We Witnessed Accountability, We Still Seek Justice
Tuesday morning, I woke up to an interview with a brother of George Floyd and a cousin of Emmett Till. The two sat side by side with each other recognizing the tragedy of their narratives aligning more than 60 years after Till, a 14-year old African-American child, was lynched by a blatant southern mob and unmasked racism in our nation. My heart weighed on me as I watched a brutal narrative of suffering be the thread that binds two families and two centuries. The narrative of a mother, Mamie Till, mourning the murder of her young child in 1955 and the narrative of a young child, Gianna Floyd – a daughter, mourning the murder of her father in 2021. This should not be.
My heart lamented in the words of the Psalmist (Psalm 13):
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?”
We cry out to God with hope in our persistent pursuit of justice. We realize a guilty verdict does not remove the sting of our grief and deep loss with so many lives stolen. Yet, we pause to acknowledge the significance of this critical moment in history, establishing not only a precedent for the courts, but we hope a precedent for moral consciousness and duty for our society at-large. We cry out with hope, giving thanks for the courageousness of the bystanders who recorded George Floyd’s cries for his deceased mother and his struggle to breathe. We cry out with hope, giving thanks for the restless ones that would not sleep, holding vigil for our departed and beloved brother, father and son.
We cry out with hope, giving thanks for the courageous testimonies of all who dared to speak truth to power and break the silence of complicity, affirming the sanctity of life for all. We cry out with hope, giving thanks for the thousands upon thousands of vigilant citizens in Chicago and beyond, marching, demonstrating, resisting and saying his name – saying their names. We have been unapologetic in demonstrating solidarity with the family of George Floyd and all who have personally experienced such inconsolable loss, including the families of Laquan McDonald and Sandra Bland.
The verdict to convict Derek Chauvin of murder on all three counts is woefully vindicating. The struggle remaining before us is sobering. We realize the struggle continues as we seek justice for another teenager from Chicago – Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old Mexican-American, shot by Chicago Police Officer Eric Stillman on the West Side of Chicago. We continue to seek justice for a litany of stolen lives and their families who did not find accountability in the courts. We must restlessly pursue justice and we invite you to share in this work alongside Community Renewal Society.
We call for the passing of The People’s Ordinance as CRS aligns its commitment to GAPA with friends of CPAC under the joint coalition Empowering Communities for Public Safety.
Charges: Second-degree unintentional murder charge alleges Chauvin caused Floyd's death "without intent" while committing or attempting to commit felony third-degree assault; third-degree murder charge alleges Chauvin caused Floyd's death by "perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life; and second-degree manslaughter charge alleges Chauvin caused Floyd's death by "culpable negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm.
Worship litany resources are uploaded to our website and you will find devotions, calls to actions and additional material on all of our platforms including Twitter, Facebook and our website.
We pause to give thanks for the family of George Floyd who, like the family of Emmett Till, allowed us to lift up the names, bodies, suffering and cries of their loved ones in our pursuit to dismantle systems of oppression that still pervade our society. We pray prayers of thanksgiving for the accountability we witnessed today and our lamentations unto God are sustained as we remain vigilant and restless until justice and freedom comes for us all. In the words of our Board Member, Natasha Robinson, one should not have to die because someone’s discretion was weaponized. “He was not a martyr, he was executed,” Robinson distinguishes. “There are too many George Floyds still seeking justice.” Chauvin’s conviction can’t boil down to letting one Minnesota jury confirm George Floyd didn’t deserve to die. This moment and the painful 9 minutes and 29 seconds we witnessed on May 25, 2020 should force us to grasp that not everyone is afforded the promise to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Community Renewal Society remains deeply committed to Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS), an ordinance that would transform how the Chicago Police Department serves and protects our neighbors. Join us in this work towards healing, reconciliation, justice and Beloved Community. True police accountability can’t be achieved through trials and errors. Now is the time for thoughtful deliberation and prompt decision-making about the transformation of the criminal justice system. Please learn more about how you may get involved in our work.
In Solidarity,
Rev. Dr. Waltrina N. Middleton, Executive Director
and CRS Organizing and Policy Team (Sarah Yousuf, Jason C. Wilson, Damon Smith & Keron Blair)
Read statements from our Board of Directors regarding the Derek Chauvin verdict.