Yesterday, the much anticipated verdict of officer Derek Chauvin provided a since of closure in knowing law enforcement has the capability to be held accountable for wrongdoing, abuse, and in this case, murder of George Floyd. Though we celebrate a victory of battle won in court, we still have a long journey ahead of us to be victorious in all cases concerning recent events of police brutality. As we commend the city of Minneapolis for rightfully convicting the killer of George Floyd, we can only hope the City of Columbus and Franklin County follows suit with the murders of our very own Andre Hill and Casey Goodson Jr.

And now we have Ma’Khia Bryant…

As much as we would like to take a sigh of relief and digress on the conviction of Derek Chauvin, we still are fighting to feel safe in the hands of our law enforcement and governing officials. It is evident the City of Columbus and our country has ongoing issues and we can’t be episodic in letting go of our efforts to eliminate systemic racism. It is the desire and the mandate from the Men of Ubuntu that we all continue to stand in declaring Enough is Enough and to see all of these convictions and community enhancements through to the very end. We shall prevail, we will do our part and ultimately, we will win this battle of police brutality and racial injustice.

 “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin