--- title: His Predecessors Dodged Race. Biden Embraces It description: This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every... canonical: https://time.com/5956887/biden-race/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-04-21T18:01:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:11:25.909Z article:section: Politics og:title: His Predecessors Dodged Race. Biden Embraces It og:description: This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every... og:url: https://time.com/5956887/biden-race/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd458b75bb626eab/698a18d54ee2625e9431895b/joe-biden-george-floyd-verdict.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-BIDEN-RACISM-TRIAL-POLICE-FLOYD og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: His Predecessors Dodged Race. Biden Embraces It twitter:description: This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd458b75bb626eab/698a18d54ee2625e9431895b/joe-biden-george-floyd-verdict.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:15 video:published: 2021-04-21 section: politics topics: Derek Chauvin verdict, George Floyd murder, systemic racism, police accountability, racial justice, criminal trial, Minnesota, family grief genre: news, political statement tones: solemn, hopeful, resolute, reflective emotions: grief (high), hope (medium), anger (medium), determination (medium) sentiment: neutral audience: general news readers, politically engaged viewers, racial justice advocates, policy observers people: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Derek Chauvin, George Floyd organizations: White House, Minnesota state government content_suitability: death [00:00-02:15]; violence [00:00-01:54]; crime [00:00-00:30]; politics [00:00-02:15]; tragedy [01:42-01:54] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # His Predecessors Dodged Race. Biden Embraces It > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=1a893a5d-3e8d-4a3f-8808-8c9ba66728f9&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 'A Giant Step Forward.' President Biden Praises Derek Chauvin Guilty Verdict [Watch (HLS stream): 'A Giant Step Forward.' President Biden Praises Derek Chauvin Guilty Verdict](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KcKwh9tC.m3u8) (2:15)  _Published 2021-04-21. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris praised the guilty verdict of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Joe Biden reacts to the guilty verdict against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd. He describes the killing as a murder in full view of the world and frames it as exposing systemic racism. Biden calls the verdict a step forward, says he spoke with the Minnesota governor and the Floyd family, and urges that Floyd's legacy lead to action in his memory. ## Key points - Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd, who was killed the previous May. (00:00) - Biden says the murder ripped the blinders off for the world to see the systemic racism the Vice President referred to. (00:00) - Biden calls systemic racism a stain on the nation's soul and refers to the knee on the neck of justice for Black Americans. (00:30) - Biden describes profound fear, trauma, pain and exhaustion that Black and brown Americans experience every single day. (00:30) - Biden says he spoke with the governor of Minnesota, who thanked him for close work with his team. (00:30) - Biden says he spoke again with the George Floyd family, describing them as a remarkable family of extraordinary courage. (01:00) - Biden says nothing can bring George Floyd back, but the verdict can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America. (01:00) - Biden says Floyd's legacy should lead to what we must do in his memory, and that we have a chance to change the trajectory of the country. (01:32) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:30] Verdict announced and systemic racism framed. Biden states the guilty verdict and says the murder exposed systemic racism to the world. - [00:30 to 01:00] Calls for justice and reactions from officials. Biden describes the pain of Black and brown Americans and mentions his conversation with the Minnesota governor. - [01:00 to 01:32] Family's courage and a step toward justice. Biden speaks of the Floyd family's courage and says the verdict can be a giant step forward. - [01:32 to 02:15] Floyd's legacy and a call to action. Biden urges that George Floyd's last words not be forgotten and that the country live up to his legacy. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Joe Biden: "It was a murder in the full light of day and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see, the systemic racism the Vice President just referred to." - [00:30] Joe Biden: "The systemic racism is a stain on our nation's soul." - [01:00] Joe Biden: "Nothing can ever bring their brother or their father back But this can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America." - [01:42] George Floyd: "I can't breathe. I can't breathe." - [01:54] Joe Biden: "We can't turn away. We have a chance to begin to change the trajectory in this country." ## Questions this video answers - What verdict was reached in the trial of Derek Chauvin? [00:00] - How does Biden describe the systemic racism exposed by George Floyd's murder? [00:00] - Who did Biden speak with about the verdict? [00:30] - What does Biden say Black and brown Americans experience every day? [00:30] - What were George Floyd's last words? [01:42] - What does Biden hope the country will do in George Floyd's memory? [01:54] ## Content suitability - death [00:00-02:15]: Discusses the killing of George Floyd and the family's loss. - violence [00:00-01:54]: References a murder and a knee on the neck. - crime [00:00-00:30]: Describes a conviction for murder by a former police officer. - politics [00:00-02:15]: Presidential commentary on a court verdict and systemic racism. - tragedy [01:42-01:54]: Quotes George Floyd's last words, 'I can't breathe.'  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Apr 21, 2021 6:01 PM UTC President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris praised the guilty verdict of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd.  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Apr 21, 2021 6:01 PM UTC _This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletter%5Fopt-in?qs=3a19a0aa35903a2d9f214b74f69a37910b58de73cf3f2b89adc123fac024f0478c72f91010ae9d01f08f46c616068cab3e74726837cd2cce70dac3796e46c2b4) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox every weekday._ I don’t think I’m that old. But I’ve followed presidential candidates through the ethanol [fields](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/17/us/2004-campaign-democrats-dean-gephardt-camps-turn-their-attacks-kerry.html) of Iowa and apple [orchards](https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/07/20/in-n-h-macks-apples-known-as-much-for-apples-as-presidential-campaign-visits/) of New Hampshire enough times to remember when most politicians didn’t want to talk about race. In fact, it wasn’t all that long ago when the nation’s first Black President almost made his way to the Democratic Party’s nomination without a major speech on race. In 2008, it was still conventional wisdom in national politics to stay away from the topic, if possible, and that engaging with it carried nothing but downside. Then, back in the early-spring thaw of the 2008 primary, Barack Obama found himself backed into a corner. A network morning show had aired a two-minute segment about the [pastor](http://content.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1735809,00.html) who married Barack and Michelle. His fiery sermons raised a big question for Democrats: would white, working-class voters rally behind this man who sat in the pews of a church where the pastor called the country Obama sought to lead the “USA of KKK”? Still, almost everyone on Obama’s team was against the idea of a major speech on race. (Obama himself deadpans in his memoir that “the team was skeptical.”) But the candidate plotted a careful balancing act in the hopes of steadying a campaign that, to that point, had emphasized a message of hope, not its potential to make history. Obama, in his own recollection of the moment, had to explain simultaneously how Blacks loved a country they felt had betrayed them _and_ why whites’ struggles were no less valid. The [speech](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/politics/18text-obama.html) did the trick, or at least changed the narrative of the campaign and set records for YouTube views. After the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in response staged a full [meltdown](http://content.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1735662,00.html) at the National Press Club, accusing the U.S. government of causing the AIDS epidemic and praising Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Obama followed-up with a speech that formally [ended](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/30/us/politics/30obama.html) his relationship with the pastor. But privately, Obama wondered if Hillary Clinton was right “about me being damaged goods” in his affiliation with the pastor, and that race was just the one thing Americans didn’t want to deal with explicitly in their politics, the former President writes in the first volume of his memoirs. Fast forward to last night with President Joe Biden, who spoke to the nation hours after a Minnesota jury convicted Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, of manslaughter and second- and third-degree murder of George Floyd. Biden stood in the foyer of the White House mansion and spoke rawly about what has to come next after Chauvin’s conviction on all three charges. Biden said it “takes acknowledging and confronting, head on, systemic racism and the racial disparities that exist in policing and in our criminal justice system more broadly.” There’s been a shift in recent years in the broader psyche of how race fits into American politics, and leaders past and present have responded in uneven ways. In 2015, Bill Clinton [apologized](https://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8565345/1994-crime-bill) for supporting the 1994 crime bill because of its racially uneven application of penalties. (Biden, too, has apologized for backing that bill.) As Jonathan Alter writes in his fresh assessment of former President Jimmy Carter, even a Southern figure who in the 1950s and 1960s was largely silent on racial injustice (before championing increased government diversity the 1970s and ’80s) last year released a statement that read to many, between the lines, as an apology. “Silence can be as deadly as violence,” the former President and his wife Rosalynn wrote. And just last night, the Business Roundtable — the lobbyist for CEOs — [joined](https://twitter.com/BizRoundtable/status/1384664471814254592) the flood of corporations in demanding improved policing standards. It’s a big change, at least on the surface. After a campaign that largely steered clear of race, Obama, during his eight years in office, took up the tactic of his predecessors who dodged race. When he was asked about a white police officer’s arrest in 2009 of a Black professor at Harvard, Obama answered in what he thought was a clinical analysis, saying he understood why Skip Gates was angry to be cuffed on his own steps. Obama’s internal polling after that comment showed he suffered the single-biggest drop in support among white voters in his entire presidency, he wrote in his memoir. Three years later, when asked about the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Obama again answered with matter-of-fact style. “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon,” Obama [said](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-if-i-had-a-son-hed-look-like-trayvon/2012/03/23/gIQApKPpVS%5Fstory.html) in 2012, nimbly responding without using the words _Black_ or _race_. Americans have grown more concerned about racial justice since 2020; [data](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/09/floyd-protests-have-changed-public-opinion-about-race-policing-heres-data/) backs that up. Younger voters in particular are animated by it, but not exclusively. The women who took to the streets after Hillary Clinton’s loss became reliable allies for last year’s marches for racial justice. That’s part of the reason Biden studied up on racially inclusive language during his campaign last year. He [met](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/07/us/politics/joe-biden-george-floyd-funeral.html) with the Floyd family ahead of the funeral and [spoke](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-calls-racial-justice-during-emotional-george-floyd-funeral-speech-n1228566) at it. He [phoned](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/us/biden-calls-george-floyd-family.html) the Floyd family in recent days and again after the verdict. And he told reports in the Oval Office that he was praying for the “[right](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-praying-verdict-chauvin-trial/story?id=77189850)” verdict in the then-ongoing jury deliberations. But America’s superhighway of progress isn’t self-fulfilling. Floyd’s death — caught on camera, as Chauvin pinned him to the sidewalk with a knee on his neck — sparked a reckoning on racial justice and moved the yearslong Black Lives Matter movement back into the national spotlight. Polling shows white voters’ feelings about the movement haven’t changed much. Civiqs’ [polling](https://civiqs.com/results/black%5Flives%5Fmatter?uncertainty=true&annotations=true&zoomIn=true&race=White) shows Black Lives Matter enjoyed majority support for only about six weeks immediately following Floyd’s death. At its peak, it had 43% support among white voters. That number is now back down to 37%, roughly where it was before Floyd’s death, FiveThirtyEight notes in a helpful [analysis](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-views-on-black-lives-matter-have-changed-and-why-that-makes-police-reform-so-hard/). Among all voters these days, support for the movement stands at 47%, opposition at 40%, 11% saying they are neutral and 1% saying they don’t know. (In another piece, the polling site [notes](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-views-on-gun-control-have-changed-in-the-last-30-years/) this fading support also happens after mass shootings when polls ask about changes to gun laws; the horror gives way to complacency pretty quickly.) By the time we turned off the television last night, Biden had made clear his sincere vow to do better on race and push for legislation to combat systemic racism. There may be less political risk to Biden, as a white President, to bring race front and center in his politics than his predecessor. But, as my colleague Alana Abramson [wrote](https://time.com/5956771/joe-biden-derek-chauvin-guilty/) last night, there’s still a rough path ahead for his pledges to become reality. Until lawmakers feel police reform is a priority for their constituents, there’s a real risk that legislation might get kicked down the road, as it has been for years. As much as America has shifted in important ways this last year, the absence of support is strong. _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [_Sign up for the daily D.C. Brief newsletter._](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/politics?source=dc%5Farticle) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5956887/biden-race/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5956887/biden-race/"},"headline":"His Predecessors Dodged Race. Biden Embraces It","datePublished":"2021-04-21T18:01:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T09:11:25.909Z","description":"This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every...","url":"https://time.com/5956887/biden-race/","keywords":["The D.C. 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