Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary since George Floyd gasped out his life under the knee of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. It has been a year of violence sparked by Floyd’s killing starting Minneapolis and St. Paul and spread across the country. It has been a year in which Chauvin was tried and convicted for second degree murder in Floyd’s death, sending a message that there can and should be accountability for police-involved killings

It has been a year in which we have all been forced to confront the reality of what dealing with police is like for people of color, a year in which phrases like “systemic racism” and “critical race theory” are challenging complacency about the state of race relations in this country.

It has been a year in which demands for defunding police and dissolving departments has given way to more reasonable discussions about proper police tactics and enforcement. It has also been a year in which violence and killings in our communities seem to be on the increase and the need for more and better policing is clearly essential.

We hope this is a year in which we have all grown in awareness — accuse us of being “woke” if you will, but knowledge and awareness of our problems and troubles are essential if we are to deal with them. We hope the lessons we learned this past year will lead to better actions in the future.