The Guardian view on the murder of George Floyd: a racial reckoning begins | Editorial

<p>The conviction of a police officer was a landmark moment. Can an exceptional case bring the broader changes needed?<br></p><p>The relief that swept through the crowd outside the Minneapolis court, and rippled around the world, was in its own way shocking. The conviction of Derek Chauvin <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/20/derek-chauvin-verdict-guilty-murder-george-floyd" title="">for George Floyd’s murder</a> should have been inevitable. The sight of the policeman kneeling upon the 46-year-old’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds, as the dying man <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/08/george-floyd-police-killing-transcript-i-cant-breathe" title="">pleaded repeatedly that he couldn’t breathe</a> and called out to his late mother, was caught on camera, described by traumatised witnesses, and condemned by fellow officers during the trial.</p><p>Yet until the jury’s verdict arrived – guilty on all counts – no one could be certain of it. So many black men, women and children have died at the hands of police without those officers facing trial, let alone conviction, even on lesser charges. If anyone wonders what might have happened without the footage shot by a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/20/darnella-frazier-george-floyd-derek-chauvin-trial-guilty-verdict" title="">17-year-old bystander</a>, they might refer to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/20/how-first-statement-minneapolis-police-made-george-floyds-murder-seem-like-george-floyds-fault/" title="">initial police account</a>, titled only “Man dies after medical incident during police interaction”.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/21/the-guardian-view-on-the-of-george-floyd-a-racial-reckoning-begins">Continue r