Freddie Gray Was a 'Martyr,' Says Jesse Jackson at Funeral

Watch the live stream and see scenes from the funeral below.

Corruption and inequality were among the themes that speakers of national and local recognition touched on during the funeral of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in Baltimore Monday.

Gray was remembered as a man who in his youth enjoyed church and sports and in his death has become a “martyr,” according to Jesse Jackson, the civil rights activist who delivered closing remarks at the two-and-a-half-hour service.

As a boy, Gray played for the Sandtown Wolverines football team and was a junior usher and youth choir member in the church, according to Congressman Elijah Cummings, who asked that Gray be remembered for his life as well as his death.

Gray’s death is the subject of criminal and civil rights investigations and has put Baltimore in the national spotlight as the latest high-publicity case of a police-involved fatality. Six officers involved in the detainment of Gray were suspended from the Baltimore police force.

“We don’t know why it is that he died,” Pastor Jamal Bryant of Baltimore’s Empowerment Temple said.

Gray was placed under arrest April 12 for reasons that are not clear and died April 19 from a spinal injury in police custody, according to city officials, who say it is also unknown how he sustained the fatal injury.

Demonstrations have been ongoing since the day before Gray’s death, with the public calling for answers about how he became injured and in a coma.

Baltimore Police said a preliminary report on the death investigation will be ready by May 1.

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“The eyes of this country are all on us because they want to see whether we got the stuff to make this right,” Billy Murphy, one of the lawyers working on behalf of the Gray family, said at the funeral. He added that he hoped this was a new era for civil rights, specifically with the assistance of technology.

”We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for video cameras,” said Murphy, facing a bevy of TV cameras inside New Shiloh Baptist Church on North Monroe Street.

Gray’s arrest was partly recorded on a cell phone camera, prompting public outcry as Gray wailed and appeared unable to stand as police dragged him into a police van.

“Instead of one coverup ... after another coverup ... one lie after another lie, now we see the truth as never before,” Murphy said. “It’s not a pretty picture, so pray for us please while the world watches.”

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Pastor Bryant called upon the community to continue standing up for Freddie Gray after his death.

“Freddie’s death is not in vain,” Bryant said. He asked Gray’s five sisters, mother, stepfather and grandmother not to cry. “Because after this day, we’re gonna keep on marching, keep exposing a culture of corruption...”

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Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson closed out the service with remarks about what he thought was needed in the west Baltimore community.

”Do we need more state police?” he asked, alluding to Baltimore City’s request for backup during a demonstration against police brutality. “We need more housing,” Jackson said, citing boarded-up, vacant homes.

Of Gray, he said: “He was not a perfect person” but now ”he is more than a citizen; he is a martyr.”

Gray will be buried following the service at Woodlawn Cemetery.

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Mourners gathered in front of the church in the 2100 North Monroe Street in Baltimore, where the electronic sign scrolled messages that included “Black Lives Matter!” and “We mourn the death of Freddie Gray. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Janney.