‘We’re going to keep staying angry’: Jacob Blake’s aunt speaks from rally at Seattle City Hall
Aug 27, 2020, 2:03 PM | Updated: Aug 28, 2020, 5:58 am
Jacob Blake's aunt, Nicole Blake Chafetz, speaking Thursday at Seattle City Hall. (Hanna Scott, KIRO Radio)
(Hanna Scott, KIRO Radio)
Jacob Blake’s aunt, Nicole Blake Chafetz, spoke at a rally at Seattle City Hall Thursday, calling for immediate changes to policing, both in Seattle and across the rest of the country.
“After Trayvon [Martin], we told them to stop. After Sandra Bland, we told them to stop. After George Floyd, [and] now, after the attempted execution of my nephew, we are telling them to stop again,” she said, addressing the media as part of a press conference held by Black Lives Matter Seattle. “We need people to listen and figure out how to solve this problem.”
“We’re angry — we’re going to keep staying angry,” she added.
“This is not a partisan issue” Says aunt of Jacob Blake who was shot 7 times by #Kenosha PD as she expresses outrage over nephews shooting @KIRORadio #seattleprotests https://t.co/HBQEbvhd1M pic.twitter.com/icI7cZf96V
— Hanna Scott (@HannaKIROFM) August 27, 2020
Blake, a 29-year-old Black father of six, was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot several times in the back by police. That’s since made Kenosha, Wisconsin, the latest focal point in the fight against racial injustice that has gripped the country since the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
Chafetz, who lives in Auburn, said Thursday that the need for change “is not a partisan issue,” as she expressed outrage over the shooting of her nephew. She also said cities like Seattle and Los Angeles should be responsible for leading efforts to defund police departments and end police killings, while emphasizing that protests over these issues need to remain peaceful.
Jacob Blake’s Aunt calla for change, says it won’t happen in #Kenosha that they need #Seattle to lead, need #LosAngeles to lead & bring about this change of #DefundThePolice in the #USA & end police killings while also demanding peaceful protests @KIRORadio #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/yMPwWHAeXO
— Hanna Scott (@HannaKIROFM) August 27, 2020
“We got this far through peaceful protests — I am going to encourage everyone to continue peacefulness,” she said. “The most important reason is because if we become violent, we’re like them.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
