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ROCKFORD â Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Those words were greeted with a mixture of relief, sadness and hope by Rockford activists on Tuesday. A jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all charges in the May 2020 killing of George Floyd in the middle of a city street. Rockford activist Jay Ware had awaited the verdict with nervous apprehension and fear after a lifetime of wondering if Black men and women could ever expect equal justice under the law in the United States "It's a relief," Ware said. "l was almost crying a little bit. It's really a relief. It's sadness, too. The whole thing is so sad. It's so sad. It has to be that obvious for it to be a guilty verdict and I think there is something sad about that."
ROCKFORD — Residents are on edge ahead of a verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial, and local police say they have contingency plans in place in case of unrest. Rockford activist Jay Ware said he is scared of how people might react if Chauvin is found not guilty and what it would say about justice in the United States. "I am very apprehensive," Ware said. "I think there is probably a 50-50 chance that justice is going to happen. I think the guy is guilty, but I just don’t have very much faith in the system." Ware and other activists said a not guilty verdict in the face of what they view as overwhelming evidence against Chauvin — the Minneapolis police officer who was accused of murder after he knelt on a handcuffed George Floyd's neck for more than 9 minutes as he died — would signal that there is no justice in America.
ROCKFORD — Martin Luther King Jr. Day might look a little different this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Black leaders in Rockford said that there are still ways to celebrate and honor King’s life. The Young Eagles Success Club has organized a virtual musical production that will be livestreamed Monday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the organization’s Facebook and YouTube pages. The “Peace Party” is from Sounds of Good News Productions and will consist of singing, dancing, speaking parts and various clips of King’s speeches. Founder Carl Cole and his wife, Dianna, said that after 14 years, this is the first time they have had to put on a virtual celebration for the holiday.