ST. PAUL — The conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd highlights the long-overdue need for structural changes to policing, community safety, and public funding in our state and cities.

Today’s verdict holds Chauvin accountable for his actions, but it does not bring justice to George Floyd, his family, or our communities. Justice looks like every single family and individual, no matter their race or ZIP code, being safe to walk their streets. Justice looks like great schools, livable wages, reliable housing, healthcare that works, and proven solutions and social supports that puts an end to murder by police cases. Justice looks like ending the deep history of harassment and killing of Black people by those we’ve entrusted to protect and serve all of us. We’ve experienced this in the recent killing of Daunte Wright by a police officer this past week. Until we account for and transform the failures in our system of policing and community safety, justice is denied.

“Tragically, George Floyd’s murder is one of many,” said Donald Crumbley, leader with Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative and ISAIAH board member. “But this time, it stood out to the world where people said ‘enough is enough.’ This is why we have to change the Minneapolis City Charter to hold police accountable and create a city where all of us are safe. We have to continue to organize and galvanize our friends, families, and neighbors, because we’ve still got a lot of work to do to end police brutality in our communities.”

Together, the people of Minnesota create the justice our communities demand and deserve. We get to decide what keeps us safe, and we create the future of our communities together. This November, residents of Minneapolis will vote on changing the city charter to be able to cast a new vision for community safety. Across all corners of the state, we have to decide to take responsibility for the vision we have for our communities and lead together to create it. This means getting in relationship with our elected officials. This means organizing fellow Minnesotans under a shared agenda and vision.

Together, we can make Minnesota a place where we #DefendBlackLives and #FundOurFutures.

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ISAIAH is a statewide organization comprised of over 200 congregations, 30 mosques, 200 childcare centers, and dozens of barber shops in Minnesota. Altogether, these institutions represent over half a million Minnesotans. Our mission is to enable people to work together to organize and advocate for racial, social and economic justice.