In response to today’s announcement of a guilty verdict in the killing of George Floyd, the Los Angeles LGBT Center issued the following statement:
“We applaud the twelve people whose decision today brought a modicum of justice to the brutal and senseless killing of George Floyd. The verdict reinforces what the world already knew: the killing of Mr. Floyd was a violent and intentional act that, at its core, was the result of systemic racism that still exists in far too many areas of law enforcement as well as in our larger society. The verdict provides a small ray of hope that we can and must do more to address the issues that make this kind of systemic violence against Black people—and in particular Black men—all too common.
“It is now our collective responsibility to make sure that the verdict is not the end of the story and we all continue working to eradicate all forms of systemic oppression that are a daily experience for so many people of color, women, LGBTQ people, immigrants, and other marginalized and brutalized communities. The Center commits itself to continuing the fight with all of our allies to bring our nation closer to its aspiration of liberty and justice for all.”