LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When a Minneapolis jury found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three charges related to the death of George Floyd, Ben Jones, the owner of Better Days Records, relaxed a little bit.

“My reaction was a sigh of relief,” Jones said.

Jones followed the Chauvin Trial throughout the whole month. His diverse staff even discussed the trial while at work. These conversations allowed them to better understand one another’s perspectives.

“We discussed and talked about it a lot. Me trying to understand their views and them understanding how I feel about what’s going on in the world,” Jones said.

Jones remembered last summer when racial justice protests sparked in cities like Louisville and Minneapolis. Luckily for Jones, his business wasn’t damage when things got violent. Instead, he decided to focus on the messages of peaceful protests.

“Because the good protest, because the awareness that there needs to be systemic change in the US and there’s nothing wrong with that. These are things I’ve been looking forward to my whole life,” he said.

Greater Louisville Inc. posted this statement on their Instagram:

“We stand with the Black community in Greater Louisville and communities around the world and are hopeful the decision in Minneapolis is a turning point towards change in our criminal justice system. We recognize the journey to justice and equity continues and we remain committed to pursuing increased accountability, transparency and trust between law enforcement and our community."

Jones is hopeful for this and for smaller changes. He says a good start is we conduct ourselves around others.

“People can start being aware that there needs to be change in life in how we wake up each day and treat each other,” he added.