Last Tuesday, former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd. The conviction was necessary and certainly welcome. However, some were quick to applaud the verdict as a testament to the effectiveness of the judicial system, or as proof of true racial progress. These ideas overinflate the importance of this event.

Chauvin's conviction was not the product of a judicial system working well; it was the result of the millions of Americans who took to the streets in righteous protest and justifiable rage. Initially, the Minneapolis Police Department stood by Chauvin and his criminal accomplices. Then, as more video footage became public and the officers' narrative began unraveling, the prosecutors in Minneapolis still declined to charge Chauvin with second-degree murder. It was only because of people filling the streets, demanding accountability and defying the violent gangs in uniform that sought to brutally repress the movement, did the Minnesota attorney general finally charge Chauvin with second degree murder. It was also after much protest that the other three officers were criminally charged as well. As much as some politicians try to discount the power of protest (e.g., the mayor of Atlanta), there can be no denial that protest is what led to Chauvin's arrest and ultimate conviction.