(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . VIA DOLOROSA: The Death of TYRE NICHOLS [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-20 In a better world, Tyre Nichols would still be with us. In a better world, IF Tyre Nichols was taken from us in this horrific fashion, EVERYONE would be shocked. We are not in that world. Disgusted, angry, horrified, heartbroken, anguished… all could apply… but many black people in this country were not shocked. This was not some one-off. This incident has a familiar storyline to many. Once again, an African-American was treated in a way we rarely, if ever, see white people treated by the people tasked with keeping people safe. To paraphrase Vice-President Kamala Harris, Tyre Nichols deserved to be safe, too. When I started this project, I immediately thought of George Floyd. About having to watch the horrible tape of his death right before my eyes. But it was something I had to do then. It was something I had to do again. We can’t bury our heads and ignore the truth. Before I watched that tape, I combed through Tyre’s social media posts to try to get to know this person. He was a thoughtful kid, who grew into a thoughtful, kind man. He, like all of us, was not perfect… but you could see he had a big heart. I spent the day looking at his posts… his comments… and his beautiful photography. When I had finished that It was time to confront what happened. I spent six hours delaying (doing ANYTHING but looking at those videos). I read up about it, but I couldn’t actually watch them. My anxiety levels were maxed out. The next day I started reading more about the incident to prepare me… Then I clicked “play” and started watching. At first I took in the blurry images but focused in on writing down the torrent of hateful words and commands these police used. I wrote down Tyre’s replies and his pleading. The cops escalated at every turn. I tried to decide how I would document this. I thought maybe a single image… but no single image told the story, like they had in the George Floyd case. That was a slow-motion murder. A mundane knee on the throat by a bored-looking cop, without an ounce of empathy, that slowly, and horrifyingly took the life away from a fellow human being. This? This was a step by step execution. I thought of growing up Catholic and going to Church during Lent… and seeing and walking the Stations of the Cross. The imagery is so vivid that it always stayed with me… the brutality of it all… and the occasional moment of compassion and care. Tyre got the first part… but never the second. What motivated me was the need to document what happened… not for black people, who know all too well what goes on… but for people who look like me and pretend that racism is in the rearview mirror. Via Dolorosa (Latin for “Sorrowful Way” or “Way of Suffering”) represents the route Jesus took on his journey to crucifixion. An innocent man condemned to die in a horrible way. I started looking at that suffering route and drawing the parallels. Some fit perfectly. Others did not. Tyre was a vibrant soul who left us too soon because of the brutality of those that murdered him. He deserved a chance to walk among us, and the opportunity to see his child become an adult. Because of a system that targets black men in this country, he will not I did not want to re-traumatize the family… but much like Emmett Till’s mother’s actions, I think so many (white) people needed to see beyond the mind-numbing headlines. I also decided to make a separate print to honor Tyre… because his life was much, much more than those horrifying days of his death. I’d love to get this particular portrait into the hands of his family. (If anybody knows how to do that, feel free to DM) This exhibition is currently up at the Haight Street Art Center in San Francisco. This is an edition of 5, so I’d love to find a home for this exhibition in any museums, galleries, art centers, or any appropriate place where people could reflect on this horrible reality and how we all can make this a better world. (The Final Station was based on two of Tyre’s Instagram posts… one of a beautiful sunset… he was an excellent photographer… and the other a phrase he wrote out) [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/20/2164952/-VIA-DOLOROSA-The-Death-of-TYRE-NICHOLS Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/