The murder of George Floyd at the hands of Derek Chauvin, then a police officer in Minneapolis, was the start of a year of tension, especially in the Black community.
While many felt great relief when Chauvin was found guilty Tuesday, the trial was difficult for many to take in and brought anxiety.
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"I saw the verdict come down, and I've been watching the whole trial and everything," said Carolyn Hinton. "Justice was served yesterday."
Albert DiSola also kept a close watch on Chauvin's trial.
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"I watched it from day one up until now," DiSola said, explaining that the trial made him feel "angry" and "sad."
He says the guilty verdicts represent justice.
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"A lot of us must have felt relieved. I feel that that's what was needed. We all saw the footage. We've been watching it for weeks," said Tanisha Brown. "I'm not gonna lie, I was getting a little angry watching the case."
The footage showing Floyd begging for his life — the infamous nine minutes and 26 seconds he spent under Chauvin's knee — was traumatic to watch, especially for people of color, said Dr. Charmain Jackman, a psychologist.
"Many of us are not related to George Floyd in any way. We're here in Boston and still we feel the impact of his death as if it were a family member," Jackman said.
Jackman says watching that video over and over during the trial weighs on people.
"It's disheartening. People's moods are impacted, their anxiety, depression. People have gone through the rollercoaster of emotions," she said.
Jackman added that tension will rise again as Chauvin's sentencing draws near.
"We're going to see people deal with a range of emotions over the course of the next two months as we wait for sentencing," she said.
Despite widespread skepticism with a system that has historically worked against them, she says there are signs of encouragement.
"People of color, Black folks in particular, have hope," she said. "We would not still be here if we didn't have hope and a possibility that things will change."
For Brown, that hope is tinged with fear.
"I think about my sons," she said. "I think about my babies. I think about my children."
