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A2 UP FRONT
Monday 7 SepteMber 2020

Summer of protest: Chance for change, but obstacles exposed

sity, and author of the book has been in years past and tive for the BLM movement
“White Identity Politics.” criminologists also caution and keeping their message
“But white Americans have against a focus on crime for what it should be.”
always had a low toler- statistics over a short time National Black Lives Mat-
ance for protests and un- frame, such as week-to- ter organizers have never
rest around race in the U.S., week or month-to-month. asked for, encouraged or
and that’s particularly true Dan Cooper, a white condoned looting or fight-
when they think that pro- 51-year-old software engi- ing with law enforcement
tests become violent or neer in Portland, remains or police supporters on the
involve the destruction of supportive of the protests streets, because they are
property,” Jardina added. and the Black Lives Matter protesting the violent harm
The majority of racial justice movement but fears the done to their communities.
protests have been peace- vandalism is “playing into Thenjiwe McHarris, a strat-
ful. the right’s hands.” egist with the Movement
But some, including in “A few months ago they for Black Lives, a coalition
In this July 17, 2020, file photo protesters lie in the street to block Kenosha and Minneapo- started off in a more BLM- of more than 150 organi-
a downtown Kansas City, Mo. intersection. lis, saw vandalism and vio- focused way. It does seem zations, said Trump’s effort
Associated Press lence. A Trump supporter is like they’ve lost their way was a “desperate tactic to
Continued from Front Trump traveled to Kenosha charged with homicide in a little bit,” Cooper said of paint our movement a par-
this past week, thanked the shooting deaths of two the protests. ticular kind of way to stoke
Yet Trump’s campaign law enforcement for their protesters in Kenosha, and Steve DeFeo, a white fear in communities across
also sees an opportunity efforts and met with peo- an anti-fascist shot and 49-year-old manager at the country and to try to
to appeal to some voters ple whose businesses were killed a right-wing protester an insurance company in steal this election.”
who may be turned off by destroyed in fires. He did in Portland, Oregon, and Edgewater, Florida, shares Federal police reform
scenes of violence crop- not meet with Blake’s fam- was later killed during his that concern. He said that stalled on Capitol Hill after
ping up around some of ily. Biden did, on Thursday, arrest by law enforcement. while he supports the pro- an initial burst of move-
the protests, including in while on a visit to the city. Trump has also tried to link tests and the Black Lives ment. Nationwide, since
Kenosha, Wisconsin, where “I think that there was a lot the protests to local in- Matter movement, he wor- late May, there have been
police shot Jacob Blake, of optimism surrounding the creases in shootings, mur- ries that violent protesters at least 450 pieces of po-
a Black man, seven times protests this summer in the ders and other crimes in cit- allow others to inaccurate- licing reform proposals in-
last month. The president wake of George Floyd be- ies, including Kansas City, ly portray the movement as troduced in 31 states, ac-
has openly directed his cause for the first time, we Missouri, Detroit, Chicago dangerous. cording to a count by the
appeals at the “suburban were starting to see all of and New York, even though “That message gets am- National Conference of
housewives of America” these white people in the criminal justice experts say plified when you go out State Legislatures. Many
— especially white house- United States pay a great the spike defies easy expla- and spray-paint and throw states had finished their
wives — casting his ree- deal of attention to police nation in a year with historic rocks and light fires,” he normal legislative session at
lection as the only thing brutality and racial injus- unemployment and a pan- said. “When you see a the time of Floyd’s death
preventing violence in cit- tice,” said Ashley Jardina, demic that has killed more burnt building, that is help- and are planning to ad-
ies from spilling into their assistant professor of politi- than 180,000 people. Crime ing the wrong side of the dress police accountability
neighborhoods. cal science at Duke Univer- overall remains lower than it narrative. It’s not as effec- next year. q

Jacob Blake speaks out for first time

since police shooting

In a video posted Satur- your life, your legs, some- after walking away from
day night on Twitter by his thing you need to move the officer and two oth-
family's lawyer, Ben Crump, around and forward in life, ers who were trying to ar-
Blake said from his hospi- can be taken from you like rest him. The officer, Rusten
tal bed that, "Twenty-four this," Blake said, snapping Sheskey, opened fire af-
hours, every 24 hours it's his fingers. ter Blake opened his own
In this photo from Kenosha County Court video, Jacob Blake pain, nothing but pain. It He added: "Stick together, SUV's driver-side door and
answers questions during a hearing Friday, Sept. 4. 2020 in hurts to breathe, it hurts to make some money, make leaned into the vehicle. The
Kenosha, Wis. sleep, it hurts to move from everything easier for our shooting was captured on
Associated Press side-to-side, it hurts to eat." people out there, man, be- video and posted online,
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jacob in the back, saying he's Blake, a 29-year-old father cause there's so much time sparking several nights of
Blake has spoken publicly in constant pain from the of six, also said he has sta- that's been wasted." protests and unrest in Keno-
for the first time since a shooting, which doctors ples in his back and stom- Blake, who is Black, was sha, a city of about 100,000
Kenosha, Wisconsin, police fear will leave him para- ach. shot in the back by a white between Milwaukee and
officer shot him seven times lyzed from the waist down. "Your life, and not only just police officer on Aug. 23 Chicago. q