Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor Families Unite For Evanston March

EVANSTON, IL — Led by family members of Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor, hundreds of people marched down Emerson Street Saturday calling for unity against racism and police violence.

Blake, 29, who grew up in Evanston and whose family has roots in the community going back several generations, was shot and paralyzed by Kenosha police in August. Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley has yet to determine if charges will be filed against any officers involved.

Taylor, 26, of Louisville, was shot and killed in her home in March. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron last month announced a grand jury indicted one officer involved on a charge of wanton endangerment not directly tied to the fatal shots.

Organized by Evanston Fight for Black Lives, Rainbow Push Coalition and the Jacob Blake Foundation, the march began at Jacob Blake Manor, a senior living community named after Blake's late grandfather, Rev. Jacob Blake of Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church, and headed east to Ebenezer-Primm Towers senior citizens home. Both stand as legacies of the local civil rights leader's work for affordable housing and desegregation in Evanston.

Jacob Blake Sr. said he has no choice but to stand and march on his son's behalf because his son cannot walk anymore.

"I love Evanston. I grew up here. Evanston supported me. I appreciate everybody coming out today," Blake said. "My son is working hard. He goes to physical therapy three or four times every day. The pain that he's in is incredible. It's incredible."

Blake said the support from the community gives him strength.

"This day is about unity. I don't care what you look like. I don't care what you smell like. You are part of humanity. I should not have to prove to you that we are a part of humanity. It's 2020, and I still have to prove to you that my son was a human being?

"You wouldn't shoot a dog in the back seven times, but you shot my son seven times in the back. That's not acceptable. It wouldn't be acceptable for a white person or anyone else," he said. "So why is it supposed to be something that I drink, and swallow while I'm regurgitating every bit of it?"

Bianca Austin, Taylor's aunt, said she is not looking for revenge, instead looking to channel her anger into positive change.

"Our main focus is respect. We talk a lot about respect. You all may not like us but you're going to start respecting us and we're going to demand it," Austin said. "We talk about unity. They can't just address one person, they're going to have to start addressing all of us. All of us.

"And we're talking about accountability. These people need to start being held accountable for murdering our kids, and we're sick of it. So we're going to demand change, and we need you all to vote, and we need you all to get out here and take a stand with us and fight these people because we can't do it by ourselves, we work better in numbers," she said.

"It's time for our people to stand up, don't pick and choose when you want to stand up. We're asking you all to get up, stand up and make some noise for us. We're not only doing this for our family, we're doing this for your family, your kids, our kids," Austin added. "We're going to stand unity in this fight together. Because, guess what, Daniel Cameron, you should be ashamed of yourself, the Kenosha P.D., Louisville police department, you should be ashamed of yourself."

Jacob Blake's sister, Letetra Wideman, called for unity to push for concrete changes to policies and legislation.

"We're here for justice for Jacob, we're here for justice for Breonna, but most of all we're here for unity of the 99 percent," Wideman said. "The 1 percent has used us long enough, all of us, white, black, brown, no matter what color you are, we're being used. And I'm tired of being a pawn, I'm tired of watching you guys be a pawn. We need change.

"The 1 percent has no interest in real change. They have interest in division to keep us fighting over and squabbling over miscellaneous, unimportant things so that they can have their way," she added. "We all are being taxed with our representation, and if you don't want change, you are blind. This is bigger than white and black. The 1 percent wants to keep us divided, to keep us weak, distracted. We are here to wake you up, we are here to provoke thought."

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U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) said she was standing in solidarity with the Blake and Taylor families. Speaking at the start of the march, she said the Congress would make legislative changes in response to activists pushing for police reform.

"Jacob Blake and the name Blake is really famous in our community in Evanston. Jacob went to the junior high school right down the street from me and now he is laying in a bed, the victim of police violence," Schakowsky said.

"And Breonna Taylor, who has seen no justice, in fact the verdict had nothing to do with her death but only the neighbors who were disturbed by the shootings," she said. "We are demanding justice, and the injustice that has gone for all the years of the United States of America. It is centuries now of this racial injustice."

Speakers also included Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Chicago), Bishop Travis Grant, Rev. Deborah Scott and Nia Williams.

Related:
Over 1,000 Gather At Fountain Square In Support Of Black Lives
Demonstrators Gather In Evanston In Support Of Jacob Blake
Evanston Calls For Justice For Jacob Blake, Local Leaders Respond
'Gross Miscarriage Of Justice': Officials Call For Peaceful Protests In Breonna Taylor's Name

Earlier Saturday, Austin and Blake Sr. spoke to reporters at the headquarters of Rainbow Push Coalition in Chicago. Both emphasized the importance of voting in the Nov. 3 election.

"One thing that we're asking today, that we're standing on our platform today is unity, we must cross the lines that have separated us long enough come together and join hands and become a mighty fist that I got right here," Blake said, raising his right hand. "Push that middle finger out and start pushing those buttons in the voter booth.

"We can become this fist that can change those laws that can make those two systems of justice different. Because they get justice and then there's just us. But if just us are enough, we can insist on getting justice," he said. "We don't stand here asking anymore. We are going to begin to kick down doors and telling what we want. We are that important. We are human beings. We don't have to beg to be a part of humanity."

Austin thanked the Blake family for inviting them to Illinois and said the two families would continue to unify and lift one another up. She said the recent release of audio from grand jury proceedings in the Breonna Taylor case did not surprise her.

"I always knew Daniel Cameron did not have Breonna's best interests at heart. He never intended on getting justice for Breonna," Austin said.

Responding to the president's remarks at Tuesday's debate in response to a question about whether he would condemn the far-right Proud Boys group, Austin said voting in the general election is vital.

"You know, Trump told his kind to stand back and stand down and my message for our culture is: you need to stand up and stand tall, and make your voices be heard. Because the time is now," she said. "We're sick of dying, we're sick of fighting. We're tired of it, we're sick of being tired. So I want everybody to take this election as it's you fighting for your life right now."