Bradford Funeral a Celebration and Call to Action

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2018/12/Bradford_Funeral-scaled.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:6:{s:5:"width";i:2560;s:6:"height";i:1439;s:4:"file";s:35:"2018/12/Bradford_Funeral-scaled.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:14:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-336x189.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-771x433.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:433;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-768x432.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:432;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"1536x1536";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Bradford_Funeral-1536x863.jpg";s:5:"width";i:1536;s:6:"height";i:863;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"2048x2048";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"Bradford_Funeral-2048x1151.jpg";s:5:"width";i:2048;s:6:"height";i:1151;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:26:"Bradford_Funeral-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-553x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:553;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-470x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"Bradford_Funeral-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}s:14:"original_image";s:20:"Bradford_Funeral.jpg";}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Andrew Yeager
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] =>  WBHM
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

)
1655946154 
1543685561

There was plenty of one thing at the funeral of Emantic “E.J.” Bradord, Jr. – hugs.

Volunteers with Rock City Church stood in the lobby of Boutwell Auditorium in downtown Birmingham Saturday morning holding boxes of tissues and offering hugs as funeral attendees entered the building. The service was a celebration of Bradford’s life, but the controversy of how it ended was never far behind.

Police in Hoover shot the 21-year-old black man on Thanksgiving night at the Riverchase Galleria. They initially identified Bradford as the gunman before later saying it was “unlikely” Bradford fired the shots that left two people wounded. On Thursday, police arrested 20-year-old Erron Martez Dequan Brown for the shooting.

Friends speaking at the funeral remembered Bradford as a loyal friend who could always be counted on. But he was also not above a bit of mischief, such as taking his mother’s car without permission.

Bradford’s father, Emantic Bradford, Sr., recalled watching Batman marathons on TV with him as a kid. When Bradford, Sr. was diagnosed with cancer, he says Bradford became a caregiver and a great source of encouragement.

“The years that I had with him were 21 good years,” Bradford, Sr. says. “He’s always going to be my hero.”

Bradford’s death has sparked protest and marches calling on police to release body camera video and other footage of the incident. Investigators have so far declined to do so.

Protest organizer Carlos Chaverst, Jr. told the audience he will continue pushing police to release video and other evidence.

“We’re going to fight when this matter becomes less trendy,” Chaverst says. “We’re going to fight with every single thing in us.”

Rev. Jesse Jackson delivers the eulogy for Emantic "EJ" Bradford, Jr.

Andrew Yeager,WBHM
Rev. Jesse Jackson delivers the eulogy for Emantic “EJ” Bradford, Jr.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, who delivered Bradford’s eulogy, echoed the call for police transparency. He called Bradford a martyr and tied his death to the history of slavery and civil rights. He also referenced police shootings of black men and shootings at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October and at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina in June 2015.

“His blood will not have been shed in vain. He will live as long as we remember him,” Jackson says. “We will not forget him.”

 

Satellites show damage to Iran’s nuclear program, but experts say it’s not destroyed

Satellite imagery shows trucks at two key sites the day before the American strikes, suggesting uranium could have been moved.

Trump administration defends Iranian strikes as some lawmakers question its legality

After the U.S. took military action against three nuclear sites in Iran, reaction across the political spectrum was swift with many Democrats decrying the president's "unilateral" strikes.

As Israel recovers the bodies of three more hostages, how many are still in Gaza?

Israel said Sunday that it has recovered the bodies of three more hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that ignited the ongoing 20-month war in the Gaza Strip.

U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites show no sign of widespread environmental impact

So far, any chemical and radioactive contamination seems confined to the nuclear sites hit by U.S. bombs

Iran’s top officials condemn U.S. strikes and assert their right to self-defense

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the American operation an "outrageous, grave and unprecedented violation" of the United Nations Charter and international law.

World reacts to U.S. strikes on Iran with alarm, caution — and some praise

As the world reacted to news of U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, international officials largely responded with alarm and calls for restraint.

More Emantic Bradford Jr. Coverage