Jacob Blake Jr.’s Family Stages Peaceful March In Charlotte
On Sunday (Sept 20), Jacob Blake Jr.’s family marched with supporters in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a peaceful rally to honor the unarmed black man shot in the back seven times by Wisconsin police.
WCNC Charlotte reports that a group of people gathered at Romare Bearden Park, where Blake’s father spoke about equality under the eye of the law. “We’re not asking anymore,we’re demanding justice,” he said. ‘We’re just here so you understand how hard it is for me to even figure out why in 2020 I have to explain to you all that my son is a human being. That we are human.”
“We don’t expect anything else but justice,” he continued. Why is that so hard for people to understand?” After the speech was finished, everyone marched throughout the city chanting, “Black Lives Matter.”
On Aug 23, Blake was shot by police officer Rusten Sheskey as he approached his vehicle where, his three children were inside. Blake’s lawyers state that he was was unarmed. He is currently paralyzed from the waist down. The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave.
After being admitted to the hospital, his father reported that his son was handcuffed to his bed. Earlier this month, Blake released a message.
“I just want to say, man – a lot of young cats out there and even the older ones, older than me, it’s a lot more life to live out here man,” he said. “Your life, and not only just your life, your legs, something you need to move around and forward in life, can be taken from you like this [snaps fingers] man.”
He continued with an important message for people marching to make things better for black people everywhere. “And I promise you the type of s**t you go through, staples, I got staples in my back, staples in my damn stomach, you do not want to deal with this s**t man,” he said. “24 hours, every 24 hours it’s pain, nothing but pain. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to sleep, it hurts to move from side-to-side, it hurts to eat. Please, I’m telling you, change your lives. Stick together, make some money, make everything easier for our people out there man because there’s so much time that’s been wasted.”
