HAVI Statement on the Killing of Tyre Nichols
In the wake of the release of video footage depicting the barbaric killing of Tyre Nichols, we find ourselves once again grappling with the trauma and outrage that echo throughout the nation each time we learn of yet another person of color whose life was cut short by the very people who have sworn to serve and protect the communities in which they work.
The pervasive news coverage of tragedies like this one shines a brief light on a truth that we know in our bones because we face it daily—which is that the violence that has become a defining feature of life in America is deeply rooted in our country’s long history of white supremacy and structural racism. The fact that Tyre Nichols’ life was taken at the hands of police is yet another painful reminder that the ability to simply feel safe in one’s daily life remains out of reach for so many Black and Brown Americans. For many communities—particularly communities of color—the pain of these incidents compounds upon the trauma inflicted by violence that rarely makes the headlines but plays out every single day in neighborhoods across the country.
Bearing witness to such unfathomable brutality can evoke a powerful range of emotions—from outrage to grief to despair—all of which are valid human responses to what can only be described as a truly inhumane act of violence. As a network dedicated to healing communities impacted by violence, it is critical that we remember to take time to process our own grief. When the weight of these incidents feels like too much to bear, let us remind ourselves of the words of activist and post-trauma recovery specialist Clarissa Pinkola Estés:
“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.”