The Five Words to Describe What We Saw

Some of the final words from the prosecutor to the jury in the trial of former cop Derek Chauvin in the George Floyd trial may or may not have made the difference in the guilty verdicts.

But what he said, in just five words, may have been the best way to describe all that has gone on since the deadly incident almost a year ago. "

What you saw, you saw” is what the prosecutor told the jury. And we all have seen what we have seen during the last 11 months.

What we saw were more protests over race than we’ve seen in decades, since the days of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. Most of them peaceful but some of them violent.

We saw the anger and cries that have simmered among many black Americans for some 150 years rise to a boil. And we saw good men and women of all colors who have chosen to serve their communities as police officers being attacked verbally and physically. And we saw growing division and disrespect among the far left and the far right.

But we also saw that while race has divided us during much of our nation’s history, it can also serve to bring us together. Some have suggested that the pandemic may have helped, with the awareness it brought through the isolation and fear and how it made us all look at life in maybe a new way.

We can only hope that what we saw this last year will help us all see better together in the days and years ahead.

WATCH: Highlights of trial below.

(Photo Getty Images)