They came to say goodbye to Rayshard Brooks | CNN

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Rayshard Brooks' casket is carried to his public viewing in Atlanta on Monday, June 22.
Rayshard Brooks' casket is carried to his public viewing in Atlanta on Monday, June 22.
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN
U.S.

They came to say goodbye to Rayshard Brooks: ‘This is a moment. This is a big deal’

Photographs by Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN Story by Will Lanzoni and Kyle Almond, CNN
Updated 7:44 PM EDT, Tue June 23, 2020
Link Copied!

Rayshard Brooks will be laid to rest Tuesday, more than a week after the 27-year-old was fatally shot by an Atlanta police officer.

His private funeral service took place at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. was as a co-pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice A. King, spoke at the funeral.

A public viewing was held at the church on Monday, and hundreds of people waited in a long line to pay their respects, CNN affiliate WSB reported.

Joshua Rashaad McFadden has been in Atlanta photographing the somber scene and talking to people about Brooks' death and the nationwide protests against systemic racism and police brutality.

"We old people have got to stand up for the young generation," Missionary G.A. Breedlove, left, told photographer Joshua Rashaad McFadden on Tuesday. "They're out there marching. We can't march. But we can support them with our voices and show up and speak! ... We're all God's people, and justice is for all of us."<br /><br />Quinton Davis, right, came out Tuesday "to support the movement for Black lives, Rayshard Brooks, and to show how important it is to support each other. I'm tired of hearing about unarmed Black men being killed. We must reimagine what public safety is."
"We old people have got to stand up for the young generation," Missionary G.A. Breedlove, left, told photographer Joshua Rashaad McFadden on Tuesday. "They're out there marching. We can't march. But we can support them with our voices and show up and speak! ... We're all God's people, and justice is for all of us."

Quinton Davis, right, came out Tuesday "to support the movement for Black lives, Rayshard Brooks, and to show how important it is to support each other. I'm tired of hearing about unarmed Black men being killed. We must reimagine what public safety is."
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN
Antonio Lewis, a community organizer and friend of Brooks, stands outside Ebenezer Baptist Church on Tuesday. "Atlanta's had 40 years of strong black leadership. So if we can't fix the police brutality, if we can't fix what's going on with the justice system, it's kind of difficult to see it happening anywhere else in the world," he told McFadden. Lewis said it speaks volumes that Brooks' funeral was being held at the historic church. "This is a time. This is a moment. This is a big deal."
Antonio Lewis, a community organizer and friend of Brooks, stands outside Ebenezer Baptist Church on Tuesday. "Atlanta's had 40 years of strong black leadership. So if we can't fix the police brutality, if we can't fix what's going on with the justice system, it's kind of difficult to see it happening anywhere else in the world," he told McFadden. Lewis said it speaks volumes that Brooks' funeral was being held at the historic church. "This is a time. This is a moment. This is a big deal."
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN
People gather outside Ebenezer Baptist Church on Tuesday.
People gather outside Ebenezer Baptist Church on Tuesday.
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN
Jalen Shaw, a 21-year-old Morehouse College student originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, said Tuesday is a historic day. He was volunteering at the funeral on behalf of the NAACP. "When I heard about what happened to Rayshard Brooks, I was devastated to find out that the life of another young Black male was taken away due to violence that did not have to take place. ... Rayshard's life will not be in vain, and his light will shine bright forever."
Jalen Shaw, a 21-year-old Morehouse College student originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, said Tuesday is a historic day. He was volunteering at the funeral on behalf of the NAACP. "When I heard about what happened to Rayshard Brooks, I was devastated to find out that the life of another young Black male was taken away due to violence that did not have to take place. ... Rayshard's life will not be in vain, and his light will shine bright forever."
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN
Bruce W. Griggs, left, is a retired law-enforcement officer who was born and raised in Atlanta. "I'm here because I'm a part of this community, and I care," he said on Monday. "I care about the family of Rayshard Brooks, and I care about the future Rayshard Brookses out here." He remembers being very young when a church bombing killed four African American girls in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. "Before that time, nobody was paying attention to Black people getting hung, killed, raped and run out of their neighborhood," he said. "But now the world is looking at America, and what's being presented is not the best. We are better than this as a country. We've got to do better than this."<br /><br />Likisha Griffin, right, also attended the public viewing Monday and stopped to speak about the recent lives lost. "I want this to stop," she said. "Something about these cases has brought a new level of awareness to the world, and hopefully that will bring change."
Bruce W. Griggs, left, is a retired law-enforcement officer who was born and raised in Atlanta. "I'm here because I'm a part of this community, and I care," he said on Monday. "I care about the family of Rayshard Brooks, and I care about the future Rayshard Brookses out here." He remembers being very young when a church bombing killed four African American girls in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. "Before that time, nobody was paying attention to Black people getting hung, killed, raped and run out of their neighborhood," he said. "But now the world is looking at America, and what's being presented is not the best. We are better than this as a country. We've got to do better than this."

Likisha Griffin, right, also attended the public viewing Monday and stopped to speak about the recent lives lost. "I want this to stop," she said. "Something about these cases has brought a new level of awareness to the world, and hopefully that will bring change."
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN
A family poses in front of a giant card that was created by the youth of Operation Correct Start's Street Academy.
A family poses in front of a giant card that was created by the youth of Operation Correct Start's Street Academy.
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN
Janice Davis and her son, Steven Milton, attend Brooks' public viewing on Monday. "We are here to make sure Rayshard Brooks has not died in vain," Milton said. Davis said she had a cousin who was killed by police in 1993. She traveled to Atlanta to be with her son when she heard about Brooks' death.<br /><br />Milton said he has been pulled over by police while driving for Uber Eats. "They said I fit the description of someone robbing a local restaurant," he told McFadden. "They didn't have a good explanation and let me go, but that has happened multiple times since I've been here."
Janice Davis and her son, Steven Milton, attend Brooks' public viewing on Monday. "We are here to make sure Rayshard Brooks has not died in vain," Milton said. Davis said she had a cousin who was killed by police in 1993. She traveled to Atlanta to be with her son when she heard about Brooks' death.

Milton said he has been pulled over by police while driving for Uber Eats. "They said I fit the description of someone robbing a local restaurant," he told McFadden. "They didn't have a good explanation and let me go, but that has happened multiple times since I've been here."
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN
Tomika Miller, Brooks' widow, arrives at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Monday.
Tomika Miller, Brooks' widow, arrives at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Monday.
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN
James Chambers, left, speaks outside Brooks' public viewing on Monday. "Watching the cases of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, there are many people that have dealt with this in the past, there are hundreds," he said.<br /><br />Kara Banks, right, said Brooks could have been her father, brother or son. "We have to come out and show support, and we have to stick together for these kinds of wrongs that are being done, especially to us as a people." Speaking about police killings, she said: "It makes us feel like we don't matter; it makes us feel like we are disposable. I hope to see positive change, reparations. We've been held down long enough, especially the poor Black people. It's harder for us. It's harder to get a loan, open up a business, and it's hard to keep a regular job. People don't like to talk about that, but it's the truth. And being a Black woman, you feel it."
James Chambers, left, speaks outside Brooks' public viewing on Monday. "Watching the cases of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, there are many people that have dealt with this in the past, there are hundreds," he said.

Kara Banks, right, said Brooks could have been her father, brother or son. "We have to come out and show support, and we have to stick together for these kinds of wrongs that are being done, especially to us as a people." Speaking about police killings, she said: "It makes us feel like we don't matter; it makes us feel like we are disposable. I hope to see positive change, reparations. We've been held down long enough, especially the poor Black people. It's harder for us. It's harder to get a loan, open up a business, and it's hard to keep a regular job. People don't like to talk about that, but it's the truth. And being a Black woman, you feel it."
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN
Protesters from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference stand in the rain on Monday.
Protesters from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference stand in the rain on Monday.
Joshua Rashaad McFadden for CNN

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