Jacob Blake had an outstanding warrant. When police arrived the officers attempted to arrest Blake without an explanation or reading of his Miranda rights. Officers grabbed Blake and tasered him twice as a crowd of nearly 20 people formed and started telling the officers they had the wrong person.

Jacob Blake's Interactions with the Police

On August 23, 2020 when Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man was celebrating his son's birthday in Kenosha, Wisconsin a fight occurred between the mother of Blake's children and a neighbor. Blake worked to break up the fight and remove his two children from the situation. The children's mother called the police to prevent Blake from leaving in her vehicle. 

University of Wisconsin - Madison

- Jacob Blake's Story
- Application of Schalk's Tactics

The Disabling of Jacob Blake  as an example of application of Schalk's Approach

Schalk, Sami. Black Disability Politics, New York, USA: Duke University Press, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781478027003

Black Disability Politics

Events Before Jacob Blake's Police Interaction on August 30, 2020

We must approach Blake's story with a focus on excessive violence by the police as the source of harm, not make Blake's disability the source of harm. Schalk suggests we do this by acknowledging that Blake's physical injuries are not the only harm caused by Officer Sheskey's violence. There were nearly twenty eyewitnesses to the shooting, along with Blake's children and the millions of people who watched online who were exposed to psychological harm and possible psychiatric disability as a result of witnessing Officer Sheskey's violence. 

Schalk's First Tactic and Jacob Blake's  Story

To enact Schalk's second tactic we must acknowledge the multiple oppression that were at play in Blake's shooting, anti-Black racism and classism. Blake's race and class were discussed in news coverage and Op-Ed pieces mainly in reference to his previous encounters with police, his not being married to his children's mother, and other details of his life. There was little to no discussion of how anti-Black racism and classism shaped not only how police responded to Blake but also how the public responded to the shooting. Discussing and naming the impact of anti-Black racism and classism is part of enacting Black disability politics by acknowledging how certain demographic groups are more likely to experience disabling violence.

Schalk's Second Tactic and Jacob Blake's Story

Enacting Schalk's third tactic would mean providing material and social support for Blake, his children, and other witnesses disabled by violence. This could include fundraisers, provision of free medical and mental health care, and pro bono legal support for Blake in his federal civil rights lawsuit against Officer Sheskey. Social support could look like engaging in public vocal support for Blake, his family, the lawsuit, calling for the removal of Office Sheskey, and connecting Blake and his family with other survivors of police violence, or other Black disabled men. Social support is vitally important for newly disabled folks.

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