Kyle Rittenhouse on trial

The homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse pits claims of self-defense against accusations of vigilantism. Plus, in the next installment in our series on teens in America: Why it can be especially hard for Black immigrant families to talk about racism.  

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The homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse – the teenager who killed two people and injured a third during a protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. – continues this week. Kim Bellware reports on the evidence brought by both sides, and why the trial likely won’t end with a high-profile conviction. 

“We have a small set of facts that everybody agrees on,” Bellware says. But while the prosecution is arguing this was first-degree intentional homicide, “The other side is saying, ‘Yes, he did kill these people. He did shoot. But he was doing it to protect himself.’ ”

And later in the show, we hear from 16-year-old Obse Abebe, a teen reporter with YR Media for the latest installment of our series on Teens in America. 

Obse was born in Ethiopia but moved to the United States when she was three. Being Ethiopian and living in America meant that Obse had to come to terms with being Black in America. 

“Not to say that the topic of race is hush-hush in our family,” Obse said. “But it is difficult to approach when your parents are very passionate about you feeling connected to both their culture from their mother country and the culture that you are currently in.”

A Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that nearly three-quarters of teens in America say they’ve talked to a parent about race in the past year. More than half say they’ve had a similar conversation with a close friend. As part of The Post’s Teens in America series, we’re listening in on what those conversations sound like. 

For more in this series, visit wapo.st/teens.

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