George Floyd peace vigil held in Palm Springs following Chauvin guilty verdict

A vigil was held Wednesday night remembering George Floyd one day after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on 3 counts of murder in Floyd's death last May.

Dozens gathered at the George Floyd mural in downtown Palm Springs, invited by the Palm Springs Black History Committee and United Methodist Church.

"Just wanted to support and hope that this would be a change right now," said Fenita Kirkwood, a member of the First Baptist Church in North Palm Springs. "Hope for today and no other day we have to wake up with something like this to happen."

Since a Minneapolis jury found Chauvin guilty of murder Tuesday afternoon and he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, a memorial below the mural has continued to grow.

"The emotions are still running through my head of how can this happen in the world?" said Sean Jacobs, a Palm Springs local.

Jarvis Crawford is part of the joint team that brought the vigil to life. "This is showing a unity of the community," he said. "When you look here and you see people from all walks of life here, it's showing that they supported this cause. There's white people holding the flag that says Black Lives Matter; that's showing you that they do understand the struggle that has happened in our society."

After a series of speakers, the group held candles in the air, promising to remember other lives taken by police violence.

Uniting in song, an American flag was folded to honor the life lost that ignited a movement. "We're seeing change now, but it's been a long time coming," Kirkwood said.

"We shall overcome, some day," the group sang.

A small memorial is growing in front of the Palm Springs mural of #GeorgeFloyd that was painted last summer after a week of demonstrations. @KESQ pic.twitter.com/MOgnhoyYYD

— Jake Ingrassia (@JakeKESQ) April 21, 2021

Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd to the pavement with his knee on the Black man’s neck in a case that touched off worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.

Chauvin, 45, is expected to be sentenced in 8 weeks, a sentencing date will be released later on. Chauvin could be sent to prison for decades.