BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — “I was shocked, not surprised,” said Dr. Henry Taylor, the director for the Center of Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo, about the verdict of Kyle Rittenhouse.
Race was one of the central issues in last year's protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Friday's verdict had Taylor thinking about race once again.
“When I know if that had been a black person, they probably would have never left that seen alive, not with a weapon hooked to their side,” said Taylor.
Taylor said days like Friday only push people deeper in their beliefs, specifically their political beliefs.
“This decision simply intensifies the tensions amongst these three different groups,” said Taylor about the political left, center and right. “That's where we are in the United States, today and there can be no unity around those issues. I wish that they could be. But the battle lines are being drawn and they go deeper and deeper and deeper. And this decision is a reflection of that.”
Kyle Rittenhouse walks free. For some, they believe the court system worked. For others, this only deepens their distrust with this country's legal system.
