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Dear YWCA Family,

 

YWCA Central Carolinas joins with YWCA associations across our country and all people who believe Black lives matter in deepest gratitude for the guilty verdict – on all three counts – of former police officer Derek Chauvin. The life of George Perry Floyd, Jr. was brutally, murderously extinguished. This guilty verdict is powerful, especially in that it is atypical. Today, we exhale. That we all waited with anxious, held breath to learn whether a guilty verdict would be rendered demonstrated how far our country still has to go to become more anti-racist and to stop criminalizing people of color.

 

Today, we are grateful for this measure of justice, not only for George Floyd, but for all Black Americans fighting to live and breathe without fear. While we celebrate accountability in this case, we recognize that much work remains to ensure that no more Black lives are lost as unjustly as George Floyd’s life. YWCA Central Carolinas invites you to join us in our commitment to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all – especially for Black lives. We thank the jurors, we thank those who testified to the truth, and we are renewed by this opportunity to push forward for justice, imagining a world where justice just is.

 

In solidarity,

Kirsten D. Sikkelee