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ANDERSON Waiting to exhale.

Thats what several Black Anderson residents, including Peggy Nunn, Terrell Brown and James Burgess said they did Tuesday afternoon as the jury in Derek Chauvins trial deliberated his fate for the May 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Nunn, who watched the events unfold on Court TV, said she burst into tears when she heard the guilty verdict on all three counts, including second-degree unintentional murder, third degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

I just wanted justice served. From what I saw in TV, he was guilty as ever, she said. I have no hatred toward him. Im just glad that justice was served.

Nunn was one of millions of African-Americans nationwide who have waited for justice for the man whose death last summer sparked angry, sometimes violent, protests.

Its been a long journey, and Im glad its over with and they found justice for George Floyd, she said.

Like many Black Americans, Nunn feared the high standard of reasonable doubt of one juror might have set Chauvin free and set off a new round of protests. And she admitted she still fears the verdict could be overturned at appeal.

I just knew it was going to turn the other way. I have a sister in Minnesota, and I thought, They are going to tear Minnesota up, she said.

A grandmother of four boys, Nunn said she hopes the verdict will help lead to reforms that will keep them safe.

I cant see myself experiencing what the Floyd family went through, she said.

Last summer, Brown was so caught up in the horror of Floyds death under Chauvins knee that he helped establish Its Up There, an organization that brought protests to communities throughout Madison County.

That was a major win for us, he said. God got something in store for him. I feel like this is just the beginning for him.

Brown said he like like a huge burden had been lifted.

I was nervous. I aint gonna lie. I was nervous, he said about the verdict. Its like a boulder has been lifted off of everybodys back, but not just Black people.

But it felt good to hear the jury do the right thing, Brown said.

It was more of a humanity thing than a law thing when it came to the verdict, he said. Its a good feeling to know that the worlds changing, man. That right there proves it. I dont know who the jurors were, but I feel like they went into that room and made a decision off of morals more than law.

As he followed the trial, Brown said he became upset as he watched defense lawyers try to blame the victim.

I feel like the defense didnt have a good fight. They really tried to slander George Floyd, he said.

But the verdict was just a small victory, Brown said.

Just because we got this verdict for George Floyd doesnt mean it isnt still happening, he said. We still got Daunte Wright in Minneapolis. We got this victory, but we still got a whole war to win.

Wright was shot to death by 26-year police veteran Kim Potter in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center as the Chauvin trial took place.

Burgess, president of the Anderson chapter of the NAACP, said this is a victory Black Americans have been waiting for since four Los Angeles police officers were filmed beating Rodney King after a high-speed chase in 1991. Three of the officers were acquitted and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on one charge for a fourth.

Ever since the Rodney King verdict, Blacks have been waiting to exhale, he said, referencing an expression made popular by Terry McMillans book by the same name and Floyds utterance that he couldnt breathe as Chauvin kept his knee on his neck.

Like the others, Burgess said he didnt hold out much hope for Chauvins conviction.

You would wonder, what would it take? You can only exhale and say, Wow, he said. There have been so many killings that take place, and it doesnt start and stop with George Floyd.

The reason is that time and again Black Americans have been disappointed by the acquittals of police officers, even if they were filmed, in high-profile cases.

With George Zimmerman, I was in California when that verdict came, and I never want to feel that way again, he said. Though Zimmerman, who was acquitted of all charges in the 2012 shooting death of Black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida, was not a police officer but a neighborhood watch coordinator.

Though he is pleased with what he said was an obvious verdict, Burgess said there are hundreds of similar cases around the nation that likely wont end the same way.

What I have learned in the civil rights arena is that the victory is short and something new is right around the corner, he said.

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Black community exhales but admits there is still work to be done - The Herald Bulletin