Despite some excesses and errors, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement has had a positive effect in shaping public and private attitudes and actions.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the jury verdicts rendered here in the Twin Cities and elsewhere recently against those who have unlawfully killed unarmed Black men, highlighted by last week’s conviction of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter for the slaying of Daunte Wright.
That outcome, the Derek Chauvin case for murdering George Floyd, and the Ahmaud Arbery case against the three murderous vigilantes in Georgia, all reflect that public sector officials, especially prosecutors and judges, are taking this syndrome seriously and so are the private individuals serving on juries.
While far from universal, this outlook is a tribute to the heightened sensitivity that Black Lives really do Matter the movement has inculcated.
Marshall H. Tanick
Minneapolis
