John,

Last year, in every state and around the world, people of all colors, genders, and ages took to the streets to demand justice for George Floyd. Make no mistake: true justice would look like George still here with us right now, but this week’s verdict is proof that police officers are not above the law, and equally important, that Black lives matter.

Some measure of accountability has been served for George Floyd, now we must transform policing.

George Floyd was murdered in public and in broad daylight, in front of multiple witnesses, and the entire encounter was recorded on a cell phone for all to see. The fact that so many of us were anxiously waiting for a verdict to be issued is a reminder of how far we have to go to fix a deeply broken police and criminal justice system.

The violent history of policing in the United States will continue if we fail to entirely transform the institution of policing.

To start, we must root out racist and abusive police officers, create systems of accountability within the ranks, and establish stronger relationships between cops and the communities they serve.

America isn’t a country that gets it all right, but at our best, we believe that we might. It will take work from everyone to finally live up to the promise of America—the promise of liberty and justice for all, including for Black Americans. We can’t wait for the next hashtag to make this a reality.

-Seth