Barack and Michelle Obama are once again calling for police reform following the release of body camera footage showing the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.
Nichols was brutally beaten by five police officers during a traffic stop on January 10, he died three days later.
All police officers involved in the killing have been charged with second-degree murder — and they were all black, just like Nichols. Despite their skin color, many politicians and pundits have declared that his death was the fault of “white supremacy.”
“The vicious, unjustified beating of Tyre Nichols and his ultimate death at the hands of five Memphis police officers is just the latest, painful reminder of how far America still has to go in fixing how we police our streets,” the Obama’s jointly tweeted Saturday with a photo of Nichols.
The thread continued, “Along with mourning Tyre and supporting his family, it’s up to all of us to mobilize for lasting change.”
The former president also tweeted a link to their pro-Black Lives Matter organization, the Obama Foundation.
When you click on the link, protesters are at the top of the screen.
“At the Obama Foundation, we work to help leaders change their world—and the world needs changing,” the website reads. “The killings of young Black men like Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Tamir Rice, and too many others at the hands of their fellow citizens—in addition to the Black lives of Tyre Nichols, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd being cut short by police—have left many of us anguished and outraged.”
The website continues, “While now is a time for grief and anger, it is also a time for resolve. Find resources below to learn what you can do to create a more just and equitable world.”
In the “take action” portion of the site, the Obama Foundation links to a part of the Black Lives Matter website that contains “tool kits.”