Jacob Blake

Jacob Blake's Father Says His Son Is Paralyzed Below Waist After Being Shot From Behind by Kenosha Police

Marches and demonstrations have been held nationwide demanding justice for the 29-year-old father of six, who is Black.

by Jessica Corbett, staff writer

33 Comment

A boy sits on his father's shoulders while holding a sign on August 24, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man whom police shot in the back multiple times in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday, is now paralyzed from the waist down and doctors do not yet know if the injury is permanent, his father told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday.

The younger Blake, a father of six, was reportedly trying to break up a fight before officers followed him to his vehicle and fired several shots at point-blank range as Blake opened the driver-side door. Blake's partner, Laquisha Booker, told a local television station that the couple's three children were in the back seat "screaming" when police shot him.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/25/jacob-blakes-father-says-his-son-paralyzed-below-waist-after-being-shot-behind

Support the Civilian Review Board

Now is the time to act to support the Civilian Review Board. The Civilian Review Board (CRB) legislation will be introduced at the Common Council meeting on Monday, 8/24 at 6:30 PM. Please register in advance to attend. To speak during the public comment period, you'll also need to email dflynn@cityofpoughkeepsie.com in advance, requesting a 3-minute time slot. On 9/21 at 5:00 PM there will be a public hearing for which we'll also need full support.


Information about the Civilian Review Board

• A one-page summary of the CRB legislation and a set of Frequently Asked Questions are attached.
• The formal legislation in its entirety is given on pages 6--11 of the Common Council's 8/24 agenda, which you can download.

Share Your Story: If it's within your emotional bounds, I urge you and anyone you know to share stories of witnessed or experienced mistreatment by the police department and how that was handled. For anyone who lives in fear of going through such things, I hope you'll express your heartfelt concerns. For others, I urge a bit of diplomacy. The CRB is not designed to be an enemy of the police department, but instead an ally in building a better, safer, and more just community. Keep in mind that your stories and comments will need to be shared at both the 8/24 and 9/21 meetings.


Thank you: A very sincere thanks to everyone who has spoken up during the drafting of this legislation. I'm grateful for everyone's ideas and continued support.

GUEST: Van, local antifa activist and member of the Hudson Valley Antifascist Network

GUEST: Van, local antifa activist and member of the Hudson Valley Antifascist Network, talks about white supremacy violence and the collective efforts to expose and publicly shame racists, homophobes, and right wing fascists.

https://therivernewsroom.com/opinion-defending-your-neighborhood-from-nazis-and-white-supremacists-without-calling-the-cops/

GUEST: Christian Perenti on "The Surprising Geography of Police Killings"

Activist Radio has the following guest on this week:

GUEST: Christian Perenti, author of "Radical Hamilton," and Associate Professor of Economics at John Jay College CUNY, talks about his latest article, "The Surprising Geography of Police Killings" and how race and region determine who gets murdered by the men in blue.  

https://nonsite.org/symposium/the-surprising-geography-of-police-killings-back-of-the-napkin-calculations-on-race-region-and-violence

Activist Radio is broadcast: Thursdays 5-6 pm from WVKR 91.3 FM at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY; Sundays 4-5 pm from WIOF 104.1 FM in Woodstock, NY; and Sundays 5-6 pm from the Progressive Radio Network at PRN.FM. It will also be posted on the ClassWars website for the next ten weeks. Simply click on the date to hear it.

Thanks,

Fred

Activist Radio

https://www.classwars.org

Black August Defund the Police Teach-in

Community Voices Heard is sponsoring a Black August Defund the Police Teach-in on August 11 at 6:30 PM in cyberspace. From the CVH announcement:

The event will be led by Anthonine Pierre, Deputy Director of the Brooklyn Movement Center.

As we celebrate Black resistance throughout the month of August, join us to learn about the growing movement to defund the police. We will discuss how we can reimagine community safety by investing in infrastructure and services for Black and Latinx communities - including housing, education, health care, and more.

To attend, submit your identifying information at the event announcement.

A Poughkeepsie Journal story asserts that Dutchess County Sheriff Butch Anderson will report to the Public Safety Committee of the Dutchess County Legislature on Thursday, August 6 at 5:30 PM regarding the July 18 Black Lives Matter protest in Pleasant Valley at which multiple physical confrontations and injuries occurred during encounters with a "Back the Blue" counter-protest. Many ENJAN members were in attendance.

Public comment will be accepted until 4:30 PM on August 6. The committee meeting will be livestreamed, recorded, and transcribed. For links to submit comments and/or view the livestream, see the public notice.