WASHINGTON (AP) – When MP Maxine Waters urged people to stand on the streets to seek justice for George Floyd, advocates of racial justice and the end of police violence heard a leading black voice on the nation’s long march toward civil rights .
Critics, including the judge in the Derek Chauvin case, criticized Waters’ insistence on conviction as arson and for a moment diverted attention from the white policeman charged in the death of Floyd the black and the words of the Congressman. Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter on Tuesday.
When the action and reaction bounced off on social media and in endless cable television loops, the judges considered, it was an all-too-familiar call and response, a politically tense exchange that has played out across much of America’s troubled racial history.
“People are focusing their fire on Maxine Waters at a moment when a cop is on trial for the murder of a man,” said Leah Wright Rigueur, Harry Truman professor of history at Brandeis University.
They demand law and order, she said, “but the whole idea of what people are rebelling against – and against which they have historically rebelled – is the idea of law and order when applied unfairly and unjustly.”
Waters, a California Democrat, has long been an exciting figure who bravely speaks and shows up for racial justice in communities across the country, just as she did at the Minneapolis suburban police station prior to the deliberations of the jury at Chauvin’s trial.
Waters told the crowd Saturday night that they wanted to see a murder conviction against Chauvin for Floyd’s death.
When asked what should happen if Chauvin was not convicted of murder, she replied, “We have to stay on the streets, we have to be more active, we have to be more confrontational.”
Chauvin’s attorney quickly moved to a lawsuit in light of Waters’ comments.
Judge Peter Cahill denied the defense on Monday, calling it “disrespectful to the rule of law and the judiciary” so that elected officials can comment on the outcome of the case. “Disgusting,” he said.
The term “Maxine Waters” has skyrocketed after her comments on Facebook and Instagram. This comes from data from CrowdTangle, a tool from Facebook that tracks public insights into the social media platforms.
The judges considered that public Facebook posts naming the congressman received millions more interactions on Monday and Tuesday than posts naming chauvin. Posts about Waters also appeared frequently in the Facebook discourse on the process in general. Videos shared by conservative commentators were among the most engaging videos in a public search on Tuesday.
Leading Republicans on Capitol Hill criticized Waters’ remarks, with some taking to Fox News and social media themselves as the debate turned. Some particularly criticized their call to confrontation.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy passed a resolution to reprimand Waters for “making dangerous comments.” He failed to advance Tuesday in a party line vote.
Republican Senate Chairman Mitch McConnell said, “It’s harder to imagine anything more inadequate than a member of Congress who traveled from California to not so subtly inform local leaders that this defendant should better be found guilty.”
GOP leaders fought off questions about their party’s incendiary rhetoric, namely Donald Trump, who urged his supporters to fight “like hell” for his presidency before storming the Capitol in the deadly January 6 riot to vote for Joe Biden fall.
Democrats rose to defend Waters, and House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi said the comments should be seen in the context of the long struggle for civil rights.
“Maxine was talking about civil rights-style confrontation,” Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol on Monday.
When asked if Waters should apologize, Pelosi said no.
At the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki said, “It is important to create space and opportunity for peaceful protest. But protest should be peaceful. ”
Steny Hoyer, Chairwoman of the House Majority, D-Md., Said in a speech: “The remarks by Chairman Waters reflect the profound anger and feeling of hopelessness that she and so many others, including me, feel when we see How African Americans Are Killed in Encounters Our law enforcement agencies and their families see no justice. “
New York MP Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said the GOP leaders who criticize Waters “should take that place while Republicans in the House strive to suppress a movement within their ranks, you know.” focused “Anglo-Saxon” caucus. “
The comments Waters made carry a certain legal risk in the trial of the former officer. Officials usually avoid talking about cases because their words are an easy means of appealing a conviction – evidence of a possible effort to poison a jury pool and determine guilt without trial.
Following Tuesday’s ruling, Waters told reporters at the Capitol, “You know, someone said it better than me: I’m not celebrating, I’m relieved.”
Known as “Aunt Maxine” on Capitol Hill, Waters is a role model to a younger generation of leaders for her unwavering style in a decades-long career focused on racial and economic justice.
With the deaths of Rep. John Lewis and other black leaders in Congress in recent years, Waters is a bridge to this earlier era of civil rights leadership.
“Aunt Maxine is not an easy target for anyone and I recommend her for her leadership,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat, DN.Y.
Waters focused on police issues in 1979 after police shot and killed a black woman over an unpaid gas bill during a confrontation in Los Angeles. She quickly became a leading advocate of policing when she joined Congress in 1991 after Los Angeles police officers videotaped Rodney King.
“In a way, that’s why we have representative government,” said Professor Ravi Perry, chairman of the political science department at Howard University.
“The thing is, people who go to the halls of power can use this lived experience to educate others who don’t have that lived experience about what it might be like to walk in those shoes,” he said , “and how we might want to change.” our laws to better reflect this diverse lived experience. ”
Rashad Robinson, president of the Color of Change advocacy group, dismissed the “manufactured indignation” of the critics of Waters as a distraction.
“The history of civil rights – a story that is celebrated in this country, even if it is undermined – is a story where blacks have to speak out, speak out and emerge,” he said.
“What are bus boycotts, what are the sit-ins at the lunch counter if people don’t show up?” he said. “And now people are acting indignantly.”
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Associate Press Writer Alan Fram, Darlene Superville, Aamer Madhani, Kevin Freking, Colleen Long, Josh Boak, and Padmananda Rama in Washington; Stephen Groves in Minneapolis; Ali Swenson in Seattle; and David Bauder in New York contributed to this report.
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For full AP coverage of George Floyd’s death, please visit: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
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