NATIONAL FAITH LEADER: GRATEFUL FOR CHAUVIN VERDICT, BUT TRUE JUSTICE WON’T COME UNTIL WE END WHITE SUPREMACY, DEFUND THE POLICE

Faith in Public Life Calls for Ongoing Justice in Black Communities in Wake of Chauvin Verdict

Washington, DC—As a “guilty” verdict was announced in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck, Faith in Public Life released the statement of its CEO, Rev. Jennifer Butler:

“My faith tells me that we all are created in God’s image and deserve dignity. I’m grateful for the verdict, which affirms George Floyd’s fundamental dignity and hopefully brings a small measure of relief to his grieving family. But we all know that this isn’t real justice. Justice would be George Floyd still alive and hugging his children. Justice would be a policing and criminal justice system that Black families can believe will serve them as well as it serves others. Justice would be communities that Black people can simply exist in without fear.

“We now know real justice won’t come until we end the white supremacy that allows someone to believe he can literally take another person’s life, in the full view of a crowd, with impunity. In order to make this verdict meaningful and lasting, we must reform the systems that made George Floyd’s death possible: By defunding the police and ending white supremacy.”

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Faith in Public Life is a national movement of clergy and faith

leaders united in the prophetic pursuit of justice, equality and the common

good. Together, with a network of over 50,000 leaders, they are leading the

fight to advance just policies at the state and federal level that affirms our

values and the human dignity of all.