What Happened: On Tuesday, the long-awaited verdict in the trial of ex-police officer Derek Chauvin was announced. Last year in May, he knelt on 46-year-old George Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, leading to his death. Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts he was charged with, and immediately remanded into custody.
The Big Picture: While the incident in itself was outrageous, it sparked a bigger conversation about racially motivated killings of people of colour at the hands of law enforcement in the US. There were large scale protests, and people all over the world reacted to the murder. Among them was Karachi based artist Haider Ali who painted a truck art inspired mural of Floyd.
Pakistani-American reaction : The entire community of people of colour in the US has seemingly let out a sigh of relief following the verdict. Recently, these racially motivated attacks had turned towards the Asian community, with a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indiana, which led to the deaths of 8 people of the Sikh community. Hence, the verdict provides hope for justice for all.
well done to the jury on finding derek chauvin guilty on all charges in the death of george floyd..justice for george floyd
— Usman Raza jamil (@ujaydaman) April 20, 2021
Derek Chauvin has been convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
It is a moment of jubilation
— Muhammad Hanif (English with Prof Hanif) (@New_Dictum) April 21, 2021
The law delivered justice to George Floyd. America's political leaders are up next
The conviction of Derek Chauvin showed George Floyd's life really did matter to a justice system on trial.
April 21, 2021 at 09:04AM pic.twitter.com/WGX9GNlr2f— Shahid Khan (@Shahid11828) April 21, 2021