GOOD
GOOD FRIDAY EVENING, ALL WILL START
TONIGHT WITH THAT RECORD TWENTY
SEVEN MILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT
FOR THE FAMILY OF GEORGE FLOYD
FROM THE CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS.
THE CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY
APPROVED IT THIS MORNING AND IT
COMES AS JURY SELECTION IS
UNDERWAY IN THE TRIAL OF THE
FORMER POLICE OFFICER ACCUSED
OF KILLING GEORGE FLOYD.
THE FLOYD FAMILY ATTORNEY SAYS
THE HISTORIC AGREEMENT SENDS
A MESSAGE THAT GEORGE FLOYDS
DEATH WAS UNJUST AND SHOWS HIS
DEATH IS NOT WITHOUT
CONSEQUENCES.
CONSEQUENCES. >> IT'S NOT JUST ENOUGH
FOR AMERICA TO SAY THAT BLACK
LIVES MATTER. WE HAVE TO SHOW
THAT BLACK LIVES MATTER BY
ACTIONS SO THE FAMILY OF GEORGE,
FLORIDA AND OUR LEGAL TEAM
ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO MEMIOR
AND THE CITY COUNCIL FOR NOT
JUST SAYING YOU CARE ABOUT
GEORGE FLOYD, BUT SHOWING
THAT YOU CARE ABOUT
GEORGE FLOYD.
GEORGE FLOYD. >> NOW AGAIN, THAT SETTLEMENT
NEWS CAME AT THE END OF THE
FIRST WEEK OF JURY SELECTION
FOR A TRIAL. THE WHOLE WORLD
WILL BE WATCHING AND TO TALK
ABOUT THIS WEEK IN SOME
AND ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE
OF THIS TRIAL TO OUR COMMUNITY
AND THE WORLD OUTSIDE. I WANT
TO WELCOME MY FRIEND, PROFESSOR
KEITH MAYES, AN EXPERT
ON AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY
AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS. GOOD
TO HAVE YOU ON TONIGHT,
PROFESSOR MAYS. THANKS FOR BEING
HERE .
HERE .
HERE . >>
HERE . >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME. YOU
BET. NOW, LET'S START WITH THIS
JURY SELECTION AND A RECORD
SETTLEMENT WITH THE WHOLE WORLD
WATCHING.
WATCHING.
WATCHING. >> WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ALL
OF THIS?
OF THIS?
OF THIS? >> I HAVE MIXED EMOTIONS. I HAVE
MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THE WHOLE
PROCESS. THINK THE SETTLEMENT
WHEN THE NEWS CAME IN THIS
AFTERNOON, IT WAS GREAT. IT'S A
RECORD AMOUNT OF MONEY TO GO
TO TO THE FAMILY OF THOSE WHO
LOST THEIR LOVED ONES DUE
TO POLICE VIOLENCE. TWENTY SEVEN
MILLION. THE FLOYD FAMILY
WILL BE WELL TAKEN CARE OF,
ESPECIALLY THE CHILDREN HE WAS
RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING TAKING
CARE OF HIS KIDS. SO THAT WILL
BE SOMETHING THAT THAT'S GREAT
TO SEE AND HEAR. BUT THAT'S
THE FAMILY. THE COMMUNITY STILL,
AS WELL AS THE FAMILY STILL
NEEDS JUSTICE. THE SETTLEMENT
WITHOUT A VERDICT, WITHOUT
A CONVICTION MEANS NOTHING.
AND SO I WAS GLAD TO SEE IT.
BUT I THINK THIS JURY SELECTION
IS LEAVING ME AND OTHERS WITH A
LOT OF CONCERN. JURY SELECTION
IS WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW.
LAGOE ON MOST OF NEXT WEEK, IF
NOT ALL, THEN WE'LL GET A BIT
OF BREATHING ROOM AND THEN
THE TRIAL STARTS. PROFESSOR
MAYS, YOU TEACH HISTORY AND IN
THAT MOMENT WE WILL ALL BE
EXPERIENCING HISTORY IN REAL
TIME RIGHT? WE WILL. I MEAN,
I THINK HISTORY IS PLAYING NOW.
IT'S BEEN PLAYING OUT FOR THE
BETTER PART OF NINE MONTHS SINCE
THE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD.
BUT AGAIN, THE MERE FACT THAT WE
ARE NOW BEGINNING THE JURY
SELECTION PROCESS AND THE TRIALS
WILL BEGIN TRIALS, PLURAL,
CHILDREN BEING THE FIRST ONE
DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S OVER
THAT WE NEED TO SEE JUSTICE EVEN
AT THE JURY SELECTION PROCESS
AND THIS EARLY STAGE OF I'M NOT
COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT
I'M SAYING. I THINK WE HAVE SIX
PEOPLE, THREE WHITE, ONE BLACK
MAN, ONE THAT NEXT MAN, ONE
WOMAN WHO SELF IDENTIFIES AS
MULTIRACIAL. WE'RE HALFWAY
THROUGH THE PROCESS. BUT THIS IS
NOT LOOKING LIKE
THE REPRESENTATION YOU WANT IF
YOU'RE THE PROSECUTION, IF
THE FLORIDA FAMILY AND IF YOU'RE
THE COMMUNITY, THIS IS NOT
FEELING GOOD RIGHT NOW. WE NEED
THEY THEY DISMISSED A LOT
OF BLACK POTENTIAL BLACK JURORS
BASED ON THE MYTH
OF IMPARTIALITY AND BLACK JURORS
ARE BEING BURIED ABOUT THEIR
KNOWLEDGE OF THE VIDEO, THEIR
PARTICIPATION IN PROTESTS. BUT I
DON'T KNOW IF WHITE JURORS
ARE BEING VETTED FOR THE
IMPLICIT BIAS. AND THAT'S ONE
OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE
TO ADDRESS AT THIS MOMENT, THESE
NEXT THREE WEEKS ARE CRITICAL.
WHITE JURORS CAN HOLD AND HARBOR
ALL KINDS OF NEGATIVE THOUGHTS
ABOUT RACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
WHILE HIDING BEHIND THE MYTH
OF IMPARTIALITY AND OBJECTIVITY
.SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE BEFORE
THE TRIAL BEGINS THAT WE DO
THE RIGHT THING DURING THIS
PROCESS OF JURY SELECTION
AND PROFESSSOR YOU TOUCH ON A
COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I THINK
ARE GOING TO BE TALKED ABOUT,
NOT JUST ON TELEVISION AND THE
NEWSPAPER AND ON RADIO, BUT IN
LIVING ROOMS AND CLASSROOMS
AND COFFEE SHOPS. WE HAVE
TO TALK ABOUT RACE IN A
MEANINGFUL WAY IN OUR COMMUNITY
RIGHT NOW AND IT'S GOING TO BE
FRONT AND CENTER AND EVERYBODY'S
LOOKING AT US. HOW DO WE HAVE
THOSE CONVERSATIONS? WELL ,
NUMBER ONE, THE LIVE LIVESTREAM
OF THE TRIAL WILL FORCE US
TO HAVE THE CONVERSATIONS EVEN
WITH MANY OF US WHO MAY NOT WANT
TO HAVE THEM . PROFESSORS LIKE
MYSELF , TEACHERS WILL HAVE
THESE CONVERSATIONS OBVIOUSLY
IN THE CLASSROOMS AS
THE SEMESTER WINDS DOWN.
OF COURSE, WHATEVER HAPPENS OVER
THE SUMMER, WE WILL WE WILL
BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE WANT
TO ADDRESS THIS ONCE WE RETURN
BACK TO THE CLASSROOMS.
HOPEFULLY LIVE ON CAMPUS AND IN
CLASSROOMS AROUND THE CITY
AND THE STATE . BUT HERE'S
THE THING I WANT PEOPLE
TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS TRIAL IS
NOT ONLY ABOUT GEORGE FLOYD
AND NOT ONLY ABOUT THE FAMILY,
BUT IT'S ABOUT SO MANY OF THE
MEMBERS OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY
WHO HAVE NOT RECEIVED JUSTICE.
THIS TRIAL IS ABOUT BROWNSDALE.
THIS TRIAL IS ABOUT MAHNOMEN.
AUBREY, MIKE BROWN, FREDDIE GRAY
SOMMAT, TAMIR RICE. SO MANY
PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT RECEIVED
JUSTICE. AND I THINK THAT IF
THE MINNEAPOLIS WANTS TO GO DOWN
IN HISTORY IN A GOOD WAY, IT
NEEDS TO START WITH
THE CONVICTION OF DERRICK
SHETLEMEN FOR WHAT IF NOT ALL
THREE OF THOSE THOSE CHARGES
OF SECOND DEGREE, THIRD DEGREE
MURDER AND MANSLAUGHTER. SO
WE WILL BE PAYING ATTENTION
TO WHAT'S GOING ON AND WE WILL
BE TALKING ABOUT THE TRIAL
AND MINNEAPOLIS AND WHAT
MINNEAPOLIS AND MINNESOTA DID OR
DID NOT DO IN THE NAME