Obama Applauds Chauvin Verdict, Laments Ongoing Issues of Race in America: ‘Black Americans Are Treated Differently’

Former President Barack Obama said Tuesday’s guilty verdict for former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin meant that justice was “closer today,” but that it was “far from a sufficient” step “on the road to progress.”

“Today, a jury in Minneapolis did the right thing,” Obama said in a statement, which was also signed by former First Lady Michelle Obama. “But if we’re being honest with ourselves, we know that true justice is about much more than a single verdict in a single trial. True justice  requires that we come to terms with the fact that Black Americans are treated differently, every day. It requires us to recognize that millions of our friends, family, and fellow citizens live in fear that their next encounter with law enforcement could be their last. And it requires us to do the sometimes thankless, often difficult, but always necessary work of making the America we know more like the America we believe in.

“While today’s verdict may have been a necessary step on the road to progress, it was far from a sufficient one,” he added. “We cannot rest. We will need to follow through with the concrete reforms that will reduce and ultimately eliminate racial bias in our criminal justice system. We will need to redouble efforts to expand economic opportunity for those communities that have been too long marginalized.”

A jury found Chauvin guilty on Tuesday on three counts related to George Floyd’s May 2020 death, including second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

Obama closed his statement with praise for Black Lives Matter protesters, saying, “And as continue the fight, we can draw strength from the millions of people … who have marched and protested and spoken up over the last year, shining a light on inequity and calling for change. Justice is closer today not simply because of this verdict, but because of their work.”