Tag Archives: George Floyd

The guilty verdicts in the Chauvin trial are extraordinary, if unsurprising, because past incidents of police lethal use of force against unarmed civilians, particularly Black civilians, have generally not resulted in criminal convictions.

There is no monolithic militia in the US with a single ideological perspective, and groups are still figuring out their own responses to these ongoing events. Dismissing their current silence as merely hypocritical or racist misses nuance that will be crucial for understanding potential threats and other outcomes from this shift.

The outrage on the streets across the US and beyond over George Floyd's murder has transformed into an international movement against racism. It's the biggest test of American leadership to make sure justice is done to the Floyd family, the “open wounds” of racism are healed through sweeping police reforms, the monster of economic inequality is controlled and decisive measures taken to unite a polarized nation.

Officers who are the subject of previous civilian complaints – regardless of whether those complaints are for excessive force, verbal abuse or unlawful searches – pose a higher risk of engaging in serious misconduct in the future.

Protests identify legitimate grievances in society and often tackle issues that affect people who lack the power to address them through other means. That’s why it is imperative that journalists do not resort to shallow framing narratives that deny significant and consistent space to air the afflicted’s concerns while also comforting the very comfortable status quo.