Three months after Tyre Nichols was beaten by officers from the Memphis Police Department, activists are hosting four events, over four days, to remember the 29 year old's life and renew a set of community demands ahead of the Memphis City Council's April 11 meeting.
The first event will be Friday evening and a different event will be hosted each day until Monday. The events range from photography exhibits to rallies.
"The community demands justice for Tyre through meaningful police reform and seeks to re-center Nichols ahead of the April 11, 2023, Memphis City Council meeting," a press release from Beth Hoffberg and LJ Abraham read.
The first event will be Friday evening between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Fourth Bluff Park, and will feature an outdoor exhibit of Nichols' photography. The exhibit will also run Saturday, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the same park.
A send-off and lantern release for Nichols will happen Sunday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Martyr's Park.
The weekend of events will culminate with a rally outside of Memphis City Hall Monday, at 5:30 p.m. to call for an ordinance that would ban pretextual stops to be passed, and call for another ordinance to be voted down.
"The Driving Equality Ordinance, which would ban pretextual traffic stops, would help meet those demands," the press release said. "The city council will also be voting on the so-called 'Tyre Nichols Justice in Policing Ordinance,' which, despite its name, repeals and replaces police reforms passed in Nichols' honor in March and is not supported by Nichols' family."
The Tyre Nichols Justice in Policing Ordinance, which has also been called the "Wade Ordinance," because it was drafted by Alan Wade, the attorney who represents the Memphis City Council, has faced controversy from activists and Nichols' family. Council is scheduled to consider the ordinace on Tuesday.
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The ordinance was billed as a way to consolidate a flurry of ordinances that were proposed in the wake of Nichols' death, but has faced criticism from activists and Nichols' family, who say it only codifies existing policies and would not have stopped Nichols from dying.
RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, Nichols' parents, issued a statement decrying the "Wade Ordinance," saying the ordinance has "no teeth (and) does not address the way Tyre was murdered and prevent that from happening to another person."
City Councilman Martavius Jones said he will bring amendments to the ordinance on Tuesday. However, it’s possible some council members will want further time to study the amendments and might push back the final reading another two weeks.
“It seemed to be some of the feedback from the community was the comprehensive bill was lacking in a couple of areas. In that request I’m looking to fill in the gaps that they feel might be missing from this bill,” Jones said.
Government and religion reporter Katherine Burgess contributed to this report.
Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

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