Volume 54 No.12 August 27th 2020

The Virus: 300,000 To Die

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Advocate Volume 54 No. 12: August 27th, 2020

The California

Fresno’s African American Community Newspaper

Here We Go Again!

Finally, Today’s Black Athletes

Jacob Blake’s Family Has Long History of Community Activism

By Genevieve Bookwalter Pioneer Press | Jacob Blake, who was shot by a police officer in Kenosha on Sunday, grew up in Evanston as part of a family with deep ties to local community activism.

A video of the shooting appears to show an officer firing several shots as Blake, 29, is turned away. The shooting has

SPEAK UP

Jacob Blake

touched off protests and unrest in the town not far from the Wisconsin-Illinois border.

In footage captured on cellphone video from across the street, Blake walks from the sidewalk to the front of his SUV to the driver-side door as shouting officers follow him with their guns pointed at him.

Blake then opens the door and leans into the SUV, at which

time an officer grabs his shirt from behind and opens fire.

Seven shots can be heard, though it isn’t clear how many struck Blake or how many of the officers fired.

Jacob Blake is in and out of consciousness and appears to be paralyzed from the waist down, Justin Blake said Tuesday morning. However, that (Continued on page A2)

By BRIAN MAHONEY and TIM REYNOLDS

Jacob Blake’s Children So Traumatized After Shooting They’ll Need Therapy The family of Jacob Blake shares the traumatic effect the shooting had on his children and hopes to provide them with professional help and therapy.

Boycott: NBA playoff games called off amid player protest LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) —

By DeMicia Inman After witnessing a police officer shoot their father, the family of Jacob Blake say his children are in need of therapy.

During a conversation with TMZ on Thursday, the victim’s uncle, Justin Blake, shares the mental toll the ordeal is taking

on the three boys who are aged 3, 5, and 8. He tells the outlet the children are in “desperate need” of professional help.

According to the report, the family has begun their search for a fitting therapist or team of therapists. When Blake was (Continued on page A5)

Making their strongest statement yet in the fight against racial injustice, players from six NBA teams decided not to play postseason games on Wednesday in a boycott that quickly reverberated across other professional leagues.

Also called off: Some games in Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the three WNBA contests, as players across four leagues decided the best way to use their platform and demand change was to literally step off the playing surface.

Players made the extraordinary decisions to protest the shooting by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday of Jacob Blake, a Black man, apparently in the back while three of his children looked on.

Kenosha is about 40 miles south of Milwaukee. That city’s NBA team, the Bucks, started the boycotts Wednesday by refusing to emerge from their locker room to play a playoff game against the Orlando Magic.

“There has been no action, so our focus today

Video Of Police Ignoring White Shooter Sparks Calls Of Injustice

department’s brutal treatment of Jacob Blake days earlier.

KEY FACTS Police arrested the 17-year-old Rittenhouse in Antioch, Illinois, 15 miles from Kenosha, on Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide.

The apparent shooter, who is white, even (Continued on page A2)

The Shooter: 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse kills two protestors then turns and fires gun into crowd.

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Jemima McEvoy Contributor A video shared to social media shows police appearing to ignore Kyle Rittenhouse after he allegedly shot three people in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as he approached police vehicles with an assault weapon and his arms raised, sparking outrage online among many who drew comparisons to the same police

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Police Ignoring White Shooter Sparks Calls Of Injustice

(Continued from page A1) walks up to the window of a police car, but no officers exit and all but one of the vehicles drive by.

Another clip from a livestream of Tuesday night appears to show police giving Rittenhouse water and thanking the armed group he is with: “We appreciate you guys, we really do,” a law enforcement officer says over a loudspeaker.

Many on social media were quick to compare the police’s reaction to Rittenhouse with the rapid escalation of their encounter with Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot multiple times in the back by Kenosha police while three of his children watched, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, according to his father.

Blake was reportedly unarmed to the armed suspect, saying: “Our and witnesses said he was trying to deputies would toss a water to anybreak up a fight when police arrived body.” in response to a 911 call related to a “domestic incident.”

Key Background Crucial Quote The deadly shootings happened In response to questions about why during the third night of protests in police didn’t apprehend Rittenhouse Kenosha over police brutality. As when he approached the cars, Keno- unrest grew, Kenosha police warned sha Sheriff David G. Beth seemed that armed militia groups were deto suggest at a press conference scending upon the city, and there Wednesday that officers may not has been speculation that Rittenhave recognized that he may have house may have been involved in been involved in the shooting due one such group. At the Wednesday to the chaotic situation. “I’ve been press conference, Beth said he rein a shooting before,” said Beth. “In ceived a call on Tuesday requestsituations that are high-stress, you ing the police department “deputize have such incredible tunnel vision.” citizens who have guns to come out Beth also defended giving water and patrol the city Kenosha.” The

(Continued from page A1) paralysis could be temporary as he continues to recover.

“After some of the swelling goes down, anything could happen,” Justin Blake said. “He’s a young dude.

They heal a lot faster than us old timers.”

Blake’s family has been active in and around Evanston for generations, said his uncle, Justin Blake, while en route to he hospital where Jacob Blake is being treated.

“He’s a lively young man. He’s like his father, my brother,” Justin Blake said. “He’s got a hell of a personality and he loves people.”

He moved to the Kenosha-Racine area a few years ago for a job and his family, his uncle said.

“It was a safer location. He could work and try to save and build a better life,” Justin Blake said.

Jacob Blake played football and basketball at Evanston Township High School, his uncle said. He loves sports, music and architecture.

But Jacob Blake didn’t forget his roots, and returned often to volunteer with his uncle at Black Urban Recycling in Chicago, an organization that collects aluminum cans from

seniors centers, veterans groups and elsewhere to recycle them and raise money for a community center in the Englewood neighborhood, Justin Blake said.

“The veterans love when he comes around because he’s always polite and perky,” his uncle said.

Jacob Blake’s grandfather, also named Jacob Blake, served as pastor of Ebenezer AME Church in Evanston and was a local leader in the civil rights movement, according to Chicago Tribune archives.

After the death of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the Rev. Jacob Blake helped organize and spoke to a crowd of about 3,000 Evanston residents who marched in support of a local comprehensive housing law.

Blake’s grandfather, who died in 1976, later led his congregation in constructing the Ebenezer Primm Towers, according to a Tribune obituary.

The Rev. Jacob Blake, who became pastor of the church in 1967, noticed a need for low-income housing for community members when they reached their retirement years, according to a June 16, 1974, Tribune article on the development’s

sheriff speculated that Rittenhouse may have been part of that group.

A Facebook group called the Kenosha Guard posted an event that has since been taken down, asking its 3,000 members to help defend the city on Tuesday night: “Any patriots willing to take up arms and defend out (sic) City tonight from the evil thugs?” A Facebook livestream video from Tuesday night shows a group of men with guns in the area of the unrest and Rittenhouse appears to be among them, introducing himself: “I’m Kyle by the way.”

A New York Times analysis found others present at the scene may have also had guns fired near or in the direction of Rittenhouse

Jacob Blake’s Family History of Community Activism opening.

Land for the development at Emerson Street and Maple Avenue was purchased for $75,000 from Northwestern University after pressure from students, according to reporting at the time. The building was described as possibly the first Blacksponsored and Black-managed development subsidized by the federal “236 program,” which was created to provide housing to low- and moderate-income individuals.

After his death, the nearby Jacob Blake Manor, which also provided affordable housing to seniors, was named after him.

Court records show Blake has a pending criminal case that started last month. Online court records indicate Kenosha County prosecutors charged Blake on July 6 with thirddegree sexual assault, trespassing and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse. An arrest warrant was issued for Blake the following day.

The records contain no further details and do not list an attorney for Blake.

Jae Rice, 29, said she’s a family friend and former high school class-

mate of Blake’s. She remembers Blake as always being supportive of her music career at their high school.

“It hits a little differently when it’s someone you know and especially someone that you care about,” Rice said. “Especially when it’s coming from Evanston where we have kind of like a safety net around us. … It’s hard when these things hit us.”

Rice said she saw the video of an officer shooting Blake on Facebook and she wants people understand that no one deserves to be shot in that way, no matter if they have a criminal record.

“It’s always sort of like a, ‘Oh let’s understand why this person got in this predicament,’” Rice said.

“When I heard that, I just got sick to my stomach, because I was just wondering, ‘What does any of that, what does any of that have to do with the video we just saw?’”

As of Monday afternoon, authorities have not disclosed the identities of the officers involved nor have they said whether they believed Blake was armed.

Kori Rumore and Kelli Smith contributed. gbookwalter@ chicagotribune.com

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300,000 COVID-19 Deaths Projected By Dec. 9T F T N COVID-19 P akeaways

By Nurith Aizenman

rom

By Dec. 1, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 could reach nearly 300,000. That’s the grim new projection from researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation — one of the more prominent teams modeling the pandemic. The new forecast, released Thursday, projects that between now and December, 137,000 people will die on top of the roughly 160,000 who have died so far.

NPR spoke with the head of IHME’s team, Chris Murray, as well as with Nicholas Reich, of University of Massachusetts Amherst, who has set up a system for comparing 26 different U.S. forecasts.

Here are nine takeaways to help make sense of the projections: 1. The coronavirus is on track to be the third leading cause of death in the U.S. To put the 300,000 projected death toll in context, it is more than four times the number of people who typically die from drug overdoses in the U.S. each year — and more than five times the number killed by the flu in a very bad year. In fact, if IHME’s projection holds true, the coronavirus will likely be the third leading cause of death in the U.S. for 2020 — behind only heart disease and cancer — and a bigger killer than accidents, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease.

2. The hardest-hit states probably won’t bend their curves much.

One reason the projection is so high, says Murray, is that the coronavirus is already spreading so widely across the United States. On the plus side, in some of the hardest-hit states such as Arizona, Florida and Texas, people have already modified their behavior enough to bend the curve. But while Murray estimates that daily new infections have now peaked there, he says: “We don’t expect a sharp decline in those states. We expect that deaths will come down a little bit and then we will sort of see a slow, steady set of numbers there.” This is due to a pattern his team has noticed when it comes to Americans’ behavior ...

3. There could be a roller coaster effect “The lesson that we’re seeing in the experience in the big Southern states is that there is a behavioral response from individuals,” says Murray. “When things get bad in their community, individuals are more likely to wear a mask, more likely to be cautious. And that helps put the brakes on transmission.” But the flip side of that is that once there is an improvement in daily death tolls, people tend to ease up too quickly. “That creates this potential for [cases] going up, stabilizing, then coming down, [then] people becoming less vigilant, and then cases going up again,” says Murray. “I think we will see more of that roller coaster phenomenon through the fall.”

4. Starting in November, cold weather could turbocharge this cycle.

In analyzing the pandemic’s trajectory so far, IHME’s researchers have found a tight correlation with the typical seasonal pattern of pneumonia infections in the United States. And that pattern is that, all things equal, when the weather is colder the virus appears to transmit more rapidly. This is a statistical analysis — so it doesn’t explain the cause. For instance, it could be that when the weather turns cold, people spend more time indoors. Or it could be that the virus thrives in colder air. But whatever the reason, the impact is massive, according to Murray. For instance, in Northern states, says Murray, the analysis suggests “at the peak, which will be the first week of February, we would see approximately a 50% increase in transmission.” And he says the effect will kick in starting in November.

5. Things could be worse than projected if hardhit states don’t return to lockdowns.

IHME’s projections are all the more sobering because they already factor in the likelihood that states will be taking major steps to curb rising cases. For instance, the forecast assumes 50% of American schools will be sticking to online-only instruction for the entire 2020-2021 school year. The forecast also assumes states will shut nonessential businesses and institute stay-at-home orders once their daily death counts get to the uncomfortably high metric of eight daily deaths per million residents. Four states — Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina — have already passed that mark. Georgia and Texas are projected to reach it in September. By November, 16 states are projected to reach it.

Of course, it’s far from certain that there’s political will in many states to return to lockdowns. None of the states that have reached the threshold so far have gone into full stay-at-home mode. Currently “we see lots of evidence of reluctance to do that,” says Murray. But he adds that for precisely that reason the team set the threshold for return to lockdown quite high. By comparison, back in the spring many states put their mandates in place when the daily death count reached just one per million.

6. Things might be better than projected if mask use takes off One assumption the projection does not include is the prospect of rising use of masks. And this is where the picture gets more hopeful. Murray estimates that currently about 50% of people in the U.S. are wearing masks when they are out and about. The team then ran a simulation to see what would happen if starting today, that share was increased to 95% of Americans wearing masks. They found that this would cut the number of deaths by Dec. 1 almost in half — saving 66,000 lives.

But what would it take to get so many more Americans to start wearing masks? Murray says that based on an analysis of the data, tough mandates could really help. IHME’s team estimates that when officials make masks mandatory, use increases by 8 percentage points. And when the mandates include penalties,

he

ewest

rojections

there’s a 15 percentage point bump.

9. Not all forecasts are as pessimistic as IHME’s.

7. Even with universal masking, many states Nicholas Reich is a biostatistician at University of may need to lock down.

Massachusetts Amherst who has set up a system for In the case of four states — California, Kentucky, making apples to apples comparison between 26 difLouisiana and Missouri — if 95% of the population ferent national U.S. coronavirus forecasts. He notes started wearing masks, the state would no longer that most of them are shorter-term forecasts — with reach the IHME threshold for imposing stay-at-home only a handful projecting months ahead the way orders by December. But for the remaining 18 states IHME’s team does. Among these, IHME’s predicted that are currently at or projected to reach the thresh- death total is the highest. For instance, researchers at old by December, near universal mask use would Iowa State University are forecasting 236,000 deaths only delay the point at which they reach it by an by Nov. 29 — 55,000 fewer deaths than IHME’s average of six to eight weeks. forecast for that date.

8. New solutions could change the model.

Murray says a challenge of the IHME model is that Reich says the forecasts diverge because they are it is based on observation of what has happened so based on differing computer models “that are incorfar. This makes it difficult to estimate the impact of porating different data sources. Some of them incorapproaches that haven’t already been widely used porate data on recent trends in neighboring states. in the U.S. “I do believe that as we get closer to the Some are incorporating information about which age fall, absolutely the most important question for many groups are getting infected.” Others are not. “All of states will be, ‘Is there something that is less intru- those different data sources,” says Reich, “mean that sive on people’s ability to work and their lives that some models in certain states may be more pessimiswill still provide enough protection to avoid the death tic and other models might be more optimistic.” rate getting to a high level?’ “ Murray says.

For instance, he adds, “is it enough to have a mask mandate, bar closures, indoor-dining closures, businesses aligned on practices to try to keep To advertise or subscribe call the Advocate their employees safe? @ (559) 268-0941 or visit our website - thecaladvocate.com And can we model out the effect of that versus the more draconian stayMark Kimber • Publisher 1555 E Street • Fresno, CA 93706 at-home orders?” SimiDoris Ellenwood •Vice President Website: thecaladvocate.con larly, he says, it will be Lesly H. Kimber • Founder Phone: (559) 268-0941 a priority to estimate the Pauline Kimber • Founder impact of the patchwork Email news stories to: Julease Graham • Webmaster of online and in-person Taylor Kimber • Communications Newsroom@caladvocate.com instruction in schools and Marty Solis • Photo Journalist For Ad inquiries email to: universities, as well as Ken McCoy • Photo Journalist to determine how long Whitney McPherson •Office Management Ads@caladvocate.com lockdowns really need to be kept in place.

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Jacob Blake’s Children Traumatized After Shooting (Continued from page A1)

shot in the back by a Kenosha, WI officer, his three children witnessed the violent takedown from the back seat of their father’s vehicle. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has since identified Officer Rusten Sheskey as the cop who fired his service weapon seven times while holding Blake’s shirt. Sheskey has been placed on administrative leave.

TMZ reports the children have not visited their father in the hospital, nor spoken to him via video chat services such as FaceTime since the shooting occurred.

Since the incident, Blake’s uncle is not the only family member speaking out. His sister and father both have been vocal for their loved one on their journey to justice.

“I don’t want pity, I want change,” said Letetra Widman, Blake’s sister, in a passionate speech uploaded online by The Guardian.

“But my son matters. He’s a human being and he matters,” said the elder senior according to The Associated Press during a media briefing.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has reportedly spoken with the family after and joins their fight. theGrio reports he told the Blakes “justice must and will be done.”

“What I saw on that video makes me sick. Once again a Black man, Jacob Blake, has been shot by the police in broad daylight with the whole world watching, ” Biden said in a video uploaded on Twitter. theGrio reports the case is now being handled on a federal level.

The investigation will be led by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation and the FBI. The 29-year-old remains paralyzed from the waist down from his injuries.

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Boycott: NBA playoff games called off amid player protest

(Continued from page A1)

cannot be on basketball,” said Bucks guard Sterling Brown, who joined teammate George Hill in reading a statement on the team’s behalf. Brown has a federal lawsuit pending against the city of Milwaukee alleging he was targeted because he was Black and that his civil rights were violated in January 2018 when officers used a stun gun on him after a parking violation.

Other games that were not played: NBA playoff games between Oklahoma City and Houston, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland along with three WNBA games, three MLB games and five MLS matches. Two members of the St. Louis Cardinals sat out their team’s game with the Kansas City Royals as well.

The NBA’s board of governors have called a meeting on Thursday to discuss the new developments, said a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the meeting plan was not revealed publicly.

“The baseless shootings of Jacob Blake and other black men and women by law enforcement underscores the need for action,” the NBA Coaches Association said in a statement. “Not after the playoffs, not in the future, but now.”

The statement by the Bucks also called for state lawmakers to reconvene and take immediate action “to address issues of police accountability, brutality, and criminal justice reform.”

“I couldn’t agree more. Thank you, Bucks,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers tweeted.

The NBA did not say when Wednesday’s games would be played or if Thursday’s schedule of three more games involving six other teams would be affected. NBA players and coaches met for nearly three hours Wednesday night to determine next steps, including whether the season should continue.

They did not come to a consensus, a person with knowledge of the meeting told AP. “We fully support our players and the decision they made,” Bucks owners Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie

Dinan said in a joint statement after Milwaukee players decided to not take the floor. “Although we did not know beforehand, we would have wholeheartedly agreed with them. The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on the racial injustices that are happening in front of us.”

Added Jeanie Buss, the Governor of the Lakers, in a tweet: “I stand behind our players, today and always. After more than 400 years of cruelty, racism and injustice, we all need to work together to say enough is enough.”

Several NBA players, including the Lakers’ LeBron James, tweeted out messages demanding change. Some teams did the same.

“We weren’t given advanced notice about the decision but we are happy to stand in solidarity with Milwaukee, Jacob, and the entire NBA community,” Orlando guard Michael Carter-Williams said. “Change is coming.”

Magic players and referees were on the court as if the game was happening, unaware that Milwaukee did not intend to take the floor. The National Basketball Referees Association said it “stands in solidarity” with the players.

“Players have, once again, made it clear — they will not be silent on this issue,” National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Michele Roberts said. The NBPA is expected to be part of Thursday’s meeting with the board of governors.

Demanding societal change and ending racial injustice has been a major part of the NBA’s restart at Walt Disney World. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” is painted on the arena courts, players are wearing messages urging change on their jerseys and coaches are donning pins demanding racial justice as well.

Many players wrestled for weeks about whether it was even right to play, fearing that a return to games would take attention off the deaths of, among others, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in recent months.

Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot when police officers burst into her Louisville, Kentucky

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apartment using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation on March 13. The warrant was in connection with a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found. Then on May 25, Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into the Black man’s neck for nearly eight minutes — all captured on a cell phone video.

Hill said after Blake’s shooting that he felt players shouldn’t have come to Disney.

“We’re the ones getting killed,” Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who is Black, said in an emotional speech Tuesday night. “We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that we’re denied to live in certain communities.

We’ve been hung. We’ve been shot.

And all you do is keep hearing about fear. It’s amazing why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back. And it’s just, it’s really so sad.”

Players from Boston and Toronto met Tuesday to discuss boycotting Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, which had been scheduled for Thursday. NBPA officers were part of those meetings, and Miami forward Andre Iguodala — one of those officers— said around 2:15 p.m. that he did not believe a boycott plan had been finalized.

Things apparently moved quickly: Less than two hours later, the Bucks wouldn’t take the floor.

“When you talk about boycotting a game, everyone’s antenna goes up,” Iguodala said. “It’s sad you have to make threats like that — I wouldn’t say threats — but you have to be willing to sacrifice corporate money for people to realize there’s a big problem out there.”

Professional sports has seen both strikes and lockouts in the past, almost always over salary disputes. But this wouldn’t seem to classify as a strike, even though it was initiated by players, since their dispute is not with the NBA. Boycott, meanwhile, is defined as the act of refusing to engage in an action, usually to express disapproval with some condition.

“PG&E” refers to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation. ©2020 Pacific Gas and Electric Company. All rights reserved. Paid for by PG&E shareholders.

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