Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) says there is only one “thing that matters” following the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of the murder of George Floyd.
In an op-ed published by USA Today on Friday, Pressley wrote there is still more work to be done and the Chauvin verdict is not enough to make a change.
“It’s a new day in America, but our communities are still faced with the same traumas as before. The outcome of the Derek Chauvin trial doesn’t change things for us, because Black people are still being killed by police,” she wrote.
Pressley claimed the “notion that the outcome of this trial is cause for celebration” is “traumatic.”
“It is a lie. For the Black people who feel a sense of joy and relief after the guilty verdict, hold space for that. Allow a wave of peace to wash over you. We deserve that,” she added.
Sending a message to her colleagues in Congress, Pressley wrote, “The only thing that matters in this moment is meaningful policy change and budget change — period.”
Pressley suggested it is time to invest “in resources that provide the restorative, trauma-informed, community-based solutions people are demanding.”
Additionally, Pressley wrote she hopes “the rest of us remain acutely uncomfortable with the fact that justice can never truly be served because George Floyd is dead.”
She concluded, “Our work will not be complete until we legislate to dismantle every system that finances and perpetuates brutality, murder and state-sanctioned violence at home and abroad.”
While delivering remarks on Tuesday, President Joe Biden acknowledged more needs to be done.
“We can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedies like this will ever happen and occur again — to ensure that Black and brown people or anyone, so they don’t fear the interactions with law enforcement, that they don’t have to wake up knowing that they can lose their very life in the course of just living their life,” Biden said.
