Jacob Blake’s Uncle Speaks Out Against Racism at UWM Rally

Justin Blake, Jacob Blake’s Uncle, came to UWM on Tuesday to speak to UWM students and to protest the dropped charges in the Jacob Blake case. 

The UW-Milwaukee chapter of Students for Democratic Society (SDS) organized the rally on Tuesday in Spaights Plaza to promote CPAC and demand justice for Jacob Blake. 

In August 2020, a 29-year-old black man, Jacob Blake, was shot several times in the back by a white officer in Kenosha, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. His shooting provoked unrest and protests in Kenosha. On October 8, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced the officer who shot Jacob Blake, Rusten Sheskey, would not face charges. 

“After a careful and thorough review, a team of experienced federal prosecutors determined that insufficient evidence exists to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the KPD officer willfully violated the federal criminal civil rights statutes,” the Department of Justice said. 

The Milwaukee Alliance and Justin Blake with Leaders of Kenosha showed up to the event to talk during the rally and the teach-in. Blake talked with SDS members, but also UWM students who stopped to listen about his nephew and the ever-present race issues in Milwaukee and the nation overall.

He encouraged students to stand up for what is right and speak up for others, even when no one else is. Blake discussed the racial inequality in Milwaukee and the poverty for African American communities, saying, “We need to end violence and make African American communities an economical hub.” 

He stressed the importance of students making a difference in their communities and forging forward to get justice, not just “for little Jake,” but people all over that have been impacted and killed due to racial discrimination and treatment.  

“People like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and even my little nephew all had their own issues and flaws,” Blake said. “Despite their flaws or past, they deserve to live, they have the right to be arrested properly and stand their day in trial like everyone else.”  

Around noon, SDS started to set up in Spaights Plaza with signs and banners, receiving both annoyed glances and nods of approval from passing students. They held up a banner that read, “End Police Crimes Now! CPAC Now! Defund UWM PD!” The rally was peaceful and undisruptive. It was used as a tool to get conversations started and attract attention to racial issues within the Milwaukee community as well as on UWM’s campus.   

“Our chapter is focused on redistributing the UWM PD budget and also replacing the cops with something that is unarmed,” said 26-year-old SDS member, Rory Donovan. “We want to really focus on programs that support students better.” 

The rally was originally organized because it was a National Day of Action for SDS chapters, but also due to the recent decision by the Department of Justice to not press charges in the Jacob Blake case. SDS placed flyers around campus to promote the rally and teach-in and encouraged students to participate on their official “sds_uwm” Instagram. The flyer read, “The Department of Justice announced they will not press charges against Officer Sheskey for shooting Jacob Blake 7 times – we demand justice and an end to police crimes! We need CPAC now!”   

“It’s ridiculous. It’s frankly bullshit. We wanted to host a rally to call attention to that, to demand justice for Jacob Blake,” said Donovan. 

The Students for Democratic Society (SDS) is a progressive, national multi-issue organization with roots in the anti-war movement. SDS describes CPAC (Civilian Police Accountability Council) as a mechanism of police accountability that prioritizes the people and their communities. Rather than police oversight holding police accountable, CPAC “puts the power in the hands of the people” for direct community engagement and oversight. This includes communities having control over police budget decisions, hiring and firing decisions, maintaining final authority over MPD policy as well as overseeing all investigations of police misconduct. 

In the future, they plan on working towards demilitarization projects. However, they are currently moving forward with demanding less funding for the police and redistributing that money towards “parks, schools, better paying jobs and more.”