Al Sharpton delivers passionate eulogy at Andrew Brown's funeral

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 3 May 2021

The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a "passionate" eulogy at Andrew Brown Jr.'s invitation-only funeral on Monday at Fountain of Life Church in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, The Washington Post reports.

Brown, a 42-year-old Black man, was killed by police who were executing search and arrest warrants on felony drug charges at his home in Elizabeth City last month. An investigation into Brown's death is ongoing, but authorities have not yet released body camera footage of the incident to the public (it would require a court order to do so). "Release the whole tape and let folks see what happened to Andrew Brown," Sharpton said, the Post reports. "If nothing is on tape, won't be nothing on it in 45 days. Let the world see what it is to see. If you've got nothing to hide then what are you hiding? All we want is justice."

In addition to calling for the release of the footage, Sharpton lamented the numerous incidents of police violence that caused the death of Black Americans in the last year. "Before we could get through one 24-hour cycle after the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the lynching by knee of George Floyd, a policeman killed Andrew Brown Jr. — a day that we were getting ready to go the wake of Daunte Wright," he said. "From Daunte Wright to Andrew Brown to Breonna Taylor to Ahmaud Arbery to Rayshard Brooks to George Floyd ... All within a year. And you want to talk about everything other than what the times demand we talk about." Read more at The Washington Post.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox