ACTIVISM

Ways You Can Help Donate to Jacob Blake and His Family

Shutterstock

Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Kenosha man, has been hospitalized after being shot seven times in the back by a police officer on Sunday, Aug. 23, while getting into his car.  

His family has reported that he has been paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the shooting, and while it is unsure yet whether he will be disabled permanently, Blake has a long road to recovery to face. On Tuesday, Aug. 25, the Blake family attorney Ben Crump told reporters “It’s going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again.”

On the night he was shot, Blake, who was unarmed, was trying to break up a dispute when officers were called to the scene after a woman said her boyfriend “wasn’t supposed to be on the premises.” It is unsure how Blake is related to this incident.

Since Kenosha police don’t wear body cams, the only footage of the shooting came from a video recorded by Raysean White. The video has since been shared on Twitter and shows Blake talking to police before going to enter his car, where three of Blakes’s six kids were inside, and then shot seven times by Officer Rusten Sheskey. All of the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.

You can show support to Jacob Blake and his family by:

1. Donating to “Justice for Jacob” on GoFundMe.

The fund was created by Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson. The description shares how funds will be used towards medical expenses, legal costs, and mental and grief counseling for the family. A portion of the fund will go to all six of Blake’s children.

2. Sign the petition to charge the officers.

An official petition has been started on Change.org to hold Sheskey and the other officers involved accountable by charging them for the shooting. The petition is directed towards the Kenosha Police Department and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.

3. Send letters showing your support. 

If you would rather donate and show support by sending the family a letter, Jackson has provided an address for those who wish to do so.

Please send them to:

Julia Y. Jackson c/o Ben Crump Law

PLLC 122 S. Calhoun Street

Tallahassee, FL 32301

Attn: Adner Marcelin

Our thoughts are with the Blake family and we are hoping for a comfortable recovery period. We hope you can help support Jacob Blake Jr. and his family in these difficult times and demand justice for this tragic event.