By Rosetta Miller-Perry
The Kyle Rittenhouse verdict last week is the latest illustration of how differently America’s judicial system views crimes committed by youthful white defendants and equally young Black ones. Only the most hopelessly naive or willingly ignorant in this society would claim that a 17-year-old Black teen could do what Kyle Rittenhouse did, claim self-defense, and then be found not guilty on five separate felony counts.
For anyone who may have forgotten, Kyle Rittenhouse brought an AR-style semiautomatic rifle onto the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin and opened fire on demonstrators. Both Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber were killed and Gaige Grosskreutz was severely injured. But Rittenhouse’s attorneys successfully argued that their client’s life was at risk and he fired to protect himself. The fact that two of the three people he killed were unarmed evidently didn’t matter, and they disregarded the prosecution’s statements that Rittenhouse not only wasn’t in danger, but acted in an aggressive manner.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., expressed in a tweet the feelings many Black Americans have about the verdict, seeing this outcome as an indictment of the U.S. judicial system. “The judge. The jury. The defendant. It’s white supremacy in action. This system isn’t built to hold white supremacists accountable,” she wrote. “It’s why Black and brown folks are brutalized and put in cages while white supremacist murderers walk free. I’m hurt. I’m angry. I’m heartbroken.”
Unfortunately, many Democrats in power, including President Biden, are more concerned about not alienating white voters than they are about the feelings of the Black electorate that keeps putting them in power. President Biden’s words Friday afternoon sought to initially calm feelings. His first words were these: “Well look, I stand by what the jury has concluded,” Biden said speaking on the White House lawn. “The jury system works and we have to abide by it.”
Later he released a longer statement with these sentiments. “The verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included,” but I urge “everyone to express their views peacefully, consistent with the rule of law. Violence and destruction of property have no place in our democracy,” Biden’s statement continued. “The White House and Federal authorities have been in contact with Governor Evers’s office to prepare for any outcome in this case, and I have spoken with the Governor this afternoon and offered support and any assistance needed to ensure public safety.”
Very little in that statement resonates with people who’ve seen outcomes like this for decades, particularly the claim that “the jury system works.” It’s a big reason why so many Blacks don’t trust either the police or the judicial system, because they see whites committing crimes and getting away with it, then Blacks, especially young ones suffer the full penalty for any and all crimes, even when or if they claim self-defense.
That many top Republicans from former President Trump to multiple legislators see Kyle Rittenhouse as some sort of hero should also let African Americans know what type of people they are, and their willingness to embrace someone who killed two unarmed people. There are even Republican representatives talking about offering Rittenhouse a job.
What do you suppose the reaction would be if a Black legislator offered a Black teen acquitted of killing two people any type of position, let alone one in their national office? Republicans would. scream and claim that whoever did that was “soft on crime” or some other empty and stupid slogan.
This nation continues to demonstrate a double standard in treatment when it comes to white youth vs. what youth of any other race or ethnicity. It is imperative that Blacks and people of good will organize and come out to vote in full force, as well as letting all elected officials know how we feel whenever this type of unjust verdict happens.
