(ThyBlackMan.com) I watched on TV and social media as our people let out a sigh of relief when Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges. There was an air of vindication and justice in a situation that felt uncertain, though there should have been no doubt Chauvin would have been found guilty. For some the wait was the source of anxiety caused by a history lacking justice when dealing with the criminal justice system. Our people needed this verdict to be right. What didn’t escape us was while our attention was on the George Floyd trial a Daunte Wright was murdered by the police.
The officer had the audacity not say she was reaching for her taser, but she shot him with her gone. Does that make sense? As this shooting is setting in, 13yr old Adam Toledo is shot and killed by police. As this is shooting is setting in 15yr old Ma’Khia Bryant is killed by police; whether you believe she was a threat or not unnecessary deadly force is the issue yet again. One would think Derek Chauvin, in a nationally televised trial, being found guilty would send a message to police officers that misuse of deadly force, murdering black people, is unacceptable and you will be prosecuted. The message didn’t seem to reach some as the body count continues; six police killings took place after Chauvin was found guilty.
I have to be honest; I don’t feel relief. I am still paying attention with the same intensity that I watched the trial. Granted I understand the celebratory position, and I have nothing against it. For me, until this man gets the sentence, he deserved justice has not been served. Far too often our people are given a half-done job when it comes to justice. It’s time the justice system gives the families of the slain full satisfaction to the fullest extent of the law. This would mean a max sentence. Our people can only be convinced that their lives matter in the eyes of the law when officers are completely held accountable for their actions. Justice is supposed to be blind but Black people have not experienced the fairness that is supposed to manifest. “A black man has no rights a black man is bound to respect” has been our reality, and clearly our right to live is among those things that doesn’t seem to warrant respect.
Clearly this is not an issue of a few bad apples, but several rotten trees grown from rotten soil that is nurtured by an atrocious evil in our society. Unfortunately, it is at the foundation of American culture and woven into the fabric of every part of this country. There isn’t a state we can point to and say systemic racism doesn’t exist here, and it can be seen in our policing and courts. This isn’t a state of affairs that exists in the confinement of black minds. The footage of George Floyd being murdered may have shocked the nation, but it is a terrible truth that Black people in this country already understand. We didn’t need a video to know this evil exists. It is a part of the subconscious reality of our existence here. Many of us are high functioning in our anxiety and fears regarding law enforcement because it is apart of life as much as any other aspect.
As we await the sentencing phase of the Derek Chauvin trial it makes me cringe to know there are officers that have abused deadly force that will not be charge. There are those that will never be held accountable for murder. It is important for the sentence of Derek Chauvin to set a precedence that you can send an officer away for more than a supposed ten year sentence. It is important to know there are appeals judges that will uphold the original verdict. Well, that is our prayer knowing that we will have to sit on needle for those outcomes. Many of us already know Chauvin’s lawyers are gearing up for appeals. All we have to do is turn our attention to Dallas, TX where former officer Amber Guyer is trying to get out of a 10yr sentence for murdering Botham Jean in his home.
Again, I simply don’t feel relief as my gut tells me our people will not get the full justice that is deserve. The message that needs to be sent, that our lives can’t be senselessly take simply because one doesn’t like black people, doesn’t seem to be penetrating well. I hope I’m wrong. I pray that there is a change whereby it doesn’t feel like black people are being hunted by law enforcement. I want to be wrong. I want to life in a country where I don’t have to fear for my family. I want to feel this great relief.
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
May connect with this sister over at Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/christian.pierre.9809 and also Twitter; http://twitter.com/MrzZeta.
