“Earlier this afternoon, Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty of killing two men in Kenosha, Wisconsin during last year’s racial justice protests, mere days after the shooting of Jacob Blake. This verdict represents the latest in a disappointing trend in which the American judicial system preferences white agency at the expense of true equity. It is yet another instance demonstrating the longstanding issues of structural racism and inherent bias that inform the operation of this nation. A nation where liberty and justice purportedly for all is shown to be false and hypocritical.
 

Those who have been victimized for centuries by these structures are again forced to bear the burden. America will not move in the direction of becoming the most just version herself if we are not willing to be honest about her misgivings. The verdict that was passed in Wisconsin is not a sign of justice, nor is it a representation of the standards that we should hold our judicial system to. This moment is not one of fairness but of pain for our communities. This is not a matter of politics; it is a matter of ethics. 
 

Our response to the injustice of this moment says more about us than the systems that continue to reinforce both white superiority and anti-Blackness in America. May we align ourselves with God’s highest will for God’s people, one of honest accountability that leads to true transformation in our nation. ” - Pastor Derrick Holmes of Second Baptist Church in Circleville, Ohio.
 

###
 

The Amos Project is a network of congregations, clergy and people of faith organizing with the most vulnerable in our communities for racial and economic justice in the state of Ohio. Uniting local congregations with a large statewide multi-issue organization, the Amos Project strengthens the ability of people of faith to address both local and regional community issues, including mass incarceration, immigration, healthcare, and racial inequity.