Have We Seen Justice?

May 25, 2021 will mark the one year anniversary of the death of George Floyd. He was killed by Minneapolis police officers after a confrontation over a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd was handcuffed and taken to the ground before police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for over 9 minutes. Three other officers helped pin him down while keeping the crowds at bay.

Bystanders witnessed police officers using excessive force on an unarmed Black man who was clearly in distress. Floyd called out again and again, saying that he couldn’t breathe, but Chauvin didn’t remove his knee from Floyd’s neck. Floyd called out for his mother, told Chauvin that he was killing him, and even though others pleaded with the police, Chauvin didn’t move. Floyd became unresponsive but it still took Chauvin a few more minutes to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck. Floyd was taken away and declared dead soon after. 

I remember watching the video of George Floyd’s death the day it happened. I watched it over and over again, mainly out of disbelief, but also anger. It was the direct result of an abuse of power that couldn’t be excused as an accident. It was an act of unjustified aggression and violence that is experienced by far too many Black Americans today.

Unjustified police brutality isn’t just an issue facing Black Americans, but young unarmed Black men are disproportionately targeted. Black Americans make up 24% of all police killings although they are only 13% of the population. 99% of police officers avoid criminal charges when involved in police killings.

The killing of George Floyd was much more than just an awakening to police brutality. The words “I can’t breathe” became a battle cry for millions of Black Americans who continue to face systemic discrimination and racial inequality. The growing list of Black people unjustifiably killed by police or in targeted hate crimes continue to suffocate hopes for peace. Floyd’s death was a tipping point which led to massive protests calling for change throughout this past year.

It should be noted that not all issues can or should be linked to race. There are other factors at play that need to be addressed in order for us to move forward on the road of justice more holistically. But the experiences of people of colour need to inform how we can move forward together. A lot of progress has been made in the last while, but one questioned lingered - would we see justice concerning the death of George Floyd? 

Over and over again, we have seen police walk away free after abusing their power in ways that are fatal for unarmed Black people. History has shown us that there was reason to believe this could happen again. However, on Tuesday, April 20th, I watched as one of the most anticipated sentences in recent history was handed down. Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts related to the murder of George Floyd. 

As I watched the reactions of the Floyd family online, I saw the relief that George Floyd’s death would not go unnoticed and that those responsible would be held accountable. As I followed news stories and saw people’s reactions on social media, many people mentioned justice. I’ve been thinking about that ever since. Have we really seen justice? 

Although a non-guilty verdict would have perpetuated the injustice already caused, I’m not convinced that we’ve actually seen justice yet. I remember asking the Honourable Justice and former Senator Murray Sinclair a question about our justice system a few years ago. He quickly corrected me to say that we don’t have justice systems - we have legal systems. 

What Chauvin received was the proper legal penalty for his actions. He was tried and found guilty by a jury of his peers according to all the evidence available as well as the laws upheld by the state of Minneapolis. But legal penalty for wrongdoing is different than justice. 

“Justice is a process in which wrongs are made right.”

Justice is a process in which wrongs are made right. It’s wrapped up in words like reconciliation, redemption, forgiveness, and restitution. It’s much more than judgment and goes further than accountability. In the Christian tradition, justice is something that is part of the character of God - something that Jesus will bring in full when He returns to complete the work of establishing the kingdom of God on Earth.

In some ways, full justice is something that we can’t create. We’re incapable of going back in time and bringing George Floyd back to life. We can’t undo the racism experienced by countless Black Americans. We can’t undo the history of segregation, Jim Crow, or slavery. The only way that wrongs of the past will fully be made right is when Jesus comes back to sort it all out.

What we are left with is to do our best to strive towards justice. This isn’t something that happens in a moment, like in the conviction or sentencing of a murderer. It’s something that goes much farther and deeper, and requires a commitment to a process that will shake the very foundations of our systems and transform us from the inside out.

The justice I’m talking about is the kind of justice envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his famous “I have a dream” speech. On August 28, 1963, he shared his hopes for a day when his own children would “live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

But the work of justice and dismantling racism isn’t just for the sake of coloured people. In its most holistic form, it brings freedom to both the powerless and the powerful. It brings healing to both the oppressed and the oppressors. That’s why Dr. King finished his speech envisioning a day when:

“…all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Have we seen this kind of justice? No. We’ve seen many glimpses of it, but we still have a long way to go. The work of justice isn’t an event. It’s a process which we continually need to live into. It requires intentionality, sacrifice, patience, and commitment. But it’s the way of love. It’s the way of Jesus. Our job is to continue to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). As we do so, we can trust that God is present in the work of justice and will be the one to see it to competition.