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By Jessi Mitchell, CBS New York Team
Updated on: April 12, 2023 / 7:19 PM / CBS New York
NEW YORK -- Families of Black men and women killed by police held a discussion on reform during the National Action Network Convention Wednesday.
Rev. Al Sharpton welcomed the relatives to his gathering at the Sheraton in Times Square.
Attorney Ben Crump led a panel discussion on ways to enforce police accountability and prevent future tragedies.
The parents of Tyre Nichols were among the speakers. Nichols was beaten to death by Memphis police officers earlier this year. As RowVaughn and Rodney Wells arrived in New York from Memphis, they learned their home city had just voted to outlaw frivolous traffic stops, as well as specialized police units like the one made up of the officers who killed Nichols.
"I truly believe that my son was here on a mission from God, and his assignment was completed," his mother, RowVaughn Wells, said, crying.
"As we see his mother standing here weeping," Sharpton added, "that will never bring back her son, but her son has saved the lives of other sons and other daughters."
The loved ones of George Floyd, Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin were also invited to the discussion.
Sharpton and Crump now aim to add the Memphis laws to the federal George Floyd Justice In Policing bill, which Congress has yet to pass.
"If they can make federal laws to protect a bird, which is the Bald Eagle, then they can make federal laws to protect people of color," said Floyd's brother Philonise.
These families describe themselves as a fraternity they never wanted to join, but longtime fighters like Eric Garner's mother, Gwen Carr, lead the way in the fight for change. The state of New York has a ban on chokeholds because of her son's case.
"It's good to take a step back sometimes and stay under the cover for a day," Carr admitted, "but then the next day, you've got to get up fighting again."
That is how action can happen. Ahmaud Arbery's mother successfully advocated to repeal Georgia's citizens arrest law and implement a hate crime law across the state. However, Trayvon Martin's mom is still trying to end Florida's Stand Your Ground law a decade after her son's death.
United as one, the families of those slain strengthen in voice to honor their names.
"This fight has just begun, and it's not going to end no time soon," concluded Nichols' stepfather Rodney.
"It's not by accident that we are facing the same crises in every city that we are in, and NAN is saying let's come together and come up with the solutions that we can implement," Mayor Eric Adams said.
The NAN Convention continues through Saturday, April 15, with conversations focusing on social justice and voting rights. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to speak Friday at noon.
Jessi Mitchell joined the CBS New York team as a multi-skilled journalist in October 2021, focusing her reporting in Harlem.
First published on April 12, 2023 / 7:29 AM
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©2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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