Mourners on Tuesday prepared to say goodbye to Rayshard Brooks in a private funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church once led by Martin Luther King Jr. that became an epicenter of the civil rights movement.
Hundreds of people braved the rain a day earlier for a public viewing. The mood was somber, but the crowd steadfast in its determination to push for social justice and police reform.
“We’re here to support the family. We’re here to support the community," said Rev. Nathan Knight, the president of the DeKalb Southern Christian Leadership Conference. "We’ll never abdicate our responsibility to remember the brave men and women who came before us.”
The hearse that carried Brooks' body to the church sat just outside Ebenezer's front doors. Staring out from the back window was a photograph of Brooks with this message: "KILLED IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA 2020."
It has been a little more than a week since Brooks was killed by police after a scuffle in a Wendy's parking lot. He was shot in the back as he tried to flee.
Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe was fired from the force and charged with felony murder and multiple other counts. His partner, Devin Brosnan, was charged with aggravated assault for stepping on Brooks' body after the shooting and three other criminal counts.
The mood outside Ebenezer was solemn and reflective, at times eerily quiet. Rain came down in intermittent flashes as people trickled into the church through a barricade erected on the side of the building. Several people were seen wearing Black Lives Matter shirts.
Two people stood directly in front of the church doors singing hymns amid the downpour. They held signs that read: "Black Life Matters."
One of the attendees was Dante Carter who came to the viewing with his young daughter. He said he hoped this could be a moment where Atlanta unites to address systemic problems facing Black Americans.
"I'm here standing for justice, transparency, accountability. And really hoping that this isn’t something that doesn’t carry on into my daughter’s life time," he said. "That’s why I thought it was important for her to be here. Really understanding that, we’ve come a really long way. But for black folks, we aren’t where we need to be just yet."
The killing of Brooks resulted in widespread protests following weeks of demonstrations after the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned in wake of the shooting, and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced new police reform initiatives.
The Atlanta City Council has had to extend its budget hearings this week in order to review 17 hours of public comment about the police budget and other issues.
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Others have sought to defend the police. Over the weekend, Rep. Doug Collins called for Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard to be replaced by a special prosecutor over allegations that Howard rushed to charge the officers before an independent investigation is complete. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said its investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, a higher than normal number of Atlanta police officers have called in sick over the last week in what has been deemed an unofficial "blue flu."
Unlike Monday's public viewing, Tuesday's funeral for Brooks will be invitation only for seating inside the sanctuary.
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June 23, 2020 at 09:14PM
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