Aug. 20, 2021 noon
(WGTD)---The alder of the district where the police shooting of Jacob Blake took place nearly a year ago says he has mixed feelings over where things stand now.
The most troubling is the extent of political polarization that exists in the community. "If you have a world view of ult right, extreme right, and that Antifa is taking over the world and everything is bad, then things that were the result of the Jacob Blake shooting feeds into your world view," said Anthony Kennedy in a WGTD News phone interview. "If you think the police can't be trusted and they are a nefarious, occupying force then what happened to Jacob Blake feeds into that world view," he said, adding that both views cause problems for the community.
On the other hand, Kennedy says there are more people asking questions. "That's a good thing--not a bad thing, in my opinion," he said.
Over the past year, a police-backed, violence intervenor group called Kenosha Coalition Organizing Resolution has formed, with volunteers hitting the streets to quell disturbances and trying to bridge the gap between police and members of minority communities.
The county has formed the Racial and Ethnic Equity Commission.
Mayor Antaramian has launched an initiative called "Kenosha's Commit to Action Roadmap." With technical support from the city, the effort is led by by a local pastor, who was a guest this past June on WGTD's Community Matters program. While no initiatives have been announced, Kennedy believes the group's efforts will pay off in the long run. A four-year-long timeline was announced at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, a citizens group called "Leaders of Kenosha" is still calling for the firing of Rusten Sheskey, the police officer who shot Blake in the back and side seven times. A rally and march is scheduled to begin Saturday at 11:30 in Civic Center Park, the epicenter of Blake protests that's located across the street from the courthouse.
Police fully reinstated Sheskey following a months-long investigation which found that Blake was armed with a knife and posed a deadly threat to the officer as he was sitting in the driver's seat of a vehicle just before being shot. Blake contends that he was in the process of placing the knife in the middle console and had no intention of harming Sheskey.
Lawsuits have been filed in the Blake case, and by the families of two people shot and killed and a third wounded by Kyle Rittenhouse, the Antioch teen who fired his gun during the civil unrest the followed the Blake shooting, claiming he was acting in self-defense. Rittenhouse goes on trial this fall.
The badly-damaged Uptown district is in the process of being rebuilt, with a multi-story residential and retail building close to groundbreaking. In addition, the city has purchased a former bank building and plans to turn it into a hub of offices for various government and non-profit agencies that will be able to offer support to the neighborhood.
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