Jacob-Blake

If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.____By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?Psalm 137: 1-4This bible passage speaks to me of the state of Black America right now. Nobody should be singing or going about their business as usual in light of the continued carnage of Black bodies on our streets. It's becoming more and more frequent and the perpetrators are getting bolder.We are in a sad, sad situation right now as a Black community. It's worse than when they beat us in the streets, used fire hoses to topple us like dominoes and dragged us behind their vehicles. Forget black on black killings for a minute — that sickness requires the Black community to take a different kind of stance, and needs to be dealt with by us.I want to address the wanton killings of Black people by officers of the law, regardless of the victim's perceived criminal status. Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and far too many others to name have shown that cops don't need a reason to shoot you —and it's always shoot to overkill.This is from recent statistics on police shootings:"Among Black Americans, the rate of fatal police shootings between 2015 and July 2020 stood at 31 per million of the population, while for white Americans, the rate stood at 13 fatal police shootings per million of the population."I am reminded of a news story in 2015 about police departments using mug shots of living Black men as paper targets at their shooting ranges.These street killings are not accidental. They are triggered by a perceived or imagined threat to police, or so they claim. More than likely, they are the result of a subliminal code implanted in the minds of law enforcement that triggers a response that when dealing with a Black person: It’s OK to employ forceful restraint (even if it’s not warranted) or, if needed, shoot to kill. And for as long as it works and they get away with it, they will continue to do it.All the protests that dissolve into looting and burning, only make our haters' case stronger, while detracting from the real issues of injustice, racism and violence unleashed on Black people. When are the Ivy League Blacks, the Alphas, Kappas, Deltas and AKAs gonna show up in the streets en mass? When are the Black CEOs and board members of large corporations going to take off their corporate attire and don Black Lives Matter t-shirts in the streets? When are the Black elected officials going to stop cozying up to white power and do what we sent them to Congress, State Houses and local government to do? When are we going to stop worrying about the 2020 election that will put another white man in his House and start worrying about the destruction that's taking place in our own houses?I am a captive to this violence. All Black people are. We can't be singing songs and making music like it's not happening to all of us. This is a strange land we're in, and an even stranger time like we've not seen before. The one weapon we have not deployed in defending ourselves is our collective economic power. What would it take to get the 38 million Black people in the United States to undertake a massive boycott of everything in America? Or even 10% of that 38 million? What we are expending in human capital far outweighs what we are getting in return.I know it’s highly impractical and the unity required of such a move just ain't gonna happen because the collective will is not there. I speak out of the frustration that we can't just keep burying our dead like it's a normal part of our life cycle. I don't know that we, as a community, have made any demands of either political party in exchange for our votes? Is there even a Black agenda that they respect? For sure the upper crust Black folks have made their personal deals with the white power structure, so as to maintain their status. But what about the rest of us? What are they negotiating for the rest of us?Kamala Harris is a pacifier (you know, the rubber kind you give babies) to soothe us and get us dreaming of the possibility that one day we will have a Black/Indian/Caribbean woman as president, so we don't ask the hard question of the candidate like, "What are you going to do for my vote now?" We're going to go through another election cycle with nothing on the table, no one being held accountable on day one to ensure justice for us, ameliorate racism or pass an equality act strictly for us.So now, what do we have so far? Only empty campaign rhetoric that will quickly dissipate as soon as the doors of the Oval Office close and the 2021 Congress takes its...

Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man shot by Wisconsin police last month, recorded a message from his hospital bed over the weekend urging for unity and appreciation of lifeThe message, posted on Saturday by Blake’s attorney Benjamin Crump, is the 29-year-old’s second appearance since being admitted to the hospital for the police assault, NPR reports. Blake said he hopes all members of his community can learn from his harrowing experience."I just want to say, man, to all the young cats out there and even the older ones, older than me, there's a lot more life to live out here, man. Your life," Blake said. "And not only just your life, your legs, something that you need to move around and move forward in life, can be taken from you like this."#JacobBlake released this powerful video message from his hospital bed today, reminding everyone just how precious life is. #JusticeForJacobBlake pic.twitter.com/87CYlgPDBj— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) September 6, 2020 Blake was paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot seven times in front of his three children by Kenosha police on August 23, Blavity previously reported. He shared the agony his body had been in from the shooting. "Every 24 hours there's pain," Blake said. "It hurts to breathe. It hurts to sleep. It hurts to move from side to side. It hurts to eat."On Friday, Blake pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in a virtual hearing during his first appearance since the shooting. While laying in bed, he wore a blue dress shirt and a tie to deny charges of third-degree sexual assault, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, per CNN.According to KIRO 7, officer Rusten Sheskey has been designated for administrative leave pending an investigation. The Department of Justice is also launching a civil rights investigation into the case, and the Blake family has hired Crump to pursue a civil suit against the police department.Since Blake’s shooting, protests against police brutality have ignited across the city. The protests turned deadly when two demonstrators were shot and killed and a third was injured on the night of Aug. 25, The Washington Post reports.As Blavity previously reported, Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Antioch, Illinois, has been charged in relation to the shooting. The investigation is still...

If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.____"They shot my son seven times … seven times like he didn't matter, but my son matters," Jacob Blake Sr. said. "He's a human being and he matters."These are the words of a grieving father whose son, Jacob Blake, may never get to teach his three-year-old son how to ride a bike. He won’t be able to chase after his three young sons down the street as they laugh joyfully. Blake did not only lose the use of his legs from unnecessary police brutality, his children lost their innocence as they watched their father get shot in the back by the police seven times.Another man was shot in close range by the police without reason, and here we are again. The Black community is picking up the emotional pieces. The death of George Floyd was the bell that was heard around the country. Friends I haven't heard from in years flooded my phone with texts of condolences and check-ins asking how I was coping with the loss of a Black father. As months started to pass and the fad of social justice began to wear off, I received fewer and fewer condolences and fewer check-ins. Black men and women were still dying in the streets and children were still losing their parents too soon. But now, it was no longer popular to protest. In many cities, the crowds outside got smaller, the Black Lives Matter banners began to peel off the local businesses walls and fewer people were checking in on their Black friends.I have to wake up every morning knowing I am Black. That does not change. And the fear and unknown of that never leaves me. I cannot change the color of my skin and decide one day not to be Black. I am Black 365 days and 24 hours of the day. I cannot change that pit that lies in my stomach when I pass by a cop on the street. As more stories come to light of African Americans being mistreated and overlooked, all I can think about is how some of my white counterparts have become desensitized and turned a blind eye to the trauma and mistreatment of the African American community at this time.Just because the popularity of the movement has died down, it doesn’t mean my pain and suffering is not still there. Systemic change has not been made, and it shows in the continuation of tragic episodes that happen to young Black men and women, boys and girls, like Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tamir Rice and countless others.I wish this movement wasn’t a fad or a trend that looks good and adds clout to people's social media pages. They were down for the moment and not for the movement. Because for me, there is no deciding whether or not I feel like being Black today, and that makes my experiences different from those who are not.When I think about the Black lives matter movement and those who participated and protested in the beginning — now slowly trickling off — I think of a quote from James Baldwin: “I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.”Like Baldwin, I do not believe those who posted a black square on their social media pages and spoke of the movement months ago were really for the movement, because I feel their lack of presence now more than ever. I say all of this now because the movement is not over. We have not even reached the precipice of what we can accomplish and achieve if we continue to fight for what is...

Neighbors and witnesses who saw a Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer shoot Jacob Blake Sunday say the 29-year-old was probably checking on his children when he headed to his vehicle before officer Rusten Sheskey fired seven shots into the father's back. According to Insider, people who witnessed the encounter testified that Blake was an involved father who prioritized his children’s safety."Knowing Jacob, that's what he was doing. His kids are his priority. He wanted to make his kids safe," neighbor Dan Stone told Insider on August 25.In the gruesome recording of the incident, Blake is seen walking away from officers and opening his car door when one grabs his shirt and shoots him from behind.This is the shooting video of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI. pic.twitter.com/yerWbsSxQU— Austin Frisch (@Austin_Zone) August 24, 2020Though police say they were responding to a domestic dispute call, witnesses have said that Blake was the responsible party by trying to deescalate the altercation."Jacob was breaking up a fight between two girls," Stone, who has lived in the neighborhood for 21 years, said.None of Blake’s neighbors who were interviewed by Insider said they saw Blake carrying any type of weapon in his hands during the confrontation."Jacob didn't have nothing in his hands," Stone said. "He didn't have a knife in his hands. He didn't have a gun in his hands. He had his hands in his hands. And he was just trying to save his kids, probably."Annie Louise Hurst, another long-term resident who witnessed the assault, noted Blake wasn’t the aggressor."He was just walking and opening the car door and trying to get in. He wasn't aggressive or nothing," she told Insider.Hurst, 80, was sitting in front of her home when Blake was shot. She said police could have detained him without repeatedly shooting him."They could've apprehended him better than that. They didn't have to shoot, in my opinion, that little man," she said.Stone, a former Chicago police officer, said he thought the officers could have restrained Blake without shooting him. When the shooting transpired, Stone thought a new recruit might have pulled the trigger and believes the department should wait a year before giving firearms to rookies. However, the 66-year-old acknowledged that police asked him to stop and said Blake didn’t listen."If a police officer wants you to stop, stop. They're there to do a job. Don't get rowdy with them. Don't get smart with them. Just stop and listen to what they've got to say. Bottom line. That goes for me also," Stone said.Hurst, who's lived in her current home since 1967, recalled that Blake and his sons were celebrating one of the boy's birthdays on Sunday.Witnesses say the children were caused a great deal of distress as a result of seeing their father nearly killed."The kids were screaming in the back seat, like any normal little kids would be. They sense that," Stone said.Arlene Archilla, who also lives on the block where Blake was shot, arrived at home just as the event had been unfolding. She said she saw one of his children having, what looked like, an anxiety attack."I [saw] one of the children laying down in the grass and [having] a panic attack," Archilla said.As Blavity previously reported, the shooting has left Blake with damage to his spinal cord that paralyzed him from the waist down. Attorney Ben Crump said it would be miraculous if Blake ever walks again, Fox 32...

The Weeknd took home two awards during the the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, but in the wake of the repeated racial injustices which have been brought to a global spotlight, the artist revealed he wasn't in a mood to bask in his accomplishments."It's really hard for me to celebrate at this moment, so I'm just going to say justice for Jacob Blake and justice for Breonna Taylor,” he said after winning best R&B for "Blinding Lights."The artist repeated the sentiment when he accepted the award for video of the year for “Blinding Lights.”.@theweeknd is taking home the #VMA for Video of the Year, and sending a powerful message pic.twitter.com/aUNPo8gXAJ— MTV (@MTV) August 31, 2020As Blavity previously reported, Blake was shot seven times in the back when officer Rusten Sheskey opened fire in Kenosha, Wisconsin last week. Witnesses said the 29-year-old father of three was going back to his car after breaking up a fight when the officer shot him in front of his children. According to his father, Blake is now paralyzed. Protesters have taken over the streets in Kenosha since the shooting to demand justice for Blake. Demonstrators around the country also continue to fight for Breonna Taylor, who was shot by police while sleeping in her Louisville home on March 13. As Blavity previously reported, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has been  criticized for failing to arrest Sgt. Jon Mattingly and detectives Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison, who raided the home of the 26-year-old woman.The Weeknd has been active in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic and calling for justice. According to TMZ,  the singer donated $500,000 to social justice organizations in recent months. He also contributed $1 million for COVID-19 relief and $350,000 for Tik Tok's Equal Justice Initiative. In addition, the philanthropist donated $300,000 for Lebanon following the devastating blast in the country's capital, Beirut, earlier this month.According to Def Pen, The Weeknd contributed $200,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network, as well as $100,000 to the National Bail Out organization and $200,000 to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp. After making the contributions in June, the singer urged other artists to follow his lead. "To my fellow respected industry partners and execs- no one profits off of Black music more than the labels and streaming services," he wrote on Twitter. "I gave yesterday and I urge you to go big and public with yours this week. It would mean the world to me and the community if you can join us."To my fellow respected industry partners and execs- no one profits off of black music more than the labels and streaming services. I gave yesterday and I urge you to go big and public with yours this week. It would mean the world to me and the community if you can join us pic.twitter.com/tWzHMacnu5— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) June 2, 2020Although the 2020 VMAs were held virtually this year, The Weeknd dazzled viewers with a performance from New York’s Hudson Yards. Singing from more than 1,000 feet in the air on the Manhattan skyscraper, the artist performed the hit that earned him the two...

Update (August 28, 2020): WISN reports a lawyer for Jacob Blake said the handcuffs placed on the police brutality victim have been removed. A felony warrant issued for the father of three, who was shot seven times by police on Sunday night was also thrown out. Breaking News: Jacob Blake's attorney just told WISN-12 News Terry Sater the felony warrant against Blake has just been vacated, handcuffs removed in his hospital bed, and the deputies have left his room at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa. @WISN12News #jacobblake pic.twitter.com/u7Bps247PJ— Terry Sater (@noozdude1) August 28, 2020 Original story (August 28, 2020): Three days after Wisconsin police shot Jacob Blake multiple times in the back and paralyzed him, the father of the wounded 29-year-old said he visited his son at the hospital and found him handcuffed to the bed.  “I hate it that he was laying in that bed with the handcuff onto the bed,” the heartbroken father, also named Jacob Blake, said on Thursday. “He can’t go anywhere. Why do you have him cuffed to the bed?”According to The Chicago Sun Times, the father said he doesn't know what charges his son might be facing after the incident on Sunday, but he is handcuffed to the hospital because he is under arrest.As Blavity previously reported, police said they were responding "to a reported domestic incident" in Kenosha, Wisconsin when the shooting happened. Witnesses said Blake was returning to his car after breaking up a fight. Video showed police shooting the father of three in the back as he was opening the door of his SUV, with his children in the car. During a Thursday press conference, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said he doesn't understand why Blake needs to be handcuffed. When asked if that was a point of worry for the governor, he responded with "Hell yes." “I would have no personal understanding why that would be necessary,” Gov. Evers said. “I can’t imagine why that’s happening and I would hope that we would be able to find a better way to have him get better and recover.”The younger Blake thought he was hallucinating when he saw his father at the hospital.“I told him, ‘You thought Daddy wasn’t going to see my son?’” his father said. “He grabbed my hand, held it real tight and started weeping, telling me how much he loved me.”Blake said his son’s eyes were swollen, but he “looked and sounded like” his normal self and he’s alive. The father described the feeling of seeing his son like "walking across a desert to find someone waiting with a glass of water."“It was way more than fulfilling,” the relieved parent said. “It was a feeling I can’t describe.”As Blavity previously reported, the officer who shot Blake has been identified as Rusten Sheskey. According to the Department of Justice, none of the officers were wearing body cameras, CBS News reported. Raysean White, who recorded cellphone video of the shooting, said he saw three officers confronting Blake."One of them had him in a headlock and was punching him in his ribs, the other had him in a headlock on the other side of him and was pulling his arm," White told CNN. "After they punched him in his rib, the female officer Tased him and Jacob kind of leaned on the car and they proceeded to wrestle him toward the back of the car and he went to the other side of the car.”Protests have been ongoing in Kenosha since the shooting of Blake. Dozens of fires were set and several businesses have been destroyed during the unrest, according to Kenosha Fire Chief Charles Leipzig. Evers deployed 250 troopers to Kenosha as part of the state of emergency on Tuesday. Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch, Illinois was charged after allegedly shooting and killing two protesters, as Blavity previously...

It was only a matter of days before police shooting victim Jacob Blake, shot seven times on Sunday night, would be criminalized by mainstream media. So the New York Post's midweek headline saying Blake had a knife in his car was perfectly in tandem with the media's criminalization of Black victims.Amid a nation in peril, Blake's shooting wasn't the only devastation we'd see this week. Just three days after Blake's shooting, a white teen, Kyle Rittenhouse, fatally shot two people protesting Blake's killing and injured another as Blavity previously reported. This offered no greater time for outlets like The Post to showcase their flare for racial bias. Rittenhouse is a Trump supporter who showed up to a Tuesday night Wisconsin protest over the shooting of Blake, a Black 29-year-old father.When Trump glorifies one, we inevitably get the other. If you don’t see how uplifting the McCloskeys emboldens people like Kyle Rittenhouse then you’re not paying attention. pic.twitter.com/lwpPRPYjAo— Sen. Mike Gianaris (@SenGianaris) August 26, 2020He said he'd shown up to the demonstration to "protect" businesses and wildly enough, people. After shooting three protesters, he ran down the street, passing police officers, exclaiming what he'd done.This is Jacob Blake. His fiancé shared these photos with us. He’s 29 and a father of three. His fiancé says he is a security guard. pic.twitter.com/IxaK9DUaYc— Stephanie Haines (@TMJ4Stephanie) August 24, 2020 Within hours of each other, the Post ran two stories on Wednesday evening: one alleging Blake, a victim, had a knife in his car when he was shot in the back by police and the other showcasing Rittenhouse, a perpetrator, cleaning up graffiti before killing people. Screenshots of the stories intended to illustrate the clear bias went viral on...

Former NBA star and co-host of "Inside The NBA" Kenny Smith walked off the set of the show on Wednesday in solidarity with players who went on strike following the shooting of Jacob Blake..@TheJetOnTNT stands with the NBA players. pic.twitter.com/39Sby1D5kn— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) August 26, 2020 “As a Black man, as a former player, I think it’s best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight. I just don’t feel equipped to be here,” Smith said before taking off his microphone and walking off while on-air of the pregame show. Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley remained on the set and continue the show with moderator Ernie Johnson, discussing the ramifications of the NBA strike.Blake was shot by officers multiple times in the back as his children watched on Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His family said one of the bullets severed his spine, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, as Blavity previously reported. Smith's decision came after NBA players took a powerful step on Wednesday, deciding to go on strike and forcing the NBA to cancel the games on Wednesday and Thursday.The strike was initiated when the Milwaukee Bucks refused to come out of the locker room ahead of their playoff matchup against the Orlando Magic. Milwaukee is about 45 minutes away from where Blake was shot.In 2018, eight officers tased Sterling Brown, a guard for the Milwaukee Bucks, for parking in a handicap spot. They knocked him to the ground, beat him and arrested him. After the Bucks decided to go on strike, other teams joined in and refused to play their upcoming games. The NBA strike had a ripple effect on the entire sports world, leading to other sports leagues making the decision to cancel games and matches on Wednesday. The WNBA, MLB and MLS all decided against playing games and even tennis star Naomi Osaka refused to step on the court for her Western & Southern Open match. NFL teams canceled practices and the NHL also considered postponing games in light of the protests over Blake's shooting. On Thursday, after multiple meetings between all of the players, officials, coaches and team owners, the players decided to resume the playoffs. The players were initially hesitant to resume play, and league star LeBron James vocally advocated for players to end the playoffs entirely. Before resuming play, players have discussed tangible actions team owners could take to address their concerns about social justice issues. "They just wanted to know what they could do. They wanted something tangible that they could do in the short and long term. They wanted the walkout to be step 1," Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes said on Wednesday after Bucks players forced a phone call with him. In an emergency meeting of team owners, Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan pushed other owners to support the players and figure out ways they could help their cause, according to ESPN.He spoke personally with National Basketball Players Association president Chris Paul and with Russel Westbrook about what the players were looking for from team owners. "Right now, listening is better than talking," Jordan told the other team owners on the virtual...

Update (August 27, 2020): Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul identified Rusten Sheskey as the officer who fired multiple shots at Jacob Blake while his three children watched.According to HuffPost, on Wednesday, Kaul said Sheskey was the only officer to fire his weapon, even though video from the incident shows other officers on the scene of the shooting.The other officers have not been identified but photos appear to show that Sheskey is white. Kaul told the press that his office would be releasing the names of the other officers involved in the incident “soon.” This is officer Rusten Sheskey. He is the one who shot Jacob Blake 7 times in his back. We need to put his face all over social media. pic.twitter.com/PGieMMlzyd— Hamdia Ahmed (@hamdia_ahmed) August 27, 2020Since Sheskey shot Blake on Sunday, national outrage has erupted, protests have emerged and sports leagues have gone on strike, as Blavity previously reported.Original (August 26, 2020): The sister of Jacob Blake, Letetra Widman gave a moving speech after police shot her brother seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday. "When you say the name Jacob Blake, make sure you say father, make sure you say cousin, make sure you say son, make sure you say uncle, but most importantly, make sure you say, human. Human life," Widman said at a press conference on Tuesday. "Let it marinate in your mouth, in your minds. A human life."1/This is Jacob Blake's sister Letetra Widman. Here is her powerful statement. "I am my brother's keeper." pic.twitter.com/UM4kKzAbR1— Maya Contreras (@mayatcontreras) August 25,...

Following the Sunday night police shooting of Jacob Blake, people have taken to the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin demanding justice from authorities.As Blavity previously reported, the 29-year-old was shot in the back by police while they “responded to a reported domestic incident."Video captured a police officer firing upon Blake, with his back turned, as he was walking away from officers and entering into a vehicle. Witnesses say Blake was trying to break up a fight before officers arrived and was shot in front of his three children, mere feet away as they sat in his vehicle.As the video of Blake’s assault has erupted a swell of outrage, here’s what you need to know about the shooting and his family’s call for...