A statement from Executive Director Jennifer Hanlon Wigon Regarding the Conviction of Derek Chauvin

On Tuesday, the citizens of the United States took one step further towards a more perfect union. A mixed-race jury convicted the murderer of George Floyd. As a white woman I had been preparing for a different outcome – a more traditional outcome, rooted in our nation’s historic and vicious systemic racism.

I was considering how to support our black and brown staff members who over this past year have shouldered the impact of the pandemic on our guests, while also managing their personal journeys through the exposure of our nation’s deep racial divide and the resulting deadly outcomes. I knew they would step forward to support our guests.

This is one conviction of one person. One small step. It does not represent justice in the United States. Now our attention must turn to the system. Policing must be reformed. Investments must be transferred to increase access to the social determinants of health – quality education, housing, healthcare, food access, and living wage jobs.

We stand with our guests, our staff, and our community. This is not a fight for people of color alone – it is the fight for all of us who know with deep certainty that our networks, our neighborhoods, and our nation are strengthened and elevated, not just by inclusion, but by the repudiation of racism.

Jennifer Hanlon Wigon
Executive Director
Women’s Lunch Place