The Workers Circle response to the verdict in Derek Chauvin trial
April 20, 2021
Contact: Karin Venegas, karin@anatgerstein.com, 347-361-7049
Lynsey Billet, lynsey@anatgerstein.com, 347-361-8449
(NEW YORK) -- Ann Toback, CEO of the Workers Circle, issued the following statement in response to the verdict rendered today in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd:
Today’s guilty verdict is a critical counter to the culture of impunity and white supremacy that infects law enforcement in the United States. But even as we commend this verdict, we must remember that it will not bring George Floyd back to his loved ones nor will it bring back the thousands of people of color who have been murdered by the police for generations.
With this verdict we insist, “never again” must be our goal and we recognize the systemic change that is needed. Millions of people of color are forced every day to confront the possibility of being targeted by racist police violence. For far too long this police violence has continued unchecked.
At the root of this violence is a culture of white supremacy that has poisoned our public safety, our democracy, our economic system, our educational system, our health care, and the life of our communities. Systemic racism puts people of color at grave and continual risk, ensures chasmic inequality, and diminishes our humanity.
We will not stand idly by while city, state, and federal government continue to put resources behind and legitimize brutal, discriminatory policing. We will not be content even with the conviction and jailing of the perpetrators of the murder of George Floyd, as important as that is. Too many lives have been lost for too many years. Our country’s system of policing itself is guilty and we cannot allow it to continue without comprehensive change.
We recommit ourselves to reimagining public safety that respects human dignity and ensures people of color and communities of color the rights, freedom, and safety that are so long overdue. And we continue to partner with organizations led by our sisters and brothers of color as we work to end centuries of systemic racism in our country.