by Allison Lee
This summer has been many things. It has been long. It has been cruel. It has been ruthless. It has been unkind. Gone are the summers when all we had to worry about was coming back from vacation with an uneven tan. Now, we have bigger things to worry about. For one Jacob Blake, a black man who resides in Kenosha, Wisconsin, he has to worry for his life in the intensive care unit.
Sunday, August 23rd, a little after five in the evening, was when the peaceful atmosphere in the city of Kenosha was broken by seven deafening gunshots. The incident happened to be recorded on video and it ricocheted the internet in no time, depicting Blake walking toward his car – unarmed, might I add – with two officers trailing right behind, their weapons pointed at Blake. As Blake tried to get into his car, one of the officers grabbed his shirt and fired into his back in close range. If you think that is devastating, I have more news for you – Blake’s three sons were sitting in the back of that very car.
After later investigations, neighbors revealed that Blake had attempted to break up a conflict between two women. His attorney, Benjamin Crump (who also represented the George Floyd family), said that all Blake did was intervene in a domestic incident, that he was trying to do the right thing.
What kind of law allows its officers to open fire at close range? To open fire seven times? To open fire when the children of the target are right there to watch it all happen? When I first saw the news, I was thinking about how those three kids are going to grow up traumatized, what they saw will be permanently etched in their memory; they will have to walk the streets of America thinking that their country’s justice system does not serve them, that their lives won’t matter because of their skin color.
For now, the public has minimal knowledge regarding the details of the dispute. Investigation is on-going and all we know is that the officers who ill-treated Blake were placed on administrative leave while Blake himself is currently out of surgery and recovering in the ICU. Let us all keep him in our prayers for a speedy recovery.
It didn’t take long for chaos to ensue in Kenosha. That very night, the same energy that had fueled the BLM protests earlier this June once again surged among rioters as trucks were set on fire, car windows were smashed, and protestors clashed with the police. On Monday, the governor of Wisconsin called for the National Guard to control the unrest of the demonstrations and Joe Biden has commented on the unfortunate event, saying “Those shots pierce the soul of our nation”, and he is absolutely right. Jacob Blake is another black American who has fallen victim to police brutality, to a system that doesn’t protect his community.
The world has come a long way since the murder of George Floyd in late May. Though we have heard of great strides to defund police departments and to prosecute officers who are guilty of police brutality, progress is slow. Don’t get me wrong, slow progress is still progress, of course.
While Floyd’s murderers no longer get to roam the streets freely, there are still many whom we have failed to avenged, among them is a name all too familiar for the wrong reasons – Breonna Taylor.
Taylor was fatally shot eight times after Kentucky police officers executed a no-knock search warrant and broke into her home back in March. One out of the three officers who were involved in Taylor’s case was fired, but none of them have been arrested for their atrocious actions yet.
Across all platforms, people are still fighting for Breonna Taylor and for her killers to be put behind bars. Oprah Winfrey took the liberty of not just displaying billboards around Louisville that call for the arrest of Taylor’s killers, she also devoted the cover of her namesake magazine’s September issue to Taylor, featuring a portrait of her.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. It all comes down to the building blocks of the system. If we want to change the way things are, we have to rectify the flaws of the system – design it to protect and include everyone in equality, especially black lives. The first step toward that, and to making any sort of change, starts with raising awareness and talking about it. Do your part today and use your voice for good. Those in charge will not hear us unless we speak together, as one. And if they continue to sew their ears to our pleads, we continue the fight.
George Floyd. Eric Garner. Michael Brown. Akai Gurley. Tamir Rice. Freddie Gray. Philando Castile. Stephon Clark. Ahmaud Arbery. Trayvon Martin. Their lives mattered. Black lives matter.