The relief didn’t last.
As so many welcomed the news of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction last week, elation turned to outrage abruptly. Word spread that a Columbus police officer had killed another Black person a 16-year-old girl named Ma’Khia Bryant. Within minutes, the familiar spectacle began again: politicians urging calm, activists demanding justice, social media exploding with shock and fury.
How did we get here? Like many people, I’ve been thinking about this question a lot since the video of Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck inspired street protests across the country nearly a year ago and led to a nationwide conversation about racial injustice in all aspects of American life. While this magazine has long covered inequality, I recognized we needed to do something more substantial, something that delved deeper into the persistent and insidious divisions within our community. To accomplish this goal, I needed help and I’m grat