United States. On the very day that the Georgia Parliament approved the establishment of the hate crime law, which will introduce harsher penalties for anyone who harms an individual on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation, Bernice Albertine King, youngest daughter of historic civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr., delivered a moving speech at the funeral of Rayshard Brooks, an African American killed by a police officer in Atlanta. The ceremony was held on 23 June at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King himself had preached on many occasions before being assassinated on 4 April 1968 because of his fight for the integration of Black people into American society.

The full translation of Bernice King's speech

To Reverend Raphael Warnock, to the members of the clergy, to the family of Rayshard Brooks, in particular his wife Tomika Miller, their three daughters and their son. To all of you, brothers and sisters.

We should not even be here. This should not have happened to Rayshard. There are so many ways in which Friday 12 June could have ended, and murder at the hands of a police officer should not be among them. And yet, here we are again. Ironically, 12 June (1963) is the same day on which Medgar Evers, Mississippi field secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was assassinated in his driveway. 12 June (1964) is also the same day on which Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring against the government of South Africa, the country of which he would later become president. And so, for Black people around the world, 12 June has become a constant reminder of their struggle for justice.

Tragically, we are here again. The Bible teaches us, in times like these, to weep with those who weep. That is why I, together with this nation, join in the grief of the Brooks family, who today is also our family. And I say "family" because my father so often repeated that we are bound by an indestructible thread that compels us to help one another, and by a single destiny: what strikes one of us directly, strikes all of us indirectly.

These tragic moments remind us that we are one, because they affect us all and touch the strings of our hearts. Even though I did not have the opportunity to know Rayshard, I am here to share with you this moment that feels all too familiar to me. Since I lost my father when I was five years old, my heart breaks with pain for Dream, Memory, Blessing and Mekai [Brooks' children, ed.]. I know how painful it is to grow up without a father, and how difficult it is to manage all the attention that stems from his tragic loss. I am praying, and will continue to pray, for each one of you. Rayshard Brooks' life mattered; he should have continued to live to love his family and to see his children grow up.

The officers should have gone home that night without blood on their hands. This is the great tragedy of our country, and it must end. Why have we found ourselves in this situation again? In many respects our humanity and our democracy are on trial because justice and equity continue to elude an entire race of people. More and more people have stopped feeling empathy and compassion towards Black people. Instead, there are individuals driven by power, fear, hatred, selfishness, greed and arrogance, by racism, prejudice and pride. Unfortunately, these feelings lead people to make decisions that are incriminating, harmful and destructive to the lives of other human beings. We are here because there are individuals who continue to hide behind badges, training courses and regulations rather than take into account the humanity of others in general and of Black people in particular.

What disturbs me most about this murder of an unarmed man is that it took place in our home, Atlanta, the city that is supposed to be too busy to hate [too busy to hate, an expression that became very well known in reference to Atlanta, ed.], the birthplace of civil rights movement leaders, also known as "the Black Mecca". The city known for its warriors of peace, who inspired all of America and the entire world, like my father, Martin Luther King Jr., who taught us that true peace is not merely the absence of tension, but the presence of justice. Therefore, we will not know peace in Atlanta, nor anywhere else in the world, until there is justice. Without justice, there is no peace. Too often justice is denied even in Atlanta, because not even Atlanta is immune to the problem of structural and systemic racism. Atlanta is called to duty now. It must respond to the ancient virus of racism called Covid-1619 [in 1619 a Dutch warship brought the first twenty Black slaves to Jamestown, Virginia, ed.]. And the response this time is not greater diversity or inclusion: it is time for Black lives to matter [black lives matter, ed.].

So how do we move forward now? As a city, as a nation, as an entire planet? We are confronted with this question: "Will there be more chaos, or unity?" If we wish to take the road towards building the beloved community that my father spoke of so often, we have reached a point at which we must necessarily turn, one that demands a revolution of our values. This revolution requires the shift from a thing-centred society to a person-centred society, in which the role of people of colour is recognised. This revolution demands that we finally embrace our nation's founding document [the Constitution of the United States of America, ed.], according to which all men and all women are created with the same rights, and therefore the lives of people of colour matter too. Revolutionising values means investing in racial equity to ensure equality between white and Black people. Non-violence must be more than a tactic — it must be a way of life for each and every one of us. If we fail to seize this opportunity, we will continue to find ourselves on the road to chaos and self-destruction.

Therefore, I speak to all activists, to all organisers, to all people of goodwill: we cannot interrupt our desperate race for justice and our struggle for freedom. We cannot cease our protests until our voices are heard, as are our demands for police reform. We cannot stop until white supremacist policies and practices are no longer the daily norm. We will not stop until voter suppression is nothing but a distant memory. We will not stop until we are free, once and for all. We will not be appeased until our leaders cease to be polarised between Republicans and Democrats, but come together to implement fair and equitable policies that erase racial inequalities.

Do not stop until Black lives matter in every state, in every city, in every town, in every village, in every sector of American society and, fundamentally, throughout the entire world. I close my remarks in honour of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and countless others. Let us not stop until dignity, justice and equity are secured for all people of colour. Rayshard Brooks' death will not have been in vain. Justice will roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.