Crowds hugged and cheered in the street as a former police officer was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd.
Derek Chauvin has been denied bail after being convicted on three charges over the shocking death in Minneapolis last year.
The US city had been on a knife-edge throughout the three-week trial with fears of mass protests if Chauvin was cleared.
But jubilant scenes broke out yesterday afternoon (local time) as the verdict was handed down.
It is the first time a police officer in Minnesota has been found guilty of the killing of a black man.
Cheers could be heard from inside the courtroom, reports say, with people also lighting BBQs and playing music outside.
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Cars also honked their horns and chants of "George Floyd" and "All three counts" broke out.
Chris Dixon, 41, a Black local resident, had tears rolling down his face.
"I was hoping that we would get justice and it looks like we did,'' he said. "I'm just very proud of where I live right now."
At George Floyd Square in the city, people screamed, applauded and some threw dollar bills in the air in celebration.
The site has become a rallying point for racial justice protests since the murder.
"Justice for Black America is justice for all of America," the Floyd family's attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement.
"This case is a turning point in American history for accountability of law enforcement and sends a clear message we hope is heard clearly in every city and every state."
Chauvin, 45, was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter by a jury.
Footage of him kneeling on the neck of Mr Floyd, 46, was widely shared last year, sparking worldwide outrage.
He will be sentenced in eight weeks, although no firm date has been set.
He could be jailed for up to 40 years.
Political figures have already weighed in on the verdict, with Joe Biden calling Mr Floyd's family immediately afterwards.
Asked how he was doing, the president said: "Feeling better now.
"Nothing is going to make it all better, but as least God now there's some justice."
Hillary Clinton also said on Twitter : "George Floyd's family and community deserved for his killer to be held accountable.
"Today, they got that accountability. Always and forever, Black lives matter."
Former president Barack Obama added in a statement: "Today, a jury in Minneapolis did the right thing."
And Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "I was appalled by the death of George Floyd and welcome this verdict.
"My thoughts tonight are with George Floyd’s family and friends."
Mr Floyd's family was supported by relatives of Emmett Till ahead of the verdict, a teenager who was lynched in 1955 in an infamous case.
He had been wrongly accused of offending a white woman in a grocery store in Mississippi.
