Editor's note: Li Juan is a researcher and lecturer at the Human Rights Institute of Southwest University of Political Science and Law. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On June 25, former police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd during an arrest in May 2020 on a Minneapolis sidewalk. As early as when Chauvin was found guilty, U.S. President Joe Biden called this guilty verdict "a giant step" toward justice in the United States.

However, will the sentencing of Chauvin, a white police officer, put an end to the issue of racism in America or make a difference? Is it, like Biden claimed, a "giant step" towards fairness and justice in the U.S.? In fact, the situation is not optimistic.

Firstly, the racial status quo in the U.S. has not changed much in the year since Floyd's death.

During the Floyd trial, in Minnesota, where the incident occurred, Wright, an African-American man, was shot and killed by the police. Statistics show that in the 21 days of the trial, 64 people were shot and killed by police in the U.S., and most of them were Black. 

The latest poll by the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 60 percent of Americans believe that racism is a "very or extremely serious" problem. As much as 60 percent of the African-American respondents said that they were "often" or "sometimes" discriminated against when dealing with the police.

The investigation also showed that about half of Americans believed that the fact that Chauvin was convicted in the Floyd case did not enhance their confidence in the criminal justice system.

In addition, white policeman Chauvin was sentenced more because of the "power of smart phones" rather than the power of judicial justice.

The reason why the Floyd case has received much attention and the white police officers are held accountable is mainly due to the public dissemination of the incident on the internet. It is reported that this complete video taken by passers by was uploaded to social media and quickly spread among people around the world.

This widely circulated online video reproduces the entire process of violent law enforcement at that time. The despair and helplessness of the victims and the ruthlessness of the perpetrators made all the police's defenses meaningless.

These real and vivid images deeply touch the soul and conscience of every video viewer, forming a strong empathy effect, and becoming an important emotional force that pushes people to the streets in protests.

Thus, a public opinion effect and public pressure were created for the judgment of this case. Therefore, some media believed the verdict was the result of "people power," due to civil rights movements encouraging bystanders to use their smart phones. But for the government, the verdict was nothing more than catering to the political correctness of the United States.

On the other hand, smart phone video provided key evidence for the case. Shaun Hall, whose brother Mark Duggan was killed in August 2011 in London, UK, believed without video evidence the George Floyd case would have failed, even if witnesses had testified about what they saw. He said, "Words alone mean nothing. The defense will try to discredit the witnesses. If you feel something's wrong – film it."

Furthermore, African Americans frequently suffer from violent law enforcement and other unfair treatment in America. This is rooted in the racist ideology that has long existed in America.

Racial discrimination in American society is institutional, systematic and structural, and has deep and complex historical roots. It has always accompanied the development of the U.S. in history, and skin color plays an important role in determining the fate of Americans.

The political structure and ideology of white supremacy have caused the black race to suffer all-round discrimination in various fields such as politics, economy, culture and social life in the United States.

Since 2016, white supremacy in the U.S. has shown a resurgence trend, leading to racial opposition and hatred. Racial discrimination is common in law enforcement. UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance pointed out that people of African descent in the U.S. are still killed and brutalized at alarming rates by law enforcement authorities and vigilantes, who have little to no accountability.

African American adults are 5.9 times more likely to be incarcerated than white adults. Such racial disparities are a vestige of slavery and racial segregation. People of African descent are more likely to be seen as criminals by police officers and treated with cruel measures.

At the same time, the issue of racial discrimination has been reduced to a tool for politicians to grab political benefits. In fact, since the creation of America, African Americans have become victims of American politics, and this fate has continued to this day.

For a period of time, American political parties have been using racial issues to kidnap minority votes. They equated support for anti-racism with support for parties, and not voting for a party meant supporting racism. The issue of racism, which has been kidnapped by American politicians for a long time, has caused more hatred in society.

Opposing racial discrimination has become the slogan of many American politicians and a tool for getting public support, making the problem of racial discrimination a vicious circle. Floyd's death seemed to be a stage for politicians and an opportunity for them to seize political benefits.

Therefore, as long as the issue of racism in the U.S. is unresolved, other incidents which may be similar to the Floyd incident will not stop happening. In a sense, Chauvin's mother has a point saying that her son is "innocent" because the real killer of Floyd was the racist ideology of the U.S.. In the context of institutional, systemic and structural racial discrimination, every enforcer may become Chauvin.

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