The decision to convict former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin served as the glue needed to start repairing this nation’s deep divide.
Those who feel justice was served are taking their moment to exhale, and while this is a celebration for many, some say it should not have taken an entire nation to get justice for one man.
“It’s clear that movement in the streets changes the way these cases are adjudicated,” said Black Lives Matter leader Donna Davis. “It felt good to know that the pressure from the street and elected officials who’ve taken up this cause, finally get some results.”
Donna Davis and many others stood on the frontlines last summer, demanding change.
“A year ago we were already thinking about yesterday,” explained Davis. “Yesterday, George Floyd’s case was adjudicated with humanity at the center but can we expect that going forward with all of the cases on the table?”
These are concerns that the president of the NAACP’s Hillsborough chapter shares.
“How many more people need to die because of blue,” asked NAACP’s president, Yvette Lewis. “When the guilty verdict came through for Chauvin, I was able to breath, I could exhale; justice prevailed.”
Community activists say now is the time for people to spark change in their neighborhoods.
“We smile through the tears but not forgetting that we have work to do,” said Tampa activist Connie Burton. “We’re talking about systematic system that has been trained and designed; whether it’s unfair housing issues, issues with unemployment in our community, the criminal system in itself."
Burton said the power behind real change is understanding and adjusting policies.
“The dismantling of some of these policies that have kept people so directly impacted that when we have these interactions with the police, it usually ends up with someone going to jail or going directly to the morgue,” said Davis.
Burton, among other Tampa activists, told me they are ready to move their communities forward, adding that good change for one should be good change for all.