Worcester NAACP Calls Rittenhouse Verdict 'Injustice'

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester branch of the NAACP is reacting to the Friday not-guilty verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trail, urging residents upset by the outcome to focus on local change.

In a statement released late Sunday night, Worcester NAACP President Fred Taylor urged residents to rally around the group's local initiatives: as task force to oversee Worcester's ARPA funds; a civilian oversight board for police; and body cameras for police.

On Friday, a jury found Rittenhouse not guilty on five charges, including two charges of first-degree murder. Rittenhouse shot three people at a Kenosha, Wisc., protest in August 2020, killing two of them: Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber.

Here's the full statement from the Worcester NAACP:

Once again, the wheels of our criminal justice system have produced injustice. There is
much to be done to ensure that justice is dispensed equally for all.

The verdict in Kenosha rings loud and clear that our judicial system is flawed.

We are not surprised at the verdict and are still filled with strong emotions.

In our Black communities, every time this happens, we repeat what generations before have
all said so many times, “If that was a Black man what would have happened?" The internal
conversation continues, “If I traveled across state lines with an assault rifle that I was not
supposed to be in possession of and went to a white supremacist protest, what would have
happened? If I used that weapon to “protect myself” and killed two unarmed people who
weren’t an immediate threat, what would have happened? Would police have taken me into
custody alive?”

Look at the photo of Travon Martin holding up his hands with skittles next to the photo of
Kyle Rittenhouse carrying his assault weapon. That says everything.

Although the Rittenhouse shootings, trial, and jury decisions all happened 1,000 miles
away, Worcester’s Black communities felt each moment of the tragedy and trial, like they
were all happening next door. Pain comes with each Facebook post and each news story.
After seeing all of this, some of us may ask, “Why bother?” We say, “Because it matters!”
This past election showed that there are still local politicians who are fighting against asking
the hard questions, against making changes, against listening to leaders of Black and Brown
communities. Instead, they continue to sow division and fight racial progress. We must not
let their agenda of status quo and silence continue.

We know it’s difficult, but there’s so much more that still needs to be done. We’re tired of
being told racial problems don’t exist in Worcester.

Fighting against racial disparities isn’t just for Black people to do, White community
members need to stand-up too.

Working with us at the local level has a tremendous effect on addressing racism and
racial injustice.

The Worcester Branch of the NAACP is still fighting for: the implementation of equitable,
minority-majority School Committee districts; the creation of an advisory task force to
oversee the distribution of Worcester’s $146 million of COVID relief ARPA funds; the
implementation of a Civilian Review Board with subpoena powers; the immediate
implementation of police body cameras. We continue to seek solutions toward greater
diversity among our children’s teachers and our police and fire departments. And we are
fighting for the full removal of School Resource Officers from our schools.

Yes, again something bad has happened, but we still need to stay together and keep fighting
for positive progress.