The Trial (4/4/21)

It has been a difficult week for our nation as we have watched the wrenching testimony of the witnesses in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. We experienced the dramatic opening nine minutes of silence. We heard a 19-year-old describe the guilt he feels for having taken the counterfeit $20 bill that set off the chain of events from that day. We watched the emotional breakdown of several bystanders. There was even the pained testimony of a nine-year-old child. A police officer put his knee on the neck of a man until he could no longer breath and died and so many people going about their normal lives were rendered powerless to help him.

This trial is unusual in so many ways. For starters, it is being broadcast live on national TV. Also is the stark reminder that it is unusual in the first place because most police officers are never prosecuted for using excessive force. They are rarely even disciplined. Watching this trial, Americans desperately await a verdict that will provide criminal accountability for George Floyd’s death. While that verdict would be comforting, our hearts can do nothing less than ache with the knowledge that there are so many victims in this horrific situation. And that one verdict will not change the behavior of bad cops abusing their power with impunity.

We need Derek Chauvin to be held accountable, but additionally, we need to focus on the fact that the deaths of George Floyd and those before him like Breonna Taylor have spurred enormous civil rights protests in the United States and have shifted the public debate about criminal justice and police reform. George Floyd’s legacy is bigger than Derek Chauvin’s trial. No matter the verdict, we cannot lose this moment in history to do the challenging work to make positive change in our country.