The indictment of Jake Gardner would never have happened without the community, the people, who stood up for justice and demanded action from city officials. Jake Gardner is gone, but the white supremacist attitudes that emboldened him are still with us today. https://twitter.com/OWHnews/status/1307809033894662144

There will not be justice for James Scurlock, but we can lay the groundwork for a more just future by fighting white supremacy and racism in our own communities.

Healing ourselves of white supremacy is so difficult and takes so long because it requires us to confront ourselves.

For white supremacy to be persistently rejected, it first needs to be unlearned. Sometimes over and over.

We wish unlearning racism could be as simple as denouncing a white hood, a burnt cross, vile language. But we have to address where supremacy begins, not just where it ends.

White supremacist groups, including ones Jake Gardner was in communication with, rely on you thinking that none of this is a big deal so they can organize their support. They have been successful: White supremacist violence now makes up the majority of domestic terror in the US.

We also must recognize the real crisis of suicide and depression that touches people who experience all kinds of trauma. Suicide is not cowardly or selfish. Dying by suicide is never “the easy way out.” The language we use to talk about suicide and depression is so important.

We need leaders to grow mental health services and decrease stigma around treatment so those of us who live with mental illness can be supported in crisis.

I am sad for the family of James Scurlock’s killer. I am sad for the family of James. Justice here will not be served.