THREAD

Jacob Blake’s dad at the March on Washington told me:
“They didn't treat my son like a human. They treated my son like an animal. He was shooting my son while he was pulling my son's shirt to get him closer to him. What sense does that make?” https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-new-march-on-washington-from-the-eyes-of-black-families-including-jacob-blakes

Jacob Blake’s dad said he felt a responsibility to come to the March on Washington today because his father went to the original march in 1963.

He said he had planned to come to the march with his son. “And then this happened. So I said I cannot not be because of this.”

I asked Jacob Blake’s father what he made of the fact that 57 years after his father marched in Washington alongside MLK that his son and his father's grandfather was laying in a hospital. He said, "That's how diabolical chattel slavery was to us as brown and black people."

Jacob Blake's dad went through a range of emotions after watching the video of his son being shot seven times by a police officer. He said, "I got a little emotional. Then I got mad. Then I sat down and got determined. And, then I realized I had to do what I have to do."

Jacob Blake's dad said his son at one point he grabbed his father's hand and started weeping and then the two men wept together. The trauma the younger Jacob feels is setting in deeply. His dad said, "I'll never leave my son's side because he said he never wants to go outside."

Jacob Blake, 29, was shot on one of his kid's birthdays. Blake's dad said the eight year old had a list of what he wanted and was “so excited.” “He was telling me what he was going to get, what he wanted his daddy to do,” the older Jacob said. “And then two hours later, this.”

On Politics & Jacob Blake.

I asked Jacob Blake's dad about talking to Vice President Biden. He replied, “I spoke to President Biden & Vice President Harris.”

When I asked whether he had spoken to President Trump, Blake replied, “Who? Who? … He matters to me like a hangnail.”

Jacob Blake’s dad also said he was on a call with the entire NBA bubble recently and was also on a call with the Milwaukee Bucks. He said he and Bucks players cried together. “The athletes are setting precedent,” he said. “So I'm not going to stop.”