No Verdict Will Bring George Floyd Back...
No verdict will bring George Floyd back, or deliver justice to his family and others who have suffered state-sanctioned police violence. We collectively breathed a sigh of relief when Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts. The verdict offers the Floyd family and the people of Minneapolis some shred of accountability.
Still, we have a long road ahead. Convicting one guilty person cannot bring justice for generations of oppression and racist violence — we’re reminded that of the roughly 1,000 people each year that are killed by police, only about 2% of those deaths even result in charges being filed against the police officer. It does not dismantle racial capitalism and the systems which target, subjugate and kill Black people. And while it gives us a breath of relief, it does not bring us justice. True justice begins with defunding and dismantling these very systems and diverting that funding to programs to make communities healthy and whole, and it will be complete only when our country finally and permanently ends state-sanctioned murders of Black people. True justice would’ve been George Floyd returning home safely to his family and tucking his 5 children into bed that night.
And, as abolitionists, we also know that our collective liberation doesn’t rely upon a police officer being charged and sent to prison — it lies in our hands. We must love and support each other, we must grieve and process, and we must continue organizing to build the world that we dream of. For too long the carceral system has perpetuated conditions of class domination, racism, gender oppression, and poverty. If we as a society chose to invest in our people and communities, there would no longer be a need for police and prisons.
Our communities have been grieving the loss of more Black, brown, AAPI folks at the hands of police across the country: We are going to continue to stand up and speak out to demand accountability for the murders of Daunte Wright, Ma'Kiah Bryant, Adam Toledo, Christian Hall, Ricardo Munoz, Stephen Hughes, Breonna Taylor, James Alexander, and countless others who have been murdered by the police in Pennsylvania and across the country. From the ongoing journey, we have all been on with the Derek Chauvin trial, we know that George Floyd’s murder captures so much more than just the verdict ruling.
We know that a long road ahead to keep our communities safe means so many things. Here’s how we’re continuing to remain in this fight through speaking up about the upcoming budget and how we’re rethinking community safety within a new campaign
There’s so much work to be done but we are starting to see the fruits of our labor. Our movements are growing and shifting public narratives in alignment with our vision of justice and equity. This verdict would not have happened without the consistent political pressure from everyday working people of all races united in the fight for racial justice.. Take this victory and use it to propel us towards transformative wins in the future.
All power to the people.