The White Privilege of ‘Necessary’ Violence

What happened in Minneapolis is a political and emotional expression of trauma in response to generations of Black suffering

A protester holds up a placard in front of police officers near the 5th police precinct during a demonstration to call for justice for George Floyd, a black man who died while in custody of the Minneapolis police, on May 30, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images

On May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, officer Derek Chauvin held his knee against the neck of a handcuffed Black man for more than eight minutes. The man, George Floyd, pleaded for his life, but his pleas went unheard. He died as three other police officers watched.

The whole world watched, too.

The culture of police brutality, the culture of the police’s disregard for Black life, is captured on three videos for all to see. As of June 3, all four police officers have been charged in Floyd’s murder — Chauvin with second-degree murder (upgraded from an initial charge of third-degree murder) and the others with aiding and abetting. I remember watching that press conference held by Minnesota prosecutors on May 28. Prosecutor Mike Freeman confirmed that they wouldn’t rush to charge the officers because of insufficient evidence that, as he said at the time, “does not support a criminal charge.” On that day, many like me began to see the writing on the wall. Given America’s long history of denying Black people justice after being murdered by police, many assumed that despite the video evidence of Floyd’s murder, charges…