Yates HS alumni hope social justice conversations continue after Chauvin trial

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Members of the Jack Yates National Alumni Association have been exercising their patience like the rest of the country and held their breath for the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.

The former Minneapolis officer 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 triggered worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S.

Chauvin, 45, was immediately led away with his hands cuffed behind his back and could be sent to prison for decades.

News Special Report: Derek Chauvin found guilty on all charges in the death of George Floyd.
The association now plans to continue to work to keep Floyd’s memories alive. In the past, national and local Yates alumni gathered at the field where Floyd once played football and dominated.

Now, the organization has since started the “George Floyd Scholarship for Social Justice.”

Jeffrey Boney, the president of JYNAA, went to school with Floyd and said now that the verdict is out, the mission is to continue to keep Floyd’s spirit alive.

“Our focus is to have his name be acknowledged forever,” said Boney. “But also, we have a ‘George Floyd Scholarship for Social Justice’ fund that we created. This will not only provide scholarships to students at Jack Yates High School, but also, one of the key components for applying to the scholarship is to talk about social justice in an essay. You’re going to remember what happened on 4/20/2021.”

The group held a vigil at Tuesday night on Zoom to pray for the Floyd family and other victims of social injustice.