Jacob Blake Breaks Silence With A Powerful Message From Hospital Bed
Jacob Blake is conscious and he’s got a profound message for the public.
The 29-year-old, who is paralyzed after being shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer, relayed some thoughts on Saturday (September 5) from his hospital bed.
“I just want to say man – a lot of young cats out there and even the older ones, older than me, it’s a lot more life to live out here man,” he said, clearly wincing from the pain of being shot seven times in the back from point blank range by Kenosha, Wisconsin police. “Your life, and not only just your life, your legs, something you need to move around and forward in life, can be taken from you like this [snaps fingers] man.”
Blake also described the pain he’s going through and asked that those fighting for racial justice and equality stick together and continue on.
“And I promise you the type of s**t you go through, staples, I got staples in my back, staples in my damn stomach, you do not want to deal with this s**t man,” he added. “24 hours, every 24 hours it’s pain, nothing but pain. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to sleep, it hurts to move from side-to-side, it hurts to eat. Please, I’m telling you, change your lives. Stick together, make some money, make everything easier for our people out there man because there’s so much time that’s been wasted.”
Blake was shot by police on Sunday (August 23) as he approached the driver’s side door of his vehicle that held his three children ages 8, 5, and 3 years old. He is currently in a Milwaukee area hospital.
The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department and Wisconsin State Patrol are currently investigating the shooting. Family attorney Benjamin Crump said at a press conference that he is paralyzed from the waist down and it is not known if he will walk again.
The family has organized a GoFundMe account to support Blake, a father of six, with medical and legal expenses. Within a day of being posted, it had surpassed $1 million in donations.
