The televised trial of Derek Chauvin, the former white police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, has provoked strong emotions among many Black men and women — all tinged with an underlying dread that it could yield yet another devastating disappointment. 

Kneeling on George Floyd’s neck while he was handcuffed and lying on his stomach was top-tier, deadly force and “totally unnecessary,” the head of the Minneapolis Police Department’s homicide division testified Friday.

George Floyd’s girlfriend tearfully told a jury Thursday the story of how they met — at a Salvation Army shelter where he was a security guard with “this great, deep Southern voice, raspy” — and how they both struggled mightily with an addiction to opioids.

After the ambulance took George Floyd away, the Minneapolis officer who had pinned his knee on the Black man’s neck defended himself to a bystander by saying Floyd was “a sizable guy” and “probably on something,” according to police video played in court Wednesday.

A suspect was arrested on assault and hate crime charges in an attack on an Asian American woman in New York City, police said Wednesday. The suspect was arrested after police circulated images taken from surveillance video around the attack. The suspect has a previous conviction.  

Onlookers grew increasingly angry as they begged Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin to take his knee off George Floyd’s neck, but Chauvin would not let up, and another officer forced back members of the crowd who tried to intervene, witnesses testified Tuesday at Chauvin’s murder trial.

A vicious attack on an Asian American woman as she walked to church near New York City’s Times Square is drawing widespread condemnation and raising alarms about the failure of bystanders to intervene amid a rash of anti-Asian violence across the U.S.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday ordered a review of how the Justice Department can best deploy its resources to combat hate crimes during a surge in incidents targeting Asian Americans.

The video of George Floyd gasping for breath was essentially Exhibit A as the former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee on the Black man’s neck went on trial Monday on charges of murder and manslaughter.

Jurors at all trials feel pressure, knowing their decisions will alter lives. But the weight on jurors in Minneapolis is in a whole different category as they’ll be asked whether to assign guilt in the death of a Black man that prompted some of the largest protests in U.S. history.

The pandemic has exposed disparities in access, experts say. A look at the ongoing efforts to make vaccine distribution more equitable and the need to continue those efforts in a post-pandemic world.

“These conversations are a slap in the face to people that have suffered great atrocities over time in this country," said Ald. Jason Ervin, the chairman of the City Council Black Caucus.

After years of debate, a North Side elementary school named after a 19th century scientist who promoted racist ideologies will now be renamed in honor of Harriet Tubman.

Using tax money from the sale of recreational marijuana, the Chicago suburb of Evanston has become the first U.S. city to make reparations available to its Black residents for past discrimination and the lingering effects of slavery.

A coalition of state representatives and organizations representing the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander community called on residents to unite against discrimination in the wake of a mass shooting in Georgia that eight people, including six women of Asian descent.

This month marks the anniversary of pandemic-induced shutdowns across Illinois. As we close out a year of COVID-19, we assess the road behind us, and the journey ahead.