President Barack Obama often quoted a saying of Marting Luther King Jr., “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.” The saying might be true, but the arc doesn’t bend on its own, sometimes it needs to be bent. Months of campaigns, protests, and marches forced the arc towards justice.
Though the conviction of Derek Chauvin is being celebrated as a great decision and a victory for the justice system, the tireless efforts of people that rallied around the cause are being forgotten. The Justice system prevails, the crime occurred due to a policing failure, the criminal has rightfully convicted thanks to evidence and case closed. People are thanking Floyd for sacrificing his life for justice, but Floyd was no more than a passive martyr who gave us all an opportunity to revamp the flawed system. A system that is on crutches and is dependent on mass protests to spark justice.
The Justice system around the world is replete with ingrained flaws and biases. Institutions are protected; the justice system has an inbuilt bias in favor of the police. Movers and shakers bend the arc of justice in their way. Those who can afford the best legal representations out there can mold the verdict in their favor. Only the marginalized suffers, only the weak turn out as a convicted felon. Not every marginalized member of society can ignite mass protests and bend the arc of justice.
It is up to society and the state to learn from the incident and overhaul the system rather than celebrating the verdict alone. It is up to us to stop those who are sanitizing and minimizing the street campaigns behind this verdict. What had happened inside the courtroom was secured outside on the streets.
