President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the nation following the murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Vice President Harris spoke first, praising the decision to convict Chauvin on all three counts in the killing of George Floyd.
"Today, we feel a sigh of relief. Still, it cannot take away the pain. A measure of justice isn't the same as equal justice. This verdict brings us a step closer, and the fact is, we still have work to do. We still must reform the system," Harris said.
She said that the fight for justice is not over, and we must work to reform the system.
"Here's the truth about racial injustice, it is not just a Black America problem or a people of color problem. It is a problem for every American."
She called on the Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice and Police Act, which she introduced last summer.
"This bill would hold law enforcement accountable and help build trust between law enforcement and our communities," Harris said. "This bill is part of George Floyd's legacy."
President Biden then took the podium and said the conviction marks a rare but "giant step forward in the march toward's justice in America." He noted that Chauvin's actions were a stark reminder of the systematic racism that exists in the United States.
"It was a murder in the full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism the Vice President just referred to," Biden said. "The systemic racism that's a stain on our nation's soul, the knee on the neck of justice for Black Americans."
Biden recalled a conversation he had with Floyd's six-year-old daughter during his funeral in which she told him "daddy changed the world."
"I told her this afternoon: daddy did change the world. Let that be his legacy," Biden said of his conversation with Floyd's family earlier in the day.
President Biden said that more still needs to be done "to deliver real change and reform."
"In order to deliver real change and reform, we can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedies like this will ever happen or occur again," Biden said.
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