February 28th, 2023

John Phillips IV, 2nd vice president of the Linn Benton NAACP, emceed the vigil Monday at The Grove Church in downtown Albany.

Albany vigil honors life of Tyre Nichols

Michael Thomson lights a candle.

The Linn Benton NAACP didn’t want to simply issue a statement following the Jan. 10 death of Tyre Nichols, whose beating by Memphis police officers three days earlier was captured on video.
Instead, the organization decided to plan a community vigil honoring the life of Nichols, a FedEx worker, the father of a 4-year-old son, an avid photographer and skateboarder and an all-around “good person,” according to his mother and friends.
More than 20 people gathered for the vigil Monday evening, Feb. 20, at The Grove Church in downtown Albany, while others watched it online. 
People lit candles, observed moments of silence, saw projected images of Nichols and heard remarks from Linn Benton NAACP leaders: President Jason Dorsette; 3rd Vice Chair Barry Jerkins; and 2nd Vice Chair John Phillips IV, who emceed the event.
“He had a real good eye for photography,” said Phillips, who showed a number of Nichols’ website photos of Memphis and the Mississippi River that runs through it.
NAACP member Susan Leonard read part of Nichols' mother RowVaughn Wells' statement from a January press conference: "Nobody's perfect, OK? But he was damn near," she said. "My son was a beautiful soul."
Dorsette said he grieves for Nichols’ family, Black people and allies around the nation.
“Today, in spite of our continued grief, I am reminded that we are a triumphant people and that our creator will never put more on us than we can bare. I choose to celebrate Tyre’s life — a life well lived and a legacy that will continue to make positive impacts on our lives. …
“By no means, am I suggesting that we rush our individual or collective healing process because I know that’s not realistic. However, what I am asking for us to do is to give ourselves grace and compassion and to double down on our efforts to push our local and national legislatures to create policy and law that totally disrupt and radically replace the system of policing and its trainings across the United States of America."
Heather Carmichael, worship pastor of The Grove Church and an NAACP member, recited the Langston Hughes’ poem, “I Dream a World. It reads, in part:
    “A world I dream where black or white,
    “Whatever race you be,
    "Will share the bounties of the earth
    “And every man is free,
    “Where wretchedness will hang its head
    "And joy, like a pearl,
    “Attends the needs of all mankind --
    “Of such I dream, my world!”

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"Us coming together is the opportunity to grieve the way the world is and hope the way it can be," said Heather Carmichael, worship pastor at The Grove Church.

Jason Dorsette, president of the Linn Benton NAACP, speaks during the vigil.

Barry Jerkins, Linn Benton NAACP 3rd vice chair and former president, gives remarks during the vigil.

Tyre Nichols' photography