Some Fort Wayne community members came together Friday evening to celebrate the guilty verdict in the case against Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Last May, Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes, leading Floyd to suffocate. On Wednesday, a jury found Chauvin guilty on two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter.
Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests last summer, which led to clashes between police and protestors.
On Friday, the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Wayne organized a gathering on the Allen County Courthouse green to celebrate the verdict, but also discuss the need for continued action against police brutality.
Delante Jackson is the senior minister of East Chestnut Church of Christ in Fort Wayne. He urged the gathered crowd to continue to be vigilant, not to become complacent following Chauvin’s trial.
“See, it’s easy for us to stay at home and stay on Facebook and stay on Zoom and instagram and snapchat and be comfortable," Jackson said. "But being a black man in America is not comfortable.”
Many of the speakers also said that while this is a time for celebration of accountability for Chauvin, it is not the end of the fight for justice.
