To Our Joslin Community:

On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, a Minneapolis jury convicted former police officer Derek Chauvin on second and third degree murder, as well as second degree manslaughter, and he will be rightfully punished for the murder of George Floyd. Although nothing will bring George Floyd back, his murder has sparked outrage across the country, and a movement to justly address systemic racism in all its forms. We hold this work up as critically important both inside Joslin and for the people we serve.

The trial of Derek Chauvin played out over the last four weeks in the national media. What many think should have been a clear-cut case of murder of a Black man at the hands of a police officer, caught clear as day on camera, often seemed like a trial and judgment on George Floyd’s life, background and health issues. Regardless of the details of the case, George Floyd simply did not deserve to die under the knee of Derek Chauvin. 

We humbly recognize the ever-mounting psychological and physiological toll these senseless murders take on our Black and African American colleagues, friends, neighbors, community and people we serve. Even, as the trial was playing out in a Minneapolis courtroom, we watched another Black man, Daunte Wright, lose his life at the hands of police during a traffic stop just 10 miles away.

We have embarked on a journey at Joslin to do our part to address issues of racial injustice and inequity. We are committed to listening, learning, calling out injustice and standing firmly in our quest for diversity, equity and inclusion at Joslin and beyond.

Roberta Herman, MD
President and CEO