A friend, RmcG, emailed me about having gone to George F Square a couple months ago (April 20) to hear the verdict read on the State of Minnesota v. Derek Chauvin.*
She was responding to me saying I was baffled that some people I know in town never went to the memorial site during the year it was blocked off. We live near the epicenter of a piece of history--like being where a giant meteor fell––so that seems a bit odd not to go–– to witness or pay respect or even just to take an historic selfie, "I was there".
I asked my friend if I could share what she wrote--it's such a snapshot of history--and she said yes.
This is what my friend, a white woman, wrote.
She was responding to me saying I was baffled that some people I know in town never went to the memorial site during the year it was blocked off. We live near the epicenter of a piece of history--like being where a giant meteor fell––so that seems a bit odd not to go–– to witness or pay respect or even just to take an historic selfie, "I was there".
I asked my friend if I could share what she wrote--it's such a snapshot of history--and she said yes.
This is what my friend, a white woman, wrote.
Re: George Floyd Square
I went a handful of times. Most notably, the day the verdict was read for the Chauvin trial. It was surreal.
I was getting my first [Covid] vaccine in a huge temporary structure--think an airplane hangar--by the fairgrounds. I was marveling at the military, honestly.
When is a well-organized military good to have?
During a public health crisis, that's when.
I was impressed.
So I was sitting there waiting my fifteen minutes (watching the delightful absurdist play being performed in front of me) when [my teenage daughter] texted and said they would be reading the verdict sometime after 3:30.
I looked at my watch and it was about quarter to 3:00. I lurched up and hustled toward the exit.
A National Guard was by the door--a Black woman.
I said, "The verdict will be read after 3:30."
Her eyes widened behind her mask and we both stared at each other for a moment.
Then I bolted.
You'll remember, of course, how tense it was and how anxious we all were. I know I was.I drove directly to George Floyd Square. I called [my daughters] on the way and told them to just stay where they were. Not to leave the house.I got to the Square right at 3:30 and stood there just paces from where he died. The atmosphere was like nothing I had ever experienced.
Stress, stress, stress in the air.
Waiting, waiting.
Then right before 4:00 there were murmurs and shifting movement and people all started looking at their phones. I remember a group of people were off to my left and they spontaneously all went into a big huddle.
Silent.
Then the convictions started to be released.
People were crying--I was--and praising God.
A woman--a white woman--came up to me and asked if she could hug me. We hugged each other and cried.
Then I left and drove home.
____________________
* The State of Minnesota v. Derek Michael Chauvin was a US
criminal case in the District Court of Minnesota in which former
police officer Derek Chauvin was tried for the
murder of George Floyd during an arrest on May 25, 2020.
--via The New York Times
