Over the three weeks of the trial, as a Black man and a Black father I did not believe Chauvin would be found guilty of murder. Maybe it was a defensive mechanism or a sense of history on how these things generally unfold. But I told every friend and family member who would listen I believed Chauvin would get a pass on both murder charges and be found guilty only of manslaughter.
As I watched the verdict come in Tuesday I resisted the temptation to rewind the picture to make sure I was actually hearing correctly. Guilty? On all counts? Could that be right?