: “Some of us believe that the dream has to come true. Some of us are gonna fight until we make this legislation happen. I don't know when, I don't know how, but we won't stop until we hold you accountable and change the system.” 

“We don't care how long, but I can tell you one thing: those of you that keep voting against that bill, we're going to vote against you,” he pledged. 

In the three weeks since Nichols’ death, harrowing video of the beating has been released, and five police officers have been fired and charged with murder. Their specialized unit was disbanded. Two more officers have been suspended. Also fired: two Memphis Fire Department emergency medical workers and a lieutenant. And more discipline could be coming.

The video, like that of George Floyd’s murder in 2021, sparked protests across the country, albeit on a much smaller scale. Both videos showed the men pleading for help, and Nichols could be heard begging for his mother. 

“What touched me was when I heard him calling for his mother. Just like George Floyd was calling for his mother,” Sharpton said Wednesday. “Somewhere deep in my heart I understood Tyre.”

“And he knew if he could just get mother that they would quit beating him and quit stomping on him,” he continued. “All he wanted to do was get home.”

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Nichols' family, referred to the graphic video showing the officers punching, kicking and beating Nichols, even after he lay helpless on the ground.

“Why couldn’t they see the humanity in Tyre?” he asked.

Crump also acknowledged Breonna Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, who attended the ceremony, noting that Taylor and Nichols were born on the exact same day — June 5, 1993.

While much of Wednesday focused on the broader fight for social justice reform, it was also about Nichols, a 29-year-old skateboarder and amateur photographer who worked making boxes at FedEx, made friends during morning visits to Starbucks, and always greeted his mother and stepfather when he returned home with a sunny, "Hello, parents!"

Nichols was the baby of their family, born 12 years after his closest siblings. He had a 4-year-old son and worked hard to better himself as a father, his family said.

Nichols grew up in Sacramento, California, and loved the San Francisco 49ers. He came to Memphis just before the coronavirus pandemic and got stuck. But he was fine with it because he was with his mother, RowVaughn Wells, and they were incredibly close, she said. He even had her name tattooed on his arm.

Many mourners wiped away tears as Tyre Nichols' sisters, brothers and parents shared their memories at the funeral of the Black man who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers.

On Wednesday, Nichols' mother said her faith has given her some comfort in the weeks since his killing.

“The only thing that’s keeping me going is that I truly believe that my son was sent here on assignment from God,” RowVaughn Wells said through tears. "And I guess now his assignment is done. He’s gone home."

The Rev. J. Lawrence Turner called Nichols “a good person, a beautiful soul, a son, a father, a brother, a friend, a human being” who was gone too soon and "denied his rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, denied the dignity of his humanity, denied the right to see the sun set another day, to embrace his mother, hang out with his friends, hold his child, and the right to grow old.”

“As we celebrate Tyre’s life and comfort this family, we serve notice to this nation that the rerun of this episode that makes Black lives hashtags has been canceled and will not be renewed for another season,” Turner said. “We have come and we shall overcome.”

Tiffany Rachal, the mother of Jalen Randle, who was fatally shot by a Houston police officer in 2022, sang a rendition of the classic gospel standard “Total Praise” to rousing applause from the congregation and Nichols’ family.

“All of the mothers all over the world need to come together, need to come together to stop all of this," Rachal said.

A montage of photos of Nichols and images from protests that followed the news of his death were shown on large screens.

Friends at a memorial service last week described him as joyful and kind, quick with a smile, often silly.

"This man walked into a room, and everyone loved him," said Angelina Paxton, a friend who traveled to Memphis from California for the memorial service.