—Kerry Hill, B1Daily

When 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton was shot and killed in 2023 after being chased from a South Carolina convenience store, Congressman Jim Clyburn did not stay silent. He called the killing a “senseless murder,” expressed outrage, and warned about the dangerous tendency to criminalize Black boys. He said justice should be swift.

Three years later, that promised justice never arrived.

This week, a South Carolina jury acquitted Rick Chow of murder in the shooting death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton, despite prosecutors arguing that the teenager had been chased more than 130 yards and shot in the back after being wrongly suspected of stealing water. The verdict devastated Cyrus’s family and sparked renewed protests and outrage throughout the community.

Yet many are now asking a simple question: Where is Jim Clyburn?

As one of the most powerful Black politicians in America and the longtime representative of South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, Clyburn has never been shy about speaking on issues of racial justice. In 2023, he condemned Cyrus’s killing in strong terms, arguing that the tragedy reflected a broader pattern in which Black boys are too often viewed as threats rather than children.

But following the acquittal that left Cyrus’s family heartbroken, there has been growing frustration among activists and community members who expected the congressman to once again speak forcefully about the case. The silence has become its own story.

To be fair, elected officials are not responsible for jury verdicts. Congress does not control local prosecutions, and no public statement could have changed the outcome of the trial. But leadership is not only about wielding power. It is also about showing up when communities are grieving.

Cyrus was not a national celebrity. He was not backed by a massive media campaign. He was a Black teenager whose life ended over an accusation involving bottled water. According to reports and trial testimony, prosecutors argued he had been wrongly accused of theft before the fatal chase unfolded.

For many residents, the issue is not whether Clyburn could have altered the verdict. It is whether he should have publicly acknowledged the pain and anger that followed it.

The acquittal has already fueled widespread outrage online and in the streets. Demonstrators gathered outside the former store location, while family members declared that they could not accept the outcome. Across social media, many expressed the belief that the justice system had failed Cyrus Carmack-Belton.

Political leaders often rush to microphones when a tragedy first captures headlines. The harder test comes years later, when cameras disappear, public attention fades, and grieving families are left searching for answers alone.

If Jim Clyburn believed in 2023 that Cyrus Carmack-Belton’s death represented a broader injustice, many voters believe that conviction should not end simply because a jury returned a verdict.

For a family still mourning a 14-year-old boy, and for a community struggling to understand how justice slipped away, silence can sound a lot louder than words.

—Kerry Hill, B1Daily