MAEC’s Statement on the Chauvin Verdict
Thursday, April 22, 2021
On April 20th, a Minnesota jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd. When the verdict was read, we experienced relief and joy alongside deep sadness and mourning.
This much-anticipated verdict provided a brief exhalation for many communities across the country. But while it signifies that accountability is possible, true justice is yet to come. One guilty verdict does not erase the trauma and loss that his family, friends, and community have experienced in the past year and in years to come. One guilty verdict will not bring George Floyd back. We send our sincerest sympathies to George Floyd’s family and friends in the hope that they will find some form of peace.
Yet, the significance of this moment is not lost on us. George Floyd’s death is part of a legacy of violence against Black people, from enslaved Africans to Emmett Till to Breonna Taylor. Their lives mattered: Black lives matter, as they always have. The guilty verdict represents a step toward increased accountability, and a reckoning with our inequitable systems rooted in white supremacy. The United States will be truly just when we dismantle the systems that target, traumatize, and kill Black people, and implement systems that protect and celebrate all humanity. As Representative Cori Bush wrote, “Our work is to save Black lives, and our work continues.”
Today and every day, MAEC recommits its efforts to imagine and create a just nation where all people and societal institutions recognize that Black lives matter. We work with teachers, administrators, communities, families, and students toward a future where Black students are given the opportunities they need to live in complete safety and flourish in society. We work to change the education system so that all students, families, and educators have the tools and resources they need.
Black students matter.
Black families matter.
Black educators matter.
Black lives matter.
