THIS MUST STOP: An Analysis Why The Law Has Failed George Floyd

Updated on June 2, 2020

A picture is worth a thousand words.  A video of a black man begging for his life while an officer buries his knee in the unarmed nonresistant black man’s neck until the black man dies while onlookers beseech for reprieve provides no words.  The act defaces all sense of rightness and hearkens to the systemic racism which exists and continues to exist in this country; a story seen too many times—an unarmed black man killed by police. Despite the video’s vivid vitriol, Derek Chauvin, the murderous officer, has merely been charged with murder in the third degree and manslaughter in the second degree for the death of George Floyd. Further, his comrades who, in derogation of their duties to protect and serve, acquiesced to the murderous officer’s viciousness currently face no charges.  This can’t be true, but it is: an incongruence between what things are and what they ought to be.  Like an apple which falls from a tree, one cannot understand the reason the apple fell without understanding the rules of gravity.  Similarly, one cannot understand the reason the murderous officer and his compatriot’s face little or no criminal charges without understanding the rule of law. This writing serves to set forth the applicable rules of law which enable injustice.  Unlike the immutable rules of God, the people have the power to change the rules of law.  This power must be exercised or injustice will continue.

With such visceral video which has tugged at the strings of those with even the most brutish of hearts, a charge of first degree murder rings most laudable.  Alas, the murderous officer faces no first degree, let alone second degree murder charge.  Indeed, as will be discussed in greater detail below, doubtless the third degree murder charge survives. Also, while the crime of murder exists throughout the nation (and indeed the world), each state may define murder differently.  These divergences directly impact the viability of murder charges across the various jurisdictions—meaning what constitutes murder in one state may not constitute murder in another.  Here, Minnesota law controls. 

Minnesota law disables any potential for a first degree murder charge. In relevant part, in Minnesota, first degree murder requires a person (in this case an officer) to cause the death of a human being with (1) premeditation” and (2) with intent to effect the death of the person.  Here, neither element can be established. “Premeditation” means “to consider, plan or prepare for, or determine to commit, the act referred to prior to its commission.”[1] Further premeditation and intent to kill cannot occur contemporaneously.[2] Instead, a person “must have formed the intent to kill, and then must have had “some appreciable time” in order to “consider, plan or prepare for, or determine to commit” the killing.[3]   Here, there is likely insufficient evidence of planning or preparation, let alone “some appreciable time.”  The death resulted from an arrest stemming from an alleged forgery.  

Additionally, while a closer call than the premeditation, there are evidentiary hurdles with the second requirement: intent to effect the death of that person or another. While callous, depraved, and ill-spirited, a knee to the neck, even over the span of eight minutes, may be insufficient to infer an intent to kill based on Minnesota law. In Minnesota, while intent to kill can be inferred by the nature of the killing, the cases which inferred intent typically involved gunshots, and, on more rare occasions, severe bludgeoning to the head, particularly with the use of a blunt force object.[4]. The killing in this case—a knee to the neck—lacks the certainty of gunshot or repeated strikes to the head with fists, legs, and a metal object.  Here, the evidence certainly shows depravity and a reckless disregard for Mr. Floyd’s life.  Reckless disregard, however, does not equal intent to kill. For example, if a person blindly shot a bullet into a building filled with patrons, the evidence demonstrates the person acted in reckless disregard of the lives of others (a foreseeable consequence is the bullet striking someone and killing him or her) but that does not mean the person shot the bullet with the intention of killing another person. Now, this is not to say that the murderous officer had no intent to kill Mr. Floyd. Rather, this analysis merely delves into whether the video serves as sufficient evidence, alone, to support that proposition.  Nor does this analysis foreclose the possibility that the state may amend the complaint to include a charge of first degree murder based upon additional evidence. Rather, this analysis simply posits realistic hurdles standing in the way of such a charge or, if charged, a conviction. 

Second degree murder fares no better than first degree murder.  In relevant part, second degree murder requires a person to cause the death of a human being with intent to effect the death of that person or another, but without premeditation.[5]. Here, for the same reasons as the first degree murder charge, the intent-to-kill requirement excises the viability of a second degree murder charge in Minnesota. As stated above, states may impose varying requirements for murder.  For instance, second degree murder in California has no requirement of an ‘intent to kill.’ Rather, In California, second degree murder simply means an unlawful killing with malice that doesn't meet the definition first degree murder.[6] Malice can be either express or implied. Express malice requires an intent to kill, but implied malice only requires an intent to do some act, the natural consequences of which are dangerous to human life.[7] Patently, the natural consequences of callously digging a knee into the neck of another person for over eight minutes while the person begs for air is death or grave bodily harm. The murderous officer’s actions personify California second degree murder. Thus, if this murderous officer committed this offense in California, second degree murder charges likely awaited him.  

Now, the prosecutor could have brought second degree felony murder charge against the murderous officer, but elected not to do so.  Second-degree felony murder occurs when one causes the death of another, “without intent to effect the death,” while committing or attempting to commit a felony offense.[8]  While in most other jurisdictions the predicate offense for felony murder cannot be assault, i.e., murder by nature is an assault, Minnesota rejects any such limitation.  In 1996 the Minnesota Supreme Court concluded  second-degree assault can serve as a predicate offense for felony murder because it is “a crime against the person.”[9]  Intent is an essential element of the definition of assault.[10]  Thus, as long as a defendant intended to assault an individual, and the assault resulted in death, second degree felony murder applies.[11]  Here, the murderous officer’s knee hold which ultimately killed Mr. Floyd arguably constitutes assault of the highest order--indeed, the Minnesota Supreme Court has already determined that  “bare hands” can administer assault of the highest order  “for example by choking.”[12]  Here, the murderous officer essentially choked Mr. Floyd to death by pressing on his neck for over eight minutes.  Thus, the prosecutor’s refusal to charge the murderous officer with second degree felony murder raises concerns.  As compared to the third degree murder charge, discussed below, second degree felony murder at stands least some chance of resulting in conviction.  

The nature of policing may bar the application of  second degree felony murder predicated on assault.  The law authorizes police to commit assaults.[13]  Thus, the question becomes what standard applies when an officer commits assault, and when does an officer’s assault turn criminal.  Minnesota's assault statutes abscond any answers to these questions.  With no answer in the assault statutes, one must search elsewhere.  Minnesota statute Section 609.43 may provide the answer.  In relevant part, Section 609.43 of the Minnesota statute criminalizes the actions of public officers who intentionally and unlawfully injure another in the other's person, property, or rights.[14].  In relevant part, Section 609.43 also criminalizes actions of public officers who knowingly take actions which exceed their authority or are forbidden by law to be done in a certain capacity.[15] The juxtaposition of Minnesota’s assault laws with Section 609.43 potentially creates stark results.  Where bodily injury occurs, as with the murderous officer here, assault is a general-intent crime which merely requires the defendant commit a prohibited physical act which results in bodily harm upon another.[16]  This means  there is no requirement that a defendant intend to injure the other person.  Conversely, Section 609.43 criminalizes the actions of officers where the officer intends to injure another person and does so unlawfully.[17]  On a core level, these statutes seemingly conflict: Section 609.43 specifically requires an officer formulate an intent to injure whereas Minnesota’s assault statutes impose no such requirement.  

In Minnesota, when two criminal statutes, one general and one specific, conflict because they have the same elements but differing penalties, the more specific statute governs over the more general statute, unless the legislature clearly intends for the general statute to control.[18]  The prosecutor’s decision to forego charging the murderous officer with second degree felony murder may derive from the application of Section 609.43.  The prosecutor may have determined Section 609.43 overrides Minnesota’s general assault statutes.  The prosecutor may have further determined the murderous officer’s knee on neck hold, while callous and depraved, was insufficient evidence of an intent to injure Mr. Floyd.  Indeed, Minnesota characterizes neck restraints as “non-deadly” force.[19]  If the prosecutor analyzed the case in such a manner, then the prosecutor seemingly focused solely on Section 609.43’s intent to injure requirement and ignored the latter provision of Section 609.43 which criminalizes public officers who knowingly take actions which exceed their authority or are forbidden by law to be performed in a certain capacity.  While the murderous officer may ultimately be acquitted of second degree felony murder, second degree felony murder at least has some chance of resulting on conviction.  As will be demonstrated below, the third degree murder charge has almost no chance of success.  The prosecutor’s failure to charge the murderous officer with second degree felony murder will likely lead to a miscarriage of justice.

The prosecutor charged the murderous officer with third degree murder.  In relevant part, a person is guilty of third degree murder if he or she, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life.[20]  Determinatively, third degree murder in Minnesota “excludes a situation where the animus of defendant is directed toward one person only.”[21] Indeed, in 1979 and again in 2003, the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s refusal to submit third degree murder instructions to the jury where there was “no rational basis for a conclusion that [the defendant’s] actions were eminently dangerous to more than one person as is required for an instruction of third-degree murder.”[22]  Glaringly, Minnesota law seemingly precludes the imposition of third degree murder for this exact type of case—a case where a defendant directs his animus toward one person.  Like the 1979 and 2003 Minnesota Supreme Court opinions, there appears to be “no rational basis for a conclusion that [the defendant’s] actions were eminently dangerous to more than one person as is required for an instruction of third-degree murder.”  Specifically, the officer burying his knee into Mr. Floyd’s neck endangered no one other than Mr. Floyd.  It is unclear how the prosecutor can circumvent this impediment. 

 Nevertheless, if prosecutors can navigate around this fatal impediment (which seems doubtful), third degree murder may represent a viable charge. While there may be some kerfuffle regarding whether the officer perpetrated an eminently dangerous act by utilizing a knee-on-neck-hold—a hold unauthorized by his own department but which may have been authorized in other police precincts, this argument obfuscates the issue.  While a knee on the neck may pose no eminent danger in the abstract, where an officer drives his knee into a compliant suspect’s neck for over eight minutes without abatement while the suspect begs for air, the abstract becomes reality.  An argument that the knee on neck hold was not eminently dangerous strains the credulity of the credulous. Finally, the officer unequivocally acted with depravity evinced by his utter disregard for Mr. Floyd’s safety.  Thus, apart from the insurmountable requirement that the defendant’s action must be dangerous to more than one person, which alone disposes of the third degree murder charge, third degree murder works.

As to manslaughter, the actions cannot constitute to first degree manslaughter.  Nor did the prosecutor charge the murderous officer with first degree manslaughter.  In relevant part, a person commits first degree manslaughter if he or she “intentionally causes the death of another person in the heat of passion provoked by such words or acts of another as would provoke a person of ordinary self-control under like circumstances, provided that the crying of a child does not constitute provocation.” Here, as described above evidentiary hurdles obstruct the ability to establish any intent  to kill. Further, this situation cannot constitute a heat of passion.  Nor is there evidence Mr. Floyd or anyone less provoked this murderous officer.  

Finally, the prosecutor also charged the officer with second degree manslaughter.  This charge fits.  In relevant part, a person commits second degree manslaughter through a person's culpable negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another.  “Culpable negligence” is “gross negligence coupled with the element of recklessness.”[23]  

Here, using a knee on neck hold for over eight minutes without abatement certainly displays gross negligence, recklessness, and creates an unreasonable risk.  Further, ignoring the pleas of Mr. Floyd and the onlookers certainly supports both the culpability and consciousness requirements necessary for a second degree manslaughter charge.[24]  In terms of potential problems,  the state performed autopsy report which purportedly revealed no signs of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation may pose some issue.  The defense attorneys may argue against causation.  For the state to prove culpable-negligence manslaughter it must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the acts of the officer were the proximate cause of Mr. Floyd’s death.[25]  The defense may argue Mr. Floyd died from an unforeseeable underlying comorbidity which may have been exacerbated by the knee on neck hold. Even if that argument were true, the distinction likely creates no difference. The Minnesota Supreme Court has recognized that a defendant “causes” death, for proximate-cause purposes, if “the defendant's acts were a substantial factor in causing the death.”[26]  Whether Mr. Floyd died solely due to knee hold induced asphyxia or whether the knee hold exacerbated an underlying condition, the officer’s callous action remain a substantial factor in causing the death. Of the two charges against the murderous officer, second degree manslaughter has the best chance of resulting in conviction. 

The world lay witness to George Floyd’s execution.  The officer’s heinous actions speak for themselves. Yet, as described above, the murderous officer has merely been charged with a disposable third degree murder claim and second degree manslaughter. The third degree murder charge faces doom since the officer’s actions only endangered George Floyd. Regrettably, it appears at best this heinous act elicits a second degree manslaughter conviction; a conviction which carries a maximum ten year sentence, although guidelines recommend merely 3.5 to 5 years.[27] Again, how can this be: an incongruence between what things are and what they ought to be. While we march and protest against the results of systemic racism—the death of another black man, we cannot neglect the soil which fosters these results. The law favors law enforcement in ways which cultivate brutality.  Repeatedly we march to impending disappointment when a brutalizing officer receives no criminal charges, the criminal charges are dismissed, or the criminal charges result in a conviction which pales in comparison to the gravity of the offense. [28]

Emmett Till’s death inspired a civil rights movement which ultimately led to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act.  George Floyd may be today’s Emmett Till: a death so visceral, horrific and reflective of the infirmaries of the legal system that it invokes a movement which inspires policing laws which account for structural and racial inequality.  The truism rings true: All lives matter.  But black lives are the lives historically put at stake.  That’s why black lives matter.  We have the power to make change. We have no option but to make the change or else more lives will be lost without justice.  The law has failed George Floyd.  Let’s work to stop the law from continuing to fail others. 

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[1] Minn.Stat. § 609.18 (2014)

[2] State v. Palmer, 803 N.W.2d 727, 734 (Minn.2011)

[3] Id 

[4] State v. Gillam, 629 N.W.2d 440, 445 (Minn. 2001)(gunshots); See State v. Ferguson, 729 N.W.2d 604, 617 (Minn. App. 2007), review denied (Minn. June 19, 2007)(determining evidence sufficient to support second degree murder when defendant/appellant purportedly gunned down decedent); State v. Wilson,  2008 WL 570280, Minn.App., Mar. 04, 2008 (determining sufficient evidence of intent to kill when defendant/ appellant beat the decedent to death “with punches, kicks, and a metal rod.”)(unpublished)

[5] Minn.Stat. § 609.19

[6] Cal. Penal Code §§ 187(a), 188, 189

[7] Id

[8] Minn.Stat. § 609.19

[9] State v. Cole, 542 N.W.2d 43, 53 (Minn.1996)

[10] Minn.Stat. § 609.02, subd. 10  

[11] State v. Gorman, 532 N.W.2d 229, 233 (Minn.App.1995) (stating that to establish felony murder, state must prove defendant intended to assault victim), aff'd on other grounds, 546 N.W.2d 5 (Minn.1996); State v. Werman, 388 N.W.2d 748, 750 (Minn.App.1986) (stating conviction for felony murder with underlying felony of second-degree assault requires finding of intent to assault), review denied (Minn. Aug. 13, 1986). (1998);

[12] State v. Ortiz, App.2001, 626 N.W.2d 445, review denied

[13] Minn.Stat. § 609.06. (authorizing the use of force) 

[14] Minn.Stat. § 609.43

[15] Id.

[16] State v. Dorn, 875 N.W.2d 357, 359 (Minn. App. 2016); State v. Wilson, App 2012, 814 N.W.2d 60, 64

[17]  State v. Shane, 883 N.W.2d 606, 610 (Minn. App. 2016)

[18] State v. Kalvig, 296 Minn. 395, 398, 209 N.W.2d 678, 680 (1973)

[19] https://kstp.com/news/police-training-expert-speak-on-fatal-minneapolis-incident-may-26-2020/5741911 (last visited June 2, 2020)

[20] Minn.Stat. § 609.195

[21] Stiles v. State, 664 N.W.2d 315, 321(Minn.2003)

[22]  State v. Stewart, 276 N.W.2d 51, 54 (Minn.1979); see also Stiles v. State, 664 N.W.2d 315, 321(Minn.2003)

[23] State v. Beilke, 267 Minn. 526, 534, 127 N.W.2d 516, 521 (1964); see also State v. Grover, 437 N.W.2d 60, 63 (Minn.1989)

[24] The actions may also align with Section 609.43 which criminalizes actions of public officers who knowingly take actions which exceed their authority or are forbidden by law to be done in a certain capacity.  Here, the murderous officer knowingly exceeded his authority when he ignored the protestations of Mr. Floyd and others and also performed an act forbidden by law to be done in a certain capacity: unauthorized knee on neck hold.

[25] State v. Schaub, 231 Minn. 512, 517, 44 N.W.2d 61, 64 (1950)

[26] State v. Smith, 835 N.W.2d 1, 4–6 (Minn. 2013)

[27] https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/george-floyd/what-is-third-degree-murder-and-second-degree-manslaughter-in-minnesota/89-605c84d4-dfc2-4bb9-a09b-4a0063c079ad (last visited on May 31, 2020)

[28] This paper does not discuss the legal doctrine of qualified immunity which further increases the difficulty of charging law enforcement with criminality.

Easter Poem: The Cross He Bore

Born on a silent night, in a stable manger

Immaculately conceived, he came here as a stranger

He entered the world in a body of a man,

The King of Kings known as the great “I AM”

Wise men came bearing frankincense, gold and myrrh

Small tokens for the pains he was destined to endure

For the son of God, the greatest gift he would give

To one day die, so that mankind may live

He performed miracles to reveal a nature divine

He walked on water, and then turned it to wine

He healed the sick, raised men from the dead

Fed 5000 people with a mere five loaves of bread

For three years, he spoke: love thy neighbor as they self

Give Caesar what is Caesar’s, for God is the greatest wealth

For this is a world of sin, a land of never-ending strife

And he the only escape, the way-the truth-and the life

His people whom he loved plotted to have him killed

A prophesied death, so that the will of God be fulfilled

The only man without sin, the perfect sacrificial lamb

Freedom from evil, so that man may no longer be damned

They beat him, whipped him and treated him with vile scorn

As he lay near dead, they placed on his head a crown of thorns

Then on his bloodied back they placed a heavy wooden cross

To carry up the hill of Calvary, where his life would be lost

 Thunder shed tears, lightning cried; as he stood there crucified

Forsaken by God, he tearfully sighed, looked up and then he slowly died

Covered in blood, covered in sin, covered in man’s death sentence

Opened man’s soul; opened man’s mind; opened up man’s repentance

For the dark brooding original sin of Adam and Eve was gone,

He bore all man’s depravity on that wooden crucifix he died on

And drenched mankind with his cleansing blood of bless

Washing away mankind’s sins for the wages of sin is death

They cloaked and covered his body, and in a somber tomb he lay

For the perfect beloved son of God died that Good Friday

Fear not, however, for on the third day death refrained from repose

Because on that third day, in all God’s glory, Jesus Christ arose

Jesus Christ came to this earth with a mission to save

He loved man such much that he bore man’s grave

And died for man on a cross on the hill of Calvary

And rose on the third day so that man may be free

Accept him in the deepest bosom of your soul and heart

The world is maddening chaos, with him it is beautiful art

And he’ll restore you from the grasp of sin’s replevin

So that one day, you’ll live with him in the skies of heaven

Quiet Quiet Night

It’s a quiet quiet night.  A deserted night.  Day is no more. The light flickers unevenly. Just when it seems like the light will dance across the room; brightening even the most dim and shadowy of corners; the darkness envelops all waves.  Now, there is no light and no sound to be heard.   Blind. Deaf. No direction. Lost.

The dulled mind numbs the body.  Feelings evaporate.   Melancholy rains and bathes the world.  The drops whisper, “Stand akimbo. Do not fight.”  Acquiesce. Acquiesce. Acquiesce.  Eyes close.  It’s a quiet quiet night. 

Running to Find

I’m running away

Don’t try to catch me

I can’t catch myself

I’m already ahead of myself

My feet keep moving

I’m getting farther away

I’m out in the realms of space

Maybe, I’ll find myself one day.

The Wind Will Set You Free

The green reeds quietly sway eastwards as the sun fades, casting its shadow over the simmering horizon.  A large boar gently emerges from the shaded mudded creek, closes its eyes, and lets the gentle breeze harden the mud on its face.   When the boar opens its eyes, the flitter of its eyelid causes the mud to break. The mud falls like bits of sand and gently dances in the air like pollen.  The boar is free.

A black-footed ferret gazes up into the oak tree.  The bark of the tree is cold and wetted with the first year’s snowfall.  No matter how much she tries, she cannot climb.  Her eyes are fixated on a particular branch of the oak tree; on that branch rests a robin nest.  The mother robin is away,  the black-footed ferret is a mother too.  She can hear her kits high pitched whimpers crescendo in the wind.  She cannot leave this tree.  The crescendos heighten, and heighten, and heighten.  The black-footed ferret’s gaze focuses on the rattling branch, and then to swiftly to the robin nest which hangs by a thread.  The nest collapses, the eggs fall on the bedded snow with hardly a crack.  The black-footed ferret is free.

The night sky is clouded; the moon emerges from time to time through the clouds. It emerges long enough for the little girl to count its craters, its crevices, and dark spots before it once again vanishes.  The girl sits on a black swing in a small park that only she knows of.  Her fingers grasp the swing‘s alloy chains, but she lacks the energy to swing. Her eyes are red and watery, her head furrowed, her lips downcast like the moon, and her nose sniffles away.  She lets go of her grasp on the alloy chains, and buries her face into her delicate palms. She’s all alone.  Suddenly, a tender gust engulfs her.  Goosebumps emerge under the thickness of her jacket.  The gust holds her tight. Although the green grass, wooden fences, window panes, and trees too bend, the wind is focused on her. It gently grasps her tightly.  She inhales the friendly gust through her nostrils, and lets it rest in her body. The gust dries her water eyes, and her hair blows without inhibition.  The young girl is free.

The wind blows and blows. Through summer and fall, through winter and spring, through times of plenty and times of famine, through times of joy and times of hardness the wind blows.  In your darkest moments and your deepest triumphs, in your light hardships and soft agonies, in your heavy burdens and joyous burdens, the wind blows.  Just like night turns to day and just like the freshness christens the morning air after a night’s rain, the wind blows.  It blows without volition and causes all things to pass.  So, in the servitude of acrimony, the melancholies of melancholy, the nightmares which exist to eyes wide open unburdened with sleep.  Remember like the mudded boar emerging from the creek. Remember lik the black footed ferret gazing up the oak tree.  Remember like the little girl grasping the swing’s alloy chain on that moon covered night.  Remember, just like them, that the Wind will set  you free.

                                                                                                                                         

Reaching the Highest Height

What pushes you? Is it just gravity, that mystical force which set the universe in place? Maybe its the wind, it blows you to and fro.  Perhaps,  its some other describable external force such as a parent, friend, or rival.  Yet, what about places where these forces cannot reach? Better yet, when you are at a place in life where nothing can hold you down and no one can look down  upon you, then what keeps you motivated to keep striving?

For example, when Einstein made discoveries in quantum physics and photo electric effect what drove him to theorize that it was all relative.  Indeed, Einstein's life would have viewed his life a failure if he could not figure that very conundrum; it drove him.  The beautitudes of Matthew lists attributes of man that are and remain blessings: meekness, merciful,  poor in spirit, those who mourn etc.

The beatitudes never say, "blessed is the man who, even amongst his success, sees unending failure" or "blessed is the man who remains thirsty like a parched beast in the scorching desert even though his life has been more bountiful than the waters of the Niagara."  Truth be told, it is probably a curse; the curse of non-complacency.  The curse that is defined as never ever being happy with any of your accomplishments or, alternatively, immediately setting new goals once an accomplishment has been reached such that you don't have the time to revel in the aforesaid accomplishment.  In other words, the antithesis of satisfaction a life where sad will be your faction unless you keep putting your goals in action.

You may call these individuals gluttons for success.  Individuals who push the boundary. Individuals who have a malfunction because they simply do not "stop."  Stop, you already have your degree.  Stop, you already have a degree upon a degree.  Stop, you already passed your test.  Stop, you already have a job.  Stop, you already have a great job.  We work hard to reach a point of success, so "stop" because you have already reached it.  Please stop, because the roses are in full bloom, and smell so wonderful.

For those cursed with the inability to ever be satisfied, driven to be the best, burning with a zeal to reach an artificial peak of their own creation, these pleads of "stop" fall on deaf ears.  Some may not understand it, but it is what it is.  While some find joy in games, partying, television, or relaxation, others find it in being better than everyone else or, at the very least, being better than they were the day, minute, or even second before.  A never ending process.

A process is defined as a series of actions or steps taken to achieve an end.  I must confess, I am one of those that does not see an end in sight.  Reach a goal, and then reach a higher goal, and before you know it, you'll reach a place that not even you could have dreamed of.

                                                                     

Building Stronger Communities

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So, let my words be a colorful brushstroke that paints canvasses across a clear calm night.

I can see her gripping her legs tightly as she sways back and forth in the corner.   Her hair violently blows as the wind slowly creeps through the tattered broken windows and envelops her.

All she can do is bob back and forth and back and forth to try to keep her body warm. She’s trying, but failing….She’s all alone in this old wooden home, and just like no one can hear its creaks, its rustles, its shuffles as the old curtains clash against one another, and its drips as water drops from the hole in the ceiling and overflows from the bucket below, no one can hear her sniffles, no one can hear her cries reverberating around the old home, and no one can see that she’s black like you and I. 

The only difference is, like Toni Morrison, she had the bluest of eyes.  Her blue tears flow like a raging tsunami after an earthquake, like an avalanche on steep mountainous cliff, soon she’ll drown and the only thing left of her will be her young fingers extending. Reaching for something it doesn’t know. Reaching for something it isn’t certain of. Reaching for us to set her free.

Cause that poor little girl on the floor by the door, who needed more, was a metaphor.   A metaphor for underfunded school s with bars over their cracked windows reading from history books made before 9-11….but it don’t matter to 911 cause they love crack, life is a like a baseball game, 3 strikes and you’re out,  and more black men are out in prison today than were slaves in 1850.

But, here we are as black lawyers and leaders today.  The cream of the crop, on a mountain top so high that not even Pegasus can reach us.  Sitting above the clouds, we watch the rain as it falls on the potholed streets in Compton, slides down the graffitied walls in Inglewood, and washes away on the Watts blocks.

They say life is like a box of chocolate. Well, I want chocolate to get out of the box.

But we’re in a box somewhere far in the docks bolted with 3 locks under a bunch of rocks; stagnant through all these talks. 

Luckily, I have the key to set us free, we need to build a stronger community.

So, when I hear someone say they’re bored(board) with law, I say they forgot two words: Brown and Education.

When I hear someone says transformative law fails in civil society, I say be uncivil and follow martial (Marshall) law…Thurgood.

Cause there can be good when we put our minds to it, there are 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour but it does not even take a second to decide to make a change.

And even though this is the Black Law Student Association Solidarity Dinner, change does not have to be black or white, cause the man who wrote “Black or white” also wrote "We are the world, we are the children, we are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving" and we give when we don't bury our talents, but instead use our talents to build a better world.  

So, let’s not go through the motions when we write motions, write motions with emotion, so that our motions can be poetry in motion, with the motion to move this community and this world forward.

Going backwards is a con, the pro is bono. Pro bono work that can change lives of mothers, fathers, children, of all colors and creeds, from calorific California to rocky Colorado, from  cold complex Connecticut to calm coniferous Kentucky, from every star-crossed state capital to every  encapsulated corner of the once 13 colonies now known as the United States of America.

And please, let’s continue to be a source of force, a recourse of resource, in other words, a workhorse, for future lawyers so that 1L, 2L, 3L, and maybe for some of y’all 4L does not have to rhyme or be synonymous at all with hell.

And  lets strive to be positive because even though Newton’s 3^rd law of physic says what goes up must come down, if we don’t get down on ourselves, but instead remain positive individually and collectively, our positivity will  never come down, and we can take our legal profession and legal field to heights that it can only dream of.

We are at the mountain top! And the dream of a preacher still lives on. It’s beautiful dream.  It’s a special dream. It’s an American dream.  It’s a dream that requires all of you and me, to set our people free by please please please building a stronger community.