On George Floyd’s Death

Millions of Americans bore witness to George Floyd’s murder one year ago today. When I watch it, I feel Derek Chauvin’s knee on my neck. Admittedly, I still feel the weight of the system’s oppression on me, and I believe most Black Americans feel the same.

In the year since George Floyd’s murder, we have seen progress. Since George’s death, I have been proud of my work to abolish the death penalty in Virginia and eradicate that vestige of Jim Crow that lived on here and in too many states in our country. We have also worked to end no knock warrants, reduce police militarization, increase police training and accountability, and reform criminal sentencing. And George’s family saw justice served. A police officer being found guilty of murder for conduct on the job would have been unheard of not long ago.

But the verdict won’t bring George Floyd back, and it won’t make right the pain Black Americans across the country feel when watching that video. It won’t fix the systemic injustices in policing or the sense of impunity too many officers feel when interacting with Black Americans.

Virginia has been forced to grapple with our own instances of police violence since Floyd’s death. Just this March, Donovon Lynch was gunned down by police in Virginia Beach. And a month later, Isaiah Brown was shot ten times by an officer in Spotsylvania. An officer who had previously been called to help Isaiah in a time of need.

What’s been disturbing to me is that Mark Herring has failed to take action in these cases. And when I’ve spoken with leaders in these communities, a pattern stands out: Herring has been silent.

That’s why during our debate I asked Mark, “where is the investigation into the Virginia Beach situation and where is the investigation into Spotsylvania?” In response, I received the same silence he offered those communities.

Today, I’m yet again calling on Mark to answer the simple question that he evaded during our debate: where are the investigations?

We have a special moment in our country and in our Commonwealth. As we have a national conversation around the ways in which our justice system has systematically attacked Black and Brown communities, we can choose to elect leaders who will rise to the moment and fight to right centuries of wrongs, or we can continue to elect politicians who will follow when dragged, but won’t lead.

I believe we can’t afford to settle. I’m running for Attorney General because I know we’ve come a long way, but we haven’t gone far enough. And we need leaders who will move us forward in the bold way Virginians now demand. This race isn’t about 2013 or 2017, it’s about 2021. This is about who has the vision and values to move us forward, not rest on our laurels and dwell on the past.

In the campaign for Attorney General, we must make a statement about the Virginia we want to be, about the fresh faces and new perspectives we want to elevate. We have to seize this moment to create real change before it slips from our fingers and we realize we lost our chance. This moment is too urgent to do anything but that.