Derek Chauvin found guilty for the murder of George Floyd
Following three weeks of testimonies, a jury in Minneapolis, Minnesota found Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd. The former officer is now convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin’s bail would also be revoked, as we await his sentencing, which will be in a couple of months.
Now that a guilty verdict has been reached, the fight for justice is not over. There is still a lot of work to do. There is still a responsibility for this America to start making changes so this doesn’t happen again. This verdict can not be the end all, be all. This cannot be the resolution to years of police brutality and misconduct. This cannot be the justification of action and changes happening.
We're really back at peaceful protests, tear gas and riot gear - not even a full year later.
In the wake of the events happening in Minnesota, not even a full year after the events that led to the murder of George Floyd; while ex-cop Derek Chauvin stands trial - we return to protests and police force back in riot gear and placing barricades around areas in Minnesota after Ex-cop Kim Potter, “accidentally” fired her gun killing Daunte Wright.
Pepper spray is used from behind the fenced perimeter of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Wednesday.
Nick Pfosi/Reuters
In the wake of the events happening in Minnesota, not even a full year after the events that led to the murder of George Floyd; while ex-cop Derek Chauvin stands trial - we return to protests and police force back in riot gear and placing barricades around areas in Minnesota after Ex-cop Kim Potter, “accidentally” fired her gun killing Daunte Wright. The former Brooklyn Center police officer faces second-degree manslaughter charges for the death of Daunte Wright.
The home of the former officer has been barricaded by large concrete and fencing and is under police supervision. Protest have erupted and protesters have been met with force; including police in riot gear as well as being shot with tear gas.
A person gets their eyes washed out after the police released chemical irritants on protesters on Wednesday.
Leah Millis/Reuters
The head of Minnesota’s largest police union, Brian Peters believes Daunte Wright was partly responsible for his own death. “Daunte Wright, if he would have just complied. He was told he was under arrest. They were arresting him on a warrant for weapons. He set off a chain of events that unfortunately led to his death.”
“I’m not excusing it,” Peters continued. “But what we’re seeing in policing these days is that non-compliance by the public.” - It’s statements that’s been said before. It’s statements that come off contradictory when we don’t see the same actions taken with non-African Americans. Even in recent events, we don’t see these actions taken when police officers are directly threatened by white people. A 61-year-old white man dragged and assaulted an officer but was not shot or tased in the process. The incident occurred in Minnesota, days after Daunte Wright was fatally shot by officers in the same state.
The shooting sparked protests across the state of Minnesota and prompted Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon and Potter to resign from their positions. Potter was later arrested and released from Hennepin County Jail on $100,000 bail. She now faces charges of second-degree manslaughter in connection with Wright’s death. If convicted, she can serve up to 10 years in prison and may be required to pay a $20,000 fine.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune/AP
And with another name, another situation, it seems we are back where we were just a year ago, even back where were 50-60 years ago; with the same situation yielding the same results or different results lessened in comparison to results to the same situation when in comes to police officers. How many more unarmed black men and women have to be killed? How many more peaceful protests have to occur? How many more excuses have to be made for things to be changed?
Daunte Wright's mother says “justice isn't even a word to me” in response to the charges brought against Potter. Justice doesn’t bring her son back. - Would justice "bring our son home to us, knocking on the door with his big smile coming in the house, sitting down eating dinner with us, going out to lunch, playing with his one-year-old, almost-two-year-old son, giving them a kiss before he walks out the door,"
Chyna Whitaker, holding her son Daunte Wright Jr.,
Protesters gathered in Brooklyn Center on Wednesday night. or the second night in a row, no reports of looting or fires set in Brooklyn Center were made, Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said.
INAUGURATION HIGHLIGHTS
MICHELLE OBAMA. AND THATS THE POST/QUOTE - OH AND BARACK TOO
Michelle Obama wore an all burgundy look by Sergio Hudson complete with a turtleneck sweater, belt, slacks and a peacoat, and wore her tresses down her back; becoming one of the major takeaways from the 59th Presidential Inauguration.
Former President, Barack Obama, George Bush and Bill Clinton with First Lady Michelle Obama and Hilary Clinton gather in solidarity at the Presidential Inauguration. What even was these last 4 years?
Sen. Bernie Sanders, sitting on a folding chair watching President Joe Biden’s inauguration; bundled up with a coat and mittens, and sitting socially distanced from everyone became a highlight and a mood as the memes rolled out; placing Sanders in various alternative locations.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
Joe Biden was sworn in and became the 46th president of the United States. "Politics doesn't have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path," Biden said. "We have to be different than this. America has to be better than this."
"I will be a president for all Americans," Biden said. "I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as those who did."
President Joe Biden walked to the White House, alongside first lady Jill Biden and their family.
Vice President Kamala Harris emerged just minutes behind President Joe Biden, walking with her family to the White House grounds, for her first time as vice president.
Photo by Tom Brenner/Reuters
President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, and their family watch fireworks from the White House after his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States
Amanda Gorman Inspires with Inauguration Poem
Amanda Gorman, 22 recited her poem "The Hill We Climb" after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as president and vice president, at the 59th presidential inauguration, becoming the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. History. “I wanted it to be a message of hope and unity. And I think that Wednesday for me really just underscored how much that was needed,” Gorman told CBS of her poem. “But to not turn a blind eye to the cracks that really need to be filled.”
“For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it”
Read a transcript of her remarks below:
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We've braved the belly of the beast
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn’t mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it’s the past we step into
and how we repair it
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it
National youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman recites her inaugural poem during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 20. Patrick Semansky/Pool/AP
AMERICA UNFOLDING
In what was a clear attack on democracy and our country, A breach of the capital — which hasn’t been seen since the 1800s, continues to unravel America. Talks of this isn’t America when clearly we are watching the very core of America do what it does. When is it inexcusable? How was it allowed for Trump Supporters to behave in this manner, with Capitol Police holding their hands, taking selfie's and basically walking them in to breach the Capitol Building.
We’ve watched a country built on genocide, theft, and slavery continue to make excuses and manage the portrayal of white supremacy. It’s what America does, and denying that does not make it not true.
Under Trump’s presidency, his rhetoric has continued to incite hate and praise this behavior. Its no surprised that we have come to see this day’s events unfold. Is this what we can expect to continue as Trump refuses to concede and except the results of this past election?
“White Americans aren’t afraid of the cops. White Americans are never afraid of the cops, even when they’re committing an insurrection,” @JoyAnnReid says about the Trump supporters rioting the US Capitol. pic.twitter.com/dJ3soNlZhq
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 6, 2021
White Americans get a pass. Media will find ways to portray even the most horrific incidents in a good light without holding those accountable for those actions. We continue to see images and video highlighting the facts but will receive excuses and carefully worded descriptions that shy away from calling things what it is. This continues to speak to the privilege that White Americans hold. Even while committing an insurrection, they are able to leave and go back to the comforts of hotels and cities where they came from and not be held accountable. Looking at how things would most definitely be different if another group had attempted to storm The Capitol; we would see a different outcome. Yet we see them continue to be called protestors when they are domestic terrorist. For peaceful Black Lives Matter protests we see it being labeled a riot. This incident like many before is an act on the very freedom, this country is supposed to uphold.
Black Live Matter protests have focused on fighting for the injustices but saw boarded up business, officers with tear gas and rubber bullets and various preparations to stop peaceful gatherings but in this incident and many others like it, officers stood back, unprepared and surprised when White Terrorists showed up — allowing them to be armed; allowing them to be violent as they said they would be, putting the nation and the safety of its people in danger. But this has been incited by an administration, a culture and a system that refuses to address it.
Two Officers Involved in Breonna Taylor's case have been terminated
Two Louisville officers connected to the Breonna Taylor’s fatal shooting have officially been fired. Both Detective Myles Cosgrove and Detective Joshua Jaynes were relieved of their duties on Jan. 5th. Cosgrove was terminated for failing to activate his body camera during the incident. Jaynes was not present when at the scene on the night Taylor died, but he sought the warrant that authorized the raid. Despite the firings, both detectives can challenge the dismissal.
As previously reported, Taylor was shot and killed back in March by officers who entered her apartment to serve a no-knock search warrant in a drug case. Neither of the officers were charged for her death, but Brett Hankison was indicted on three wanton endangerment charges for blindly firing 10 shots into Taylor’s home and and recklessly endangering Taylor’s neighbors. He was fired by the Lousiville Metro Police Department back in June.
Raphael Warnock becomes Georgia’s first Black senator
Reuters
Rev. Raphael Warnock made history on Wednesday, January 6th as multiple outlets projected his victory as Georgia’s first Black senator. Warnock spoke on CNN’s “New Day.” “I am an iteration and an example of the American dream. When I think about the arc of our history, what Georgia did last night is its own message in the midst of a moment in which so many people are trying to divide our country — at a time we can least afford to be divided.” The senator-elect and senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church ran against Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in Tuesday’s Senate runoff election.
Warnock is also the first Georgia Democrat to be elected to the Senate in 20 years. Many credited the state’s party shift and record-breaking voter turnout to the years-long efforts of Former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams and Georgia activists.
Trump Supporters attack cops and storm The Capitol
In a chaotic rally Wednesday morning, Pro-Trump protesters attempted to occupy the Capitol Building. Thousands of Trump supporters stormed through metal barricades around the back of the Capitol on Jan. 6 as even more gathered in the city to protest Congress’ upcoming certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
Videos circulated showing a huge group of protesters pushing over the barricades and marching toward the Capitol Building. Police tried unsuccessfully to control the protesters, as they climbed and kicked aside the barricades, many of them also clashing violently with the officers.
Trump encouraged his supporters to join the D.C. protests and addressed his crowd of supporters from The Ellipse. “We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved,” he said. “We won this election, and we won it by a landslide. This was not a close election.”
Trump continued his hopes Vice President Mike Pence will block the certification.
See videos of Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol below.
It’s interesting to see the complete 180 when it comes to the security that we saw during peaceful Black Lives Matter protests; which saw military officials brought out, riot gear and rubber bullets used. When it comes to Pro Trump supporters, and the protests against our government, we don’t see any of this. When Pro Trump protests destroy buildings or take drastic actions including arming themselves and walking around with weapons; we don’t see Law enforcement taking the same actions.
What police looked like at the Capitol during Black Lives Matter protests.
But… This Is America.
Pro-Trumpers can act in such a manner. They don’t have to be afraid of the police and they can continue to act in the manner they have because time and time again, they don’t face consequences.
