Thought of former president obamas comments. And also, just the protests we have seen today. I mean, again, i just am so i just find these images so extraordinary. The peaceful nature of these protests, day after day, and just the huge numbers of people involved. I think the consciousness of the United States of america is awakening. And i think the president 44 realized that. It reminded me of dr. Kings i have a dream speech but not the rhythmic cadence of i have a dream that one day we shall, it reminded me of the most important part of that speech where he talks about the fierce urgency of now. I think barack obama realizes, that this moment, we have to have that fierce urgency. My fear, for most black folks, the way this works, anderson, is we have a death. We watch the video. We have pain. We take to the streets. We have memorial. We grieve. And then, we do it all over again. And barack obama realizes we have to break that cycle. We have to break that cycle because people are sick and tired of being sick and tired. But i also, and i dont mean to be critical of barack obama or David Axelrod or anybody else but i do think the president realizes after ferguson and we had the rise of black lives matter, we missed a moment. But, now, we have a moment again. And i firmly believe that the consciousness of the country has been awakened, not because, necessarily, George Floyds death. But the fact that there was a knee on his neck for 8 1 2 minutes. I think the consciousness awoke, after seeing two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight minutes of this man calling out for his mother. His dead mother. Then, going unconscious and him still having a knee in his neck. So now, when black folk tell you that were harassed by police, you can truly believe it because me, you, david, nobody we know what treat another human being that way. So George Floyds life will never be in vain, and i think the president wants to put action behind those words because of the fierce urgency of this moment. Were watching obviously the scenes in new york city. As you know, there is now a curfew in new york. Begins at 8 00 each night. Its now an hour into that curfew. The protests continue. Bakari sellers, David Axelrod, thanks so much. The news continues here on cnn. That is where President Trump went for his nowinfamous photo op, in which held up the bible. I was speaking with st. Johns and he said worshippers were not allowed into the church today. And said it was the First Time Since 9 11 that worshippers could not get to st. Johns. There is a curfew in effect. That was 11 00 p. M. It is now long past. Still, protesting peacefully and the mayor of washington said that curfew, in essence, would not be enforced as long as the protestors do, indeed, stay peaceful. Alex marquardt, cnn, washington. At this point, we would like to welcome our viewers in the United States who are joining us. Now, the attorney for George Floyds family says the massive protests that have taken place for nine days now across the United States are Tipping Point to address Racial Injustice in the u. S. Then trump made that comment, after the four former Minneapolis Police officers were formally charged in floyds death. Three of those officers are expected in court thursday. Minnesota attorney general says getting a conviction on these charges will not be easy. Miguel marquez has details. A longawaited decision for George Floyds family and supporters. George floyd mattered. He was loved. His family was important. His life had value. And we will seek justice for him and for you and we will find it. Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison announcing charges for the former Police Officer who kneeled on George Floyds neck, killing him, will be increased to seconddegree murder. And the other three former officers who, either, helped hold floyd down or stood by watching, have been charged with aiding and abetting seconddegree murder. Ellison asking for patience as they work through the process. Trying this case will not be an easy thing. Winning a conviction will be hard. But history does show that there are clear challenges here. Just hours earlier all the world is watching. George floyds son stood at the spot where his father took his final breath. Trying to get justice for my father. And no no man or woman should should be without their fathers. We want justice for whats going on right now. Family Attorney Benjamin Crump making a powerful statement that floyds death shines a light on inequality, everywhere. When george floyd said, i cant breathe, because when he couldnt breathe, none of us could breathe and so, this is a Tipping Point. Earlier today, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz visited the same hallowed ground. For me, i have to personally and viscerally feel this. I dont think we get another chance to fix this in the country. I really dont. And as protestors take to the streets, across the country, today, last nights protests remained largely peaceful. But as curfews passed in some cities, there was, once again, unrest. Cnn cameras were there, as looting continued in new york and in Lafayette Park, across from the white house where, after mostly peaceful protests, police used pepper spray, through the fence, directly at our camera. But, in many cities, protestors and police came together. In new orleans, Police Officers took a knee, with protestors. Take a knee. In boston, too, and in houston, a protestor praying with the police chief. Amen. But as George Floyds family continues to grieve she wants to know how he died. And the only thing that i can tell her is he couldnt breathe. Their hope, that his death will bring change. Thanks to Miguel Marquez for that. Reporter reporting from minneapolis. Now, cnn legal analyst joey jackson. Thanks for being with us, joey. Nice to be here, john. Firstly, the way this is being handled by the authorities in minnesota. Why did it take, what, nine days to get to this point . When the people obviously who were going to be charged have been charged. So thats the problem and i think therein lies the rub, as it relates to people just protesting and people feeling less than. And, you know, communities of color just feeling that there are two systems of justice. One that works for one group. And one that doesnt work for another. And why do i say that . Because, in practical terms, if theres reason to believe that a crime was committed, thats the standard. Its called probable cause. Theres a reason to believe a crime was committed, an arrest is effected immediately. They dont wait, authorities that is, police, prosecutors, until they have enough evidence to prove you guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, to arrest you. Thats the standard at trial. But theres no requirement that you interview every witness, get every videotape, do everything. And so, the fact that the officer chauvin, who actually was the one who engaged in the knee to the neck for nine minutes, was arrested four days later. And then, just today, nine days later, theres the arrest of the other three. Its troubling, problematic, and at least to what youre seeing in the United States, which are pockets of protests throughout the country, with people saying im mad as heck. I want change. And im not going to take it anymore. So, in essence, the basis for the arrest now, its inexplicable that its taken this long. The attorney general upgraded the original charge facing Derek Chauvin from thirddegree murder to seconddegree felony murder. And this is how he explained the difference between the various possible murder charges he could have brought. Here he is. According to minnesota law, you have to have premeditation and deliberation to charge firstdegree murder. Seconddegree murder, you have to intend for death to be the result. For seconddegree felony murder, you have to intend the felony and, then, death be the result without, necessarily, having it be the intent. Okay. So, in the course of committing a felony, in this case assault, and the victim dies, have i got this right . All the prosecutor needs to prove is that the assault happened . Thats exactly right. And so there was a lot of clamoring for firstdegree murder charge to be applied here. And that, i believe, the prosecutor felt was problematic. Why . He explained it. Because you would have to show intent, plus premeditation, deliberation, planning. And that would be a high standard. Instead, what he did is he pivoted to whats called seconddegree murder. And, in that seconddegree murder, the theory is, just as you said it, john, that you established that there was the commission of a felony, that being the assault. And in the commission of the felony, even though you did not intend for the death to occur, it did. Its felony murder. That gets you where you need to be. And, remember, thats the charge as to officer chauvin. Its, also, the seconddegree murder felony charge, as to the others. What does it mean . It means they aided. They abetted. They participated. And, as a result of that participation, in the felony, the assault, they would be equally guilty. An analogy would be you rob a bank, youre not the guy who goes inside. Youre the one in the getaway car. Youre the lookout. At the end of the day, youre just as guilty as the person who went in with a mask and a gun. Thats the theory that the prosecution will have moving forward. Charging an onduty Police Officer with murder is a very rare act in this country. In fact, according to one study, between 2005 and 2015, charges have been brought just 54 times, despite, on average, more than a thousand Fatal Police Shootings every year in the u. S. So is the attorney general here, is he looking at what his best chances are for a conviction . And thats why hes gone with this felony murder Second Degree because thats probably i dont want to say easiest but the most likely one thats going to convince a jury . I think thats exactly right. I think what you have to do is notwithstanding the public pressures. Notwithstanding the public outcry for murder, murder, murder. Now, of course, you understand why people feel that way. But if youre operating within the law, what youre doing if youre the prosecutor is youre saying listen, i could establish, presumably, that they were engaging in the officers, that is, a felony. That felony was assault. We can see it with our eyes. If i can prove that they were engaging in assault. We know that he died as a result. Therein lies my conviction. The problem, historically, has been, to your point, is that its very difficult to get prosecutors to arrest officers. If you arrest them, its hard for a grand jury to indict em. If they get indicted, its hard for a jury to convict them. And theres these attitudinal problems and concerns, right, just historically, that people are reluctant to convict Police Officers. I think the prosecutor, here, sees that this is his best shot. Thats what hes going with, and hes hoping, obviously, that he gets justice for george floyd and his family. From your lips to gods ear, lets hope so. Joey, good to see you. Thank you so much. Thank you, john, my pleasure. Dr. Michael eric dyson is sociology professor at Georgetown University and author of tears we cannot stop a sermon to white america. He is with us this hour from washington. Thanks for joining us, professor. Thanks for having me. So hasnt this country been down this road before . Weve seen an africanamerican man, usually unarmed, killed by police. Theres a public outcry. Occasionally, charges are brought against the officers involved. And those in power sigh with relief, pat each other on the back and say, see, the system works. But if the system worked, jgeore floyd wouldnt be dead. Thats right. The system is broken. We have been down this road before. But there seems to be Something Different here. We wont be able to tell until a little while later, but it does seem different. There was a bus boycott in louisiana, before Martin Luther king jr. , led a bus boycott in montgomery. Another young woman, who was 15 years old, attempted to achieve the same thing, elsewhere. But it was rosa parks, who rose in our memory, because she sat on that bus and refused to get up. And it sparked a movement. You never can tell where your rosa parks will come in. Other people have died. Specifically, claiming they couldnt breathe. Eric garner in new york city. But it was george floyd, with the policemans neck his his knee impressed on his neck, with mr. Floyd calling for his mother. And with the irresistible metaphor that black people feel that the system, itself, has its knee on our necks. Converging together with his pleas for the policeman to relieve his knee. And the sense that we identified with him so, so very thoroughly and so radically, that it inspired people to take to the streets to say enough is enough. This time has got to be different. The Minnesota Attorney general who brought the charges against the four Police Officers. He also seemed to be fairly realistic about the impact of a successful prosecution. Here he is. But what i do not believe is that one successful prosecution can rectify the hurt and loss that so many people feel. The solution to that pain will be slow and difficult work of constructing justice and fairness in our society. And the nationwide protests weve seen over the last week or so evolved into something about a lot more than just the murder of george floyd. There are these underlying issues, justice and fairness. And unless theyre addressed, the protests may stop for a while. But is it almost certain theyll be back . And when they do come back, theyll be bigger in number, louder, and possibly more violent than before. Well, theres no question that they will be equally engaged. More aggressive. Dr. King, at the end of his life, talked about aggressive nonviolence. And i think that that people are fed up. They are tired. They are fatigued. By this repeated ritual. This endless cycle. Of black death, recrimination on the part of some who were forced to acknowledge the wrong of the system, in extraction of a promise to do better. And then, another black death and the cycle repeats. But, as you said, there were bigger issues here. Not simply the death of one black man. But the continual pursuit of black people in a legal justice system, in a criminal justice system, that is often fundamentally unfair. Where black people go to jail far more often than others, for the same crime. Where black people are given given heavier sentences for lighter offenses, in some instances. And where black people are met by a judge and a jury, in the form of a policeman, on the streets. When you combine that with the policing of black bodies and mobility, random white people stepping up, asking questions. Are you here . Do you belong here . Are you sure you belong here . Do you work here . Why are you selling water there . Why are you watching birds there . Why are you selling lemonade here . Why are you at the coffee shop . So when you think about the policing of black bodies, by any random, white person, combined with the polices, you know, extraordinarily hostile and invasive practices when it comes to black people, there are bigger fish to try. And thats why these protects seem to have a life of their own. You heard from president barack obama. He was speaking on camera for the first time about these protests. He had a very optimistic outlook at this present point in time. Here he is. In some ways, as tragic as these past few weeks have been. As difficult and scary and uncertain as theyve been, theyve also been an Incredible Opportunity for people to be awakened. To some of these underlying trends. And they offer an opportunity for us to, all, Work Together to tackle them. In a way, president obama is right. I mean, the the these protec protests have highlighted issues like never before. But i do believe the majority of americans are willing to do what so many have not been willing to do before . No, theyre not. And we must press the president and ask does it take the death of a black man, yet again, to provide a learning opportunity for america . Is that the price we must continue to pay . Thats why some people in the street, who are, you know, actively and aggressively engaging in protest, are saying, no, lets share some of that weight. Lets share some of that burden. Lets shift some of that responsibility onto the shoulders of other people. Peop people who have businesses, that have been invested in communities that have depleted africanamerican people of resources. And when people say, well, why would you destroy your own neighborhood . If you dont even own your own body in that neighborhood, if the police can come into your neighborhood, tiyrannically, nearly fascistically and deprive you of life, you certainly dont own meaningful property that can prevent you as a an american citizen from being taken down and murdered ultimately by a rogue cop. These are the issues that have to be addressed. Many americans are unwilling to address them. And it is incumbent, upon all of us, to continue to fight forward. It is important to do so. But we also have to be realistic about the resistance we meet when in americans, for a moment, are inflamed with passion. Then, that dies down and things go back to normal. Dr. Aieric dyson. We will leave it there but we are out of time. Really appreciate your insietgh and experience, sir. Thanks for having me. U. S. Defense secretary has delivered a stunning rebuke of President Trumps leadership. Mattis went public with concerns after the president s threatened to deploy the military if states are unable or unwilling to end violent prot