Racism in Real Time
The George Floyd Murder Trial
April 30, 2021
Embedded Files
As the George Floyd Murder trial unfolds, white America, in fact all the world, is invited to sit around the kitchen table of Black Americans, listening to their daily lives and observing their humanity. Viewing the trial, as painful as it is, offers a better understanding of living while Black. It provides context to Baldwin's message in If Beale Street Could Talk, as well as to the messages of Jesmyn Ward and Isabel Wilkerson.
The testimonies of the people who witnessed the murder of George Floyd give voice to the fears and intimidations experienced by all African Americans. Each witness describes, often through tears, the personal fears that leave their homes with them every day. Fears that we have read about, but have not heard or seen as intimately as we can while watching the trial.
The image of Officer Chauvin's knee pressing on George Floyd's neck visually connects to the long history of ropes tightening around black necks and the postcards and Brownie photographs documenting the disregard white America has for Black life.
“You can’t win” "Murderers, Bro" "I look at my dad..."
Christopher Martin
Daniella Frazier
@ 4/17 A few things to think about as the trial comes to its conclusion...
The first seven minutes of this PBS NewsHour clip are of particular relevance.
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10/19/21 UPDATE: Jonathan Capehart mentions the proposed George Floyd Policing Act of 2021 in the clip above. A statement (9/22) from the Legal Defense and Education Fund of the NAACP provides the current status of the legislation (HERE).
Directly access the New York Times article by clicking above or read the PDF below.
The Simple Facts of Derek Chauvin’s Trial _ The New Yorker.pdf
Read the Washington Post article by clicking above or access the PDF below.
Opinion _ We know who the victim is in Derek Chauvin's trial is. It isn't Derek Chauvin. - The Washington Post.pdf
The article above is from the New York Times. You may also access the PDF below.
Opinion _ Lessons From Lynchings - The New York Times.pdf
This Scientific American article was reprinted recently with an Editor's note including: "This story from June 2020, written by 12 physicians, explains how inaccurately portraying the medical findings from Floyd’s autopsy emboldens white supremacy under the cloak of authoritative scientific rhetoric."
The article above, from ZORA, provides a Black perspective on the trial, summed up with this statement: "We wait to see if anything more has changed in these 164 years since Dred Scott, but I wouldn’t hold my breath."
@ 4/20 The Verdict: GUILTY ON ALL THREE COUNTS !!
Meaning and Significance
Charles Blow's analysis in The New York Times, April 21, 2021
Access the Times on the left, read the PDF below
Opinion _ After the Derek Chauvin Verdict, the War Continues - The New York Times.pdf
Article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune
April 20, 2021, 8:05 pm
Article by antiracist educator Tim Wise
April 2021
Eugene Robinson, of the Washington Post, struggles with his feelings about the trial and its verdict. Access directly, above, or read the PDF.
Opinion _ The conviction of Derek Chauvin shouldn't feel like a victory. But it does. - The Washington Post.pdfFrank Bruni newsletter.pdf... too congratulatory?
Adam Serwer article (The Atlantic, April 21, 2021)
PDF available below.
Adam Serwer_ There Will Be More Derek Chauvins - The Atlantic.pdfWhat's being said on the right?
TJ Larsen AfroSapiophile April 22, 2021
And finally, the perspective of a police officer -- Patrick Skinner, Savannah GA
Washington Post April 21, 2021
Access the Post directly at left or read the PDF below.
Police officers like me need to take the Chauvin verdict personally - The Washington Post.pdf
Two articles were shared by group members, both lawyers, after the April 30 conversation. Each one highlights another unique aspect of the trial.
Click on the graphic, left, to read more about the jury selection (shared by Gail Mann).
Click this link (here) to learn about a criminal law principle called the Merger Rule (shared by David Moskiwitz).
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