Photo by Mike Stoll via Unsplash.
On Tuesday as all three guilty verdicts were read out loud, editors from The Bulletin virtually gathered to watch history unfold.
Here are some of their responses from the verdict of the trial, including communications assistant professor Dr. Fernando Severino who currently lives in Minneapolis where he’s currently teaching virtually.
Dr. Severino has been a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota for the last seven years, working remotely from home since August 2020 as an assistant professor for the communications department at California State University, Dominguez Hills.
“Part of the community is celebrating this trial,” said Severino in-class hours after the verdict was announced. “And then at the same time, my question is, how do we use this to move forward into creating more substantive and sustainable change that can address issues like this.”
“But I think mixing all this with the pandemic, I think it is a move forward to find ways to heal as a community,” Severino said. “The video is awful but it should go viral because shootings like this, killing off Black people by white cops, it’s been in the history of this country for many years and it’s few times that have been televised or recorded live and has created this type of movement.”
Iracema Navarro, Copy Editor
My fist rose to the air after each count was found guilty in the Derek Chauvin trial. I raged in hope, I held back tears, wearing my VOTE gray t-shirt that I wore in the past elections. For a minute I thought our society was going to do a 180 in the social injustice we have been living in until I heard the potential year sentence. Under the sentencing guidelines of Minnesota and Chauvin having no criminal history, the presumptive sentence is 12 1/2 years in prison.
The years Chauvin will serve will not be determined in eight weeks and is suggested that he will more likely receive up to 15 years according to ABC News.
Minnesota laws, 10 to 15 years if you kill someone. It made me realize that we have a much longer road to go to change the law system. It also made me think that if I ever want to kill someone, I should choose the state wisely.
Destiny Jackson, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Electing our first Black president wasn’t a balm to assuage the sting of racism in this country. Just like sentencing one cop for the gross misuse of conduct against a Black man isn’t the celebratory police reform we’ve all been marching for in summer 2020. It is a step in the right direction, it is small justice, a brief moment of hope, but it is most certainly far from over.
There are many cops who have escaped punishment and this is the first to ever be punished in the state of Minnesota for crimes against Black people. And for those injustices, we need to continue to be present and stay vigilant because, the scariest part of all of this is had it not been for the bystanders that day who caught George Floyd’s tragic death on camera, Chauvin would no doubt be walking just as freely as the other murderous policemen and women are to this day.
Daniel Tom, Contributing Writer
Almost a year after George Floyd’s life was tragically taken, justice has been served. The sports world came together as one cohesive unit demanding change to systemic racism. Popular figures such as LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick spoke out in what was a never-ending cycle of police brutality against people of color.
As today’s verdict was announced, we learned that athletes and the sports world, in general, helped bring to light the conversation of systemic racism and provided a ‘normal’ sense for people looking to heal through the pain. Today marked the start of accountability, but there’s still so much work to be done and those with the platforms to do so will continue to drive this conversation.
Taylor Helmes, Editor in Chief
‘This decision will set a precedent for future crimes cops commit,’ I thought to myself leading up to this verdict. I turned on the news and logged onto a call with other student journalists in preparation. My heart was racing and I was shaking, anxiety rushing through my body.
“We the jury find the defendant… guilty,” Judge Peter Cahill read, again, and again. Guilty on all three counts.
My jaw dropped and tears began to collect in my eyes. An image of Derek Chauvin walking away in handcuffs, bail revoked and facing a 10-15 year prison sentence. Then video feed from outside the courtroom where George Floyd’s girlfriend and surrounding supporters gathered, hands thrown in the air, praising Jesus.
Many are saying that this is a step in the right direction and that the hard work is not yet done to fix historically racist policing in the United States. It will take more than one ex-cop going to prison to correct this broken system.
Darlene Maes, Managing Editor
When I woke up yesterday morning, nerves from this trial sat heavy in my heart on top of my nephew using my car for his driving test. Will my nephew pass? Will riots result from what will come from a Minnesota courtroom? Uncertainty weighed heavy in the morning, but at noon, my nephew passed his test, so I knew even more good would come. Two hours later, accountability had been held.
The verdict — guilty on all three counts is a moment to remember. A moment that echoes into our history that for once, less than a year later, the judicial system has worked in favor of what is right. This conviction will never justify a daughter losing her father, a family losing their loved one, Black people enduring yet another senseless act of violence. When it seems like all is right and a win has presented itself for the injustices POC face at the hands of police, it should remain temporary. Because the fight is never over, systemic racism is an issue that will not be solved without activism.
Carlos Martinez, Web Editor
In many ways, the Chauvin trial is this decade’s Rodney King trial; a critical moment in the fight against systemic racism. With history ending high-profile cases with acquittals and mistrials, I was prepared to be unsurprised if the trial ended with Chauvin acquitted or not guilty.
Witnessing the final verdict of Chauvin being guilty on all counts, it gave me hope of significant change in the legal system. Although there is still more work to be done, the Chauvin trial is a small step in the right direction of revamping police accountability.
Brenda Fernanda Verano, News Editor
9 minutes and 29 seconds. That’s how long it took for George Floyd to die. And even though his killer was convicted yesterday on three counts that could lead to 40 years in prison, I can’t celebrate. One cop being found guilty of abusing his power is not enough.
What should be on trial is the system that has allowed so many Black people to die at the hands of the police. True justice would be reimagining public safety so it protects, not destroys, Black lives. Because tonight, a daughter will still go to bed without her father and a mother will wake up tomorrow unable to hug her son. Rest in power George Perry Floyd Jr.
