- Wisconsin police shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times as his children watched from a car.
- Jacob Blake broke up a fight earlier that day and was leaving the area when he was shot.
- The 29-year-old is now paralyzed from the waist down and has eight holes in his body.
On Sunday, August 23, Jacob Blake, 29, reportedly broke up a fight and was leaving the area when Kenosha, Wisconsin police officers tried to arrest him and officer Rusten Sheskey shot him in the back seven times. Three of Blake's children watched from their car as their father went “limp.” Blake survived but is now paralyzed and has eight holes in his body. He was handcuffed to his hospital bed for a time, according to his family, but was released and is now staying in a spinal injury rehabilitation center.
The police shooting was captured on cell phone video by a neighbor and shared widely across social platforms and various outlets. (Reminder: You personally don’t need to continue sharing videos of Black people being brutalized to show you care or raise awareness. Before you share one of these videos, think about how it will traumatize people who see it.) Following months of nationwide protests and calls for police reform and abolition, the shooting immediately sparked new demonstrations in Wisconsin.
Since that Sunday, Kenosha County instituted an 8 p.m. curfew and told the public to “stay off the streets.” According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, all officers present at the time of the shooting were placed on administrative leave. In addition, the Wisconsin Department of Justice is conducting an investigation.
If you’re looking for ways to help demand justice for Blake and support his family, check out the resources below:
Keep Protesting
Attend a protest or protest from home and demand justice for Black lives. The Black Lives Matter protests haven’t stopped, and a new report from the US Crisis Project detailed how 93 percent of the demonstrations since George Floyd’s murder have been peaceful. Continue to show up for what you believe in and honor Blake, who recently released a video asking everyone to “stick together, make some money, make everything easier for our people out here, man, because there’s so much time that’s been wasted.”
From his hospital bed, he added:
“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, 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.”
Donate
- Blake’s family created a GoFundMe to help them with medical bills, legal fees, support for his six children, and the cost of therapy.
- To help protect protestors in Kenosha, the Milwaukee Freedom Fund pledged to extend its resources. Donations to the bail fund will help free protestors who are arrested and need assistance with their cases.
Sign a Petition
Change.org and Color of Change created petitions to demand that the police officers who shot Blake are fired and arrested. While you’re at it, you could also sign Black Lives Matter’s petition to defund the police.
Contact Representatives
The night Blake was shot, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers released a statement saying, “While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.”
To get the attention of local representatives and to demand the officers be fired and charged, use this contact information gathered by podcast host Ankita Verma:
- Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian
Phone: 262-653-4000
Email: [email protected]
- Kenosha District Attorney Michael D. Graveley
Phone: 262-653-2400
Email: [email protected]
- Kenosha Police Department
Phone: 262-656-1234
Twitter: @KenoshaPolice
- Kenosha Police Department Chief of Police Daniel G. Miskinis
Email: [email protected]
- Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul
Phone: 608-266-1221
Twitter: @WisDOJ
- Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers
Madison office: 608-266-1212
Milwaukee office: 414-227-4344
Twitter: @GovEvers
Here are more guides for how to demand justice right now, how to support Black trans lives, how to find mental health resources if you’re a Black woman, how to talk to your relatives about Black Lives Matter, how to donate wisely, how to spot a fake protest story, and how to protest safely.
