Madison, WI
3/6/2019

It’s been four years since 19 year old Tony Robinson was murdered by Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny. In the aftermath, Kenny was found to have acted accordingly and was allowed to return to duty; Tony was the second killing of an unarmed man by Kenny. Yet he remains free to potentially kill again using his badge to shield him from prosecution.

Having been present at previous vigil’s for Tony, including a march the morning after the shooting, emotions were running just as high, if not higher. What has changed since March 6th 2015? The country is more divided. There has been an increase in shootings. White supremacist’s are crawling out from under their rocks at an alarming rate, empowered by a bigoted, racist president and republican party. In Madison, a white educator at Whitehorse Middle School who assaulted an 11 year old Africa-American girl, will not be charged for his crime. And this on the heals of racial slurs being said by four teachers and two substitute teachers in the Madison School District.

Tonight was a vigil to mark the anniversary of the event four years ago. Led by Sharon Irwin, Tony Robinson’s grandmother, a group of nearly 100 gathered on Williamson (Willy) street near the Social Justice Center and near the site the of the fatal shooting. Leading the crowd in chants and an impromptu march down Willy street, the group engaged in a peaceful yet disruptive protest to show that the streets are theirs and they are still here and would not rest until justice was done. The march culminated in a releasing of lighted lanterns to celebrate Tony’s short life, and to bring continued awareness to the injustices happening to persons of color in our community and around the country.