I reacted to the triple guilty verdict rendered by the jury that convicted Derek Chauvin of killing George Floyd in a whirlwind of relief, sadness and a sense of urgency. For me, the verdict wasn’t an ultimate victory, or ultimate justice. Justice for George Floyd, and every other person who has died at the hands of brutal and unnecessary force would be that they were still living.
I view this verdict as accountability—a small but crucial step in our society’s process of reckoning. A process that urges us to look deeply and work fearlessly to change the way all of our systems will operate in the future. What will the criminal justice system look like going forward? Housing? Healthcare? Education? The only way to influence real and lasting systemic change is to apply the same strategy the Floyd prosecutors used: Peer accountability. Officer Chauvin’s conviction hinged largely on the fact that a former police sergeant, a Minneapolis police lieutenant, the department’s police chief, the head of officer training, a use-of-force expert, a former emergency medical technician and others spoke out against wrongdoing, and for doing the right thing.
Doing the right thing: Speaking up to hold each other accountable as individuals and as a community, should not only be the goal. It should be the norm. A simple, peaceful action to foster clarity and understanding. A voice to call attention to implicit biases or microaggressions. We have more power than we know. Holding each other accountable is the cure to bringing balance, fairness and equity to our broken systems. We have to be all in to fast forward our society into a state of healthier, open communication, peace and equality for all.
Community accountability begins with an awareness of the many symptoms that I see play out in the populations we serve each day. These symptoms have the same no-win impact on all of us: Food insecurity and hunger, lack of access to quality healthcare, education, technology and the internet, discriminatory practices that puts services (financial and housing) out of reach for residents of certain areas based on race or ethnicity (that’s redlining). Just as Chauvin’s defense attempted to damage Floyd’s character by pointing out that he was on drugs to justify the officer’s actions, I urge everyone to erase the stereotypical images formed about those in need. Know that they have dreams of stable lives, security for their families; and so many crave opportunities to grow and provide for their loved ones through education and job training.
The weight of George’s death carries Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland…they were all on his shoulders, they were with him that day he lay on the ground and took his last breath.
But what can we do as a society? How do we put into practice our community accountability? One immediate step that we can take is to urge our senators to pass H.R.7120 – George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. It passed the House of Representatives last month, but it has a long way to go to pass the Senate. Please contact your senator and urge them support this act in the name of humanity and safety for our citizens and our police officers. Our future, our peace and prosperity, our collective health and well-being can begin the process of healing, if we are all in. Communities and law enforcement must come together in this reckoning process!!!