(NEXSTAR) – A jury convicted former Officer Derek Chauvin Tuesday on all charges in the death of George Floyd, the Black man who was pinned to the pavement with a knee on his neck in a case that set off a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.
The jurors, made up of six white people and six Black or multiracial people, found Chauvin guilty on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Many took to social media Tuesday to comment on the verdict, including prominent voices and leaders in the Black community.
Former President Barack Obama released a statement with his wife, Michelle, in which he said, “Today, a jury did the right thing. But true justice requires much more.”
He and Michelle sent their prayers to Floyd’s family, and said they “stand with all those whoa re committed to guaranteeing every American the full measure of justice that George and so many others have been denied.”
Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, said she was grateful “for accountability,” but stressed that “the work continues.”
“Justice is a continuum,” she wrote. “And America must bend with the moral arc of the universe, which bends toward justice.”
Poet Amanda Gorman said that “victory would be George Floyd being alive.”
She stressed that “Every day Black Americans worry if they will be next is another day without justice.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
