“HOW MUCH SHOULD WE TAKE TILL WE ARE FREE TO BREATHE IN OUR OWN SKIN, WE SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, WE ARE HUMAN, WE DESERVE JUSTICE, THIS PLACE IS AS MUCH OURS, AS IT IS YOURS” – EVA GARG
Jacob Blake, a human and then, an African American man shot in the back seven times by Wisconsin police, is a 29-year-old father of six, who is now paralyzed from his injuries. He was looking for a fresh start when he moved to Kenosha, where he’s lived for three years, “It was a safer location. He could work and try to save and build a better life,” his uncle, Justin Blake, told the Chicago Tribune.
“The two justice systems were in stark contrast of each other. … That white young man got a high-five and some water. My son got seven to the back.”
Jacob Blake’s father compares the Kenosha shooting to the police shooting of his son. https://t.co/QDYfxIfybN pic.twitter.com/bVz9hnYACv
— CNN (@CNN) August 31, 2020
WHAT HAPPENED?
On 23rd August, Jacob Blake was shot seven times on his back, after officers were dispatched for a caller who reported domestic dispute, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The injuries caused partial or complete severing of his spinal cord, resulting in paralysis, with doctors unsure if he will recover the use of his legs. A report says the he was with his 3 sons, ages 3,5 and 8, while he was being shot at .The officer who shot Blake was identified as Police Officer Rusten Sheskey who was accompanied by two other officers on the day of the incident.
The local police union claims that officers were responding to a complaint that Blake was trying to steal a vehicle, to which family attorney Benjamin Crump said he was attempting to break up a domestic dispute. The shooting is being investigated by the state’s Department of Justice and is the subject of a civil rights probe.
Mr Blake’s shooting comes with a shock after the death of another black man, George Floyd, in May, that incident and the protests that followed the same, seemed to be the moment that would bring systematic changes, however this incident puts the message out in open about racism in society and the treatment of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement.
DEMAND FOR JUSTICE
By his family
Blake’s father’s response to A reporter asking how his grandchildren are doing:
“They are stuck right now. We’re going to seek out some of the best child psychologists in the United States, and we’re going to work with them, and let that whole picture that it plays over and over in front of their little faces.”
Blake’s sister while speaking to the crowd on a march:
“So many people have reached out to me saying they’re sorry that this has been happening to my family. Well don’t be sorry because this has been happening to my family for a long time, longer than I can account for.
“I don’t want your pity,”. “I want change.”
By protesters
Within hours of Mr Blake’s shooting, hundreds of people marched towards Kenosha’s police headquarters in demand for justice. It was reported that, cars were later set alight, and police urged 24-hour businesses to consider closing because of armed robberies and shots being fired.
On Monday, Governor Evers called up the National Guard to aid local police and imposed a night-time curfew on Kenosha.
But some ignored the curfew, and police used tear gas to try to force protesters. Police, backed up by the National Guard, also used rubber bullets and smoke bombs, protesters said.
By athletes
Athletes across the country alluded to that reckoning during a week of bold and unprecedented protests against the racial inequality and police violence.
Led by players from the National Basketball Association, members of the WNBA, the National Football League, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and other pro sports made emotional declarations and staged boycotts of playoff and regular season games and practices.
Their activism had to extend beyond jerseys emblazoned with social justice messages and kneeling or sitting out the national anthem, some athletes said.
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S VISIT TO KENOSHA
President Donald Trump will travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, amid fury over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The visit is certain to exacerbate tensions in the city, where a crowd of about 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside a courthouse Saturday to denounce police violence.
HYPOCRISY IN SERVING EQUALITY: CAPTURING RACISM FIRST-HAND
Another shocking coverage left everyone numb after a 17-year-old teenager, armed with an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle killed two people and wounded a third at a demonstration in Kenosha.
As police rushed to the scene Tuesday night, the armed suspect is seen on social media video walking past officers. Rittenhouse left the shooting scene still armed. He walked toward officers with his hands up and got away and days after Rittenhouse was charged with multiple homicide counts.
A transcript from the video above
“why is it that the police decide
that some threats must be extinguished immediately while other threats get the privilege of being defused? I’m asking these as questions,
but I feel like we know the answer.
The answer is that the gun
doesn’t matter as much as who is holding the gun. Because for some people,
black skin is the most threatening weapon of all.”
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