NYPL President Tony Marx on Chauvin Verdict

By Tony Marx, NYPL President
April 20, 2021
Aerial view of The New York Public Library's main research building on 42nd Street.

Tonight’s verdict provides a conclusion of sorts to almost a year of anger, frustration, fear, hopelessness, divisiveness, and despair, but it does not bring closure. If one thing has been made painfully clear over this last year, it’s that we are a country in crisis, with historical scars of racism still very much with us. A country where so many, Black, Hispanic, Asian and others, feel at best invisible, and unforgivably, in danger. Where people are unable to empathize, understand, or even listen to perspectives other than their own. While it provides a sense of relief that our justice system found that George Floyd's life does matter, there is so much work to be done, and it starts with all of us. The Library will continue to play its role connecting communities and fighting ignorance and hate, and hopefully, together, we can make sustained progress toward real justice. That work very much continues.