Black women speak out on Chauvin verdict

Statement of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda President & CEO Marcela Howell

WASHINGTON — In response to the guilty verdict in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda President and CEO Marcela Howell issued the following statement:

“Today’s guilty verdict in Chauvin’s murder trial is just one step. For a year, we have all been holding our breath and now we can exhale. We know that George Floyd’s family and friends will feel the pain of his death forever. But we hope that they will find some solace in knowing that people around the world weep with them and will continue to fight for justice in George Floyd’s name.

“But George Floyd’s fate reminds us that the police — the very people who are supposed to protect us, instead, — too often kill us with impunity. Law enforcement has still not been held accountable for the death of Stephon Clark, Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright, and so many others. Black people face racist police violence at work, in school, on the streets and in our own homes. There must be concrete, systemwide reforms that dismantle white supremacy and invest in our Black communities instead of policing, prison and jails.

“Tonight, we call on Congress and the Biden Administration to aggressively work to stop the police violence that continues to happen every single day in every Black community across the country. The world is watching and demanding that America turn a new page as we begin to right the wrongs of police violence, mass incarceration and white supremacy in all of its forms. Black women — who founded and lead the Black Lives Matter movement — are leading in this moment and reminding America that this verdict is only one small step toward justice. We will not rest until justice is meaningful term for all of us.”