The Brutal Death of Tyre Nichols

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” And fourteen hundred years ago, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be on him) in his last sermon said, “An Arab has no preference over a non Arab; nor is a white one to be preferred to a dark one.”

We don't have words to express the pain of the heinous acts of police leading to the death of a young African American-Tyre Nichols. On Jan. 7th, 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was on his way to his mother's house when Memphis police pulled him over. Police body cam caught the footage of five officers punching and kicking him ruthlessly. He died three days later in the hospital due to excessive bleeding.

Being born in this civilized society, we have heard countless stories of racial discrimination and segregation. The brutal killing of George Floyd in 2020 and Tyre Nichols now has put us in pain, shock, and grief once again. It seems that our nation is still segregated based on physical differences and we still witness how a person of one skin color kills others just because of a difference in the color of their skin.

Half a century ago, we passed the law and accepted the rights of colored people as being the same as that of others. Unfortunately, it was merely on paper. We made tall claims of racial equality and fair treatment but practically we did nothing.

We have lost numerous precious lives because of this racism hence, it should end now. The existence of different races and ethnicities provides the opportunity of learning from each other. It is all about focusing on the similarities rather than the differences. This is the kind of message Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of. A nation without racism is a much more peaceful nation.