One Anti-Racist Action You Can Take Today: Use the Word Accountability in Place of Justice When Discussing the Verdict
By Sara McCabe
Vice President of Campus Services
Like millions of others, I am anxiously awaiting the verdict in the
Derek Chauvin trial. I was inspired by the words of Daunte Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, who said: “There is never going to be justice for us. We are still going to bury our son. We are still never going to be able to see our baby boy.” Katie Wright said she wanted one thing: “accountability.”
Justice is far more complex than just a single guilty verdict. Activists and organizers in Minnesota and many other cities are fighting for much more than guilty verdicts.
Criminal accountability is a small portion of the fight. Justice is much more about new policies, new budgets, and a complete reform of a very broken system.
There is no justice when everything goes back to business as usual following the outcome of this trial. The case against Derek Chauvin cannot be an end in and of itself. It must represent a much larger step forward in an anti-racist journey. Justice will be served when Black people no longer fear for their lives in the presence of police. Justice will be served when America acknowledges the harm our systems cause BIPOC communities. Justice will be further served when there is an overhaul of these systems, which are deeply rooted in racism and prejudice. There absolutely needs to be accountability in this case and if Black and Brown men are continuing to be killed at the hands of police, we will never move past accountability.
Accountability is just the beginning. Justice is the end goal.
