Yesterday, I took the kid to the park, which is a very normal thing for us to do. We were there for about a half hour when I got the news alert on my phone that the jury would return their verdict in the Chauvin trial in an hour. Well, I just stopped what I was doing, which was keeping an eye on the kid and writing in my journal, and started the watching the clock till 4:30. I kept scrolling through Twitter, which wasn’t the best idea, but I was sure that would be the place where I would get the news the fastest. I say that it wasn’t the best idea because every tenth post or so, there would be a really awfully racist comment about George Floyd. Then, after 5pm, the first tweet came through;
Guilty
Or my favorite;
Guilty Guilty Guilty All Counts
Nothing could be more simple or powerful to express exactly what the verdict meant.
I did feel a huge release of the anxiety from the trial. We all know the history of this country, and we all know that justice and accountability haven’t always been present when the police are on trial. I really wanted to believe that we’d get it right this time, and I was nervous that we’d just repeat past mistakes.
But we didn’t. And that is a step forward.
And as me and the kid walked back from the park, the new reality started to sink in; we’re not done, this isn’t over. There is still much work ahead. We still need to march. We still need to demand reform and accountability from the police, but also the DA offices, and our elected officials. Reform isn’t easy, and it takes time, but that arc just bent a little closer to justice.
