The jury came in with their verdict today in court. Derek Chauvin was convicted on all three counts against him including manslaughter and murder. It’s a step towards justice but certainly not the end-all, be-all of police brutality against members of marginalized communities. Public officials are still facing pressure to make sure law enforcement officials are held accountable for their actions.
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The death of George Floyd sparked protests and demonstrations across the world. As Chauvin was served a guilty verdict, there was an outpour of reactions from public officials to A-List celebrities who expressed relief of the news. Nancy Pelosi was joined by the Congressional Black Caucus where she offered a rather bizarre speech where she insinuated that, somehow, Floyd willfully sacrificed himself for justice.
“Thank you, George Floyd, for sacrificing your life for justice. For being there to call out to your mom, how heartbreaking was that, call out for you mom, ‘I can’t breathe,'” Pelosi said at the press conference. “But because of you and because of thousands, millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice.”
The comments she made were immediately met with backlash which she seemed to try to clarify afterward in a subsequent tweet calling for the George Floyd Justice In Policing act to be enacted immediately.
“George Floyd should be alive today. His family’s calls for justice for his murder were heard around the world. He did not die in vain. We must make sure other families don’t suffer the same racism, violence & pain, and we must enact the George Floyd #JusticeInPolicing Act.”