Until the Tan Crayon Is Not Called “Skin Color:” Through the Eyes of Jacob Blake’s Story

The story of Jacob Blake is more than just a story of one interaction between a police and an allegedly armed citizen- it is a complex story of the systemic racism that has been evident in our country for over 400 years. This story can not be captured in the single moment when shots were fired. Nor can Blake's experience of racism, or the fear every black person in America faces every day be encapsulated in a single article. But, we can begin to explore the truth of racism in America through the story of Jacob Blake.  It has been nearly a month since the shooting and articles are still being written everyday on how the White House is approaching the situation, which threats Blake's family has recieved, and whether this shooting was an act of self defense. Although the media has multiple and ever-evolving views and perspectives of what really went down on August 23 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, what we do know is Jacob Blake is now fighting for his life and we must stop our police force from continuously being a danger to those whom they are meant to protect. 

After the murder of George Floyd on May 25 of this year, protests and riots broke out all around the world fighting to end racially motivated police brutality, specifically in the United States. Despite the spike in awareness and activism for the Black Lives Matter movement and against police brutality, we have seen few fundamental changes in the police force. Since the death of George Floyd, 120 people have been killed by police and only three days have passed where someone was not killed by our law enforcement. On August 23, we saw yet another example of racially motivated attempted murder, and this time the victim was Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man from Wisconsin. After resisting arrest and while walking back to his car, where his three young children sat, police officer, Rusten Skesky, shot Blake 7 times in his back. Skesky, who has since been fired, later claimed it was self-defense as he thought he saw Blake holding a knife. Jacob Blake was immediately rushed to the hospital and sent to the intensive care unit. Jacob Blake survived the shooting, but is now paralyzed and may never walk again. 

While Jacob Blake was in the hospital fighting for his life, riots broke out in Wisconsin almost immediately. Angry protesters flooded the streets in reaction to the blatant racism displayed by the Wisconsin police force and the lack of initiative shown in the process to arrest Skesky. Along with the protesters, the streets were lined with armed civilians who were prepared to shoot protestors. Member of a white supremist group, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, was one of the many people armed at the protest. In the midst of the protest, Rittenhouse opened fire, allegedly murdering 2 people and injuring a third. With a gun in hand, Kyle Rittenhouse walked past the police and wasn’t arrested until the next day at his home in Antioch Illinois, 30 miles away. Kyle Rittenhouse, a white man, walked free with an assault rifle in hand after murdering innocent people. Imagine what would have happened if he was black. February 26, 2012, unarmed, 17 year old, Trayvon Martin was murdered by a neighborhood watch patrol volunteer, George Zimmerman, while walking back to his town house after purchasing Skittles and an Arizona Tea from a nearby 7-Eleven. After spotting Martin walking, Zimmerman racially profiled him and called 911, as he believed Trayvon Martin was a threat, although no evidence supported that claim. Despite orders to stop following Martin, Zimmerman continued and less than a mile from his home, Trayvon Martin was brutally murdered. In the past Zimmerman's supporters have backed Zimmerman, saying he shot rightfully and in self-defense, although evidence proved Martin's actions were not deserving of gunshots. Zimmerman shot due to the assumption that a black man in a high income area with a hood over his head and headphones in, was a danger to society. The difference in the interaction between the police and 17-year-old,Kyle Rittenhouse, who is white, and the interaction between the neighborhood watch volunteer and 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was black, proves how corrupt and bastardized our law enforcement system is. This is not a coincidence. George Zimmerman did not act out of fear, but rather out of racist motives and beliefs. The police at the protest did not “miss” the huge assault rifle in Rittenhouse’s hand, but rather ignored it because of the white supremacy so deeply rooted in our society. 

So what do we do? How does one end a societal norm that has been taught and praised for centuries, even if not directly? Even if our parents taught us all people are equal, we have still grown up in a world where the media stereotypes and marginalizes black people. The first black princess we ever saw turned into a frog. None of the classic story books we read starred black characters. Our favorite movies are filled with white actors and those who are black are often defined by their blackness. Our makeup lines lack diversity. We call the tan crayon “skin colored”. These beliefs are rooted in every single one of us and it is our job to constantly fight and reject these racist instincts. In addition to being aware of our prejudiced thoughts, we must elect officials who recognize the prevalence of racism in a country so many of us deem to be the “best,” and who are prepared to take action in ripping apart these systems which invite racism to thrive. We need to legalize marajuana as it was originally banned due to racist motives, a reason to mass incarcerate black people. We must redistribute police funding so that rather than arresting large groups of people in low income, and oftentimes black communities, we can use that money to fund support programs in those communities. We must restructure our education system to accurately inform adolescents of the truth of racism in our country and not feed them the white washed version that paints Malcom X as a villain and the war on drugs as a positive and productive movement. If black kids are old enough to experience racism, white kids are old enough to learn about it. We must take steps to restructure the racist systems that our country operates on. Racism didn’t end when we elected a black president nor will it end in the next year, but as long as we continue fighting for change, we can one day live in a country that truly believes “ALL men (and women) are created equal.”

By Ruby Kaufman