'This is about race': Black mother will 'stand by' Karmelo Anthony even if he's proven to not have acted in self-defense

Outside the Texas courthouse where the trial of Karmelo Anthony is underway, a black mother told Frontlines’ Savanah Hernandez that even if evidence comes out in the trial showing Anthony did not act in self-defense when he was seen stabbing Austin Metcalf at a track meet, she would still "stand by" him. 

"If evidence does come out that Karmelo was not in fact fighting for his life when he stabbed and killed Austin Metcalf, do you think that the black community will accept that," asked Hernandez. 

The woman, who identified herself as a "black mother," replied, "if evidence shows that he did not? No, we’re gonna stand by ours regardless. They stand by theirs."

Meanwhile, in a separate high-profile case regarding the killing of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, the parents of the accused, Tyler Robinson, helped turn their son in once they realized he may have been the one sought by authorities. Robinson and is parents are white.

"I’m a black mother … so I have to put away my color first and step into the motherhood. Nobody wants to see their child slain, so I do want to send prayers to Austin Metcalf, their family," she continued. "But at the end of the day, I got to think like, okay, what did you do to him or whatever to cause this to happen?" She said it was a "catch 22," and that if it were her child "and I feel like his back was up against the wall, I’m saying straight up, better mine than yours. Better mine than yours." 

"So either way it goes, everybody loses. A black boy allegedly murdered, and I say allegedly, heavy on the allegedly, allegedly murdered somebody, you see what I’m saying? So yeah, this is about race, because if the shoe was on the other foot, they wouldn’t give a damn." 

Hernandez asked the woman to clarify whom she meant, to which the woman replied, "let me just say this, let’s say the community" who "wouldn’t give a d*mn."

Anthony’s trial began earlier in the week with jury selection, with Anthony’s supporters taking issue with there being no black members of the 12-person jury. Family spokesperson Dominique Alexander said that the jury selection indicates that Anthony is "not receiving a fair trial." Metcalf was fatally stabbed at a Texas track meet in 2025, with Anthony being charged with the murder. His defense team has alleged that it was an act of self-defense.