In life, Tyre Nichols loved sunsets. Each evening, he would watch the sky as it changed color, often snapping photos of the view, his mother said.
In the days since his death, which came after he was brutally beaten by Memphis police officers, people across the country are sharing their images of powder-pink skies and glowing orange landscapes in his honor.
Nichols was stopped by police who said he was driving recklessly on the evening of Jan. 7. The unarmed 29-year-old was pulled from his car, then shocked, pepper-sprayed, kicked, punched and struck with a baton by five officers who have been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping, among other counts. He died on Jan. 10, leaving behind a 4-year-old son
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Body-camera footage of the violent arrest was released Friday, renewing anger and protests over police brutality nationwide. Many expressed horror at the footage, which showed Nichols repeatedly calling out for his mother as he was pummeled.
Some others took to social media to urge people not to share the video, but to post images of sundown instead.
“Let’s flood this vile darkness, with Tyre’s incandescent light,” read one tweet that urged people to use the hashtag #SunsetsForTyre to share their own images. “From what I have seen Tyre Nichols liked to take pictures of sunsets. Me too. Here is one of mine to honor him and his too-short life,” read another tweet.
A GoFundMe page created by the Nichols family has raised almost $1 million.
“We want to build a memorial skate park for Tyre, in honor of his love for skating and sunsets,” the page says.
