Rashad RobinsonVerified account

The #RittenhouseVerdict is the result of an entire system designed to prop up white supremacy. Starting from the moment police officers let Rittenhouse walk away from the scene, to charitable media framing, to Judge Bruce Schroeder displaying obvious bias, up to this decision.

At every point in this saga, America's systemic commitment to white supremacy has shone through. 2020 challenged America to finally meaningfully deal with its history of racism and the ways racism still dominates our present day. The response from many has been defiance.

We've seen throughout American history how white supremacy responds to people striving towards racial justice. Racists stoke anger leading to violence, and all too often the American justice system sides with violent vigilantes— effectively deputizing angry racists.

Of course, white supremacist violence doesn't only affect marginalized communities. It's a danger for anyone who believes in racial justice. Rittenhouse went to Kenosha to strike against protests for racial justice. He wound up killing white people in the process.

White supremacy is a rot at the core of this country, and it impacts everyone that believes in this country's stated values. It won't go away until white people recognize that it endangers them too.

This verdict is heartbreaking but we must remember that even if Rittenhouse were found guilty, that still would not be justice. It would be accountability for one person. Justice is when the rulebook that has codified white supremacy into every facet of our lives is rewritten.

It’s not that Rittenhouse’s acquittal is a win for white supremacy. It’s that Rittenhouse was acquitted BECAUSE white supremacy still controls the entire process.

White supremacy was behind the coverage from TV media and on social media platforms like @Meta, that framed the protests of 2020 in such a way to encourage people like Rittenhouse to show up with guns.

White supremacy is the animating force behind the actions taken by the justice system that tried Rittenhouse , and saw to it that he walks away now.

While this decision is particularly insidious, we've seen other instances where individuals have been found guilty. Those verdicts of guilt for individual people have not produced real change. We've yet to see systemic change because we've yet to put the system itself on trial.

We've built up enough power to force the system to take these cases to trial— in the past, even this was farfetched. We now have to build up enough power to change the rules of how those trials play out, or we’ll get more trials but not more real change.

Justice is only achieved when we've broken the entire structure that incentivizes white supremacist behavior. From a media structure that stokes white supremacist violence, to a police force that coddles white supremacist offenders, to the justice system that reinforces it all.

Right now, nationwide bills are being written and passed into law that seek to criminalize protests. Beyond that, laws are being passed that allow for people to violently strike protesters in the street.

Today’s decision will only embolden violent white supremacists. Crucial now, is how the media— tech platforms and news media alike— will respond. Up until now, they've been happy to trade our safety for their viewership. This is a test for them.

If we continue to see media parrot white supremacist talking points, and launder violent viewpoints through a false sense of neutrality, people will continue to be killed. The people fighting on the front lines will be vulnerable to more vigilante violence.