Kenosha, WI – On July 22, members of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression joined the family of Jacob Albright to hold a vigil commemorating his life and calling for transparency surrounding his death.
Kenosha WI – On August 21, members of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression joined in a Kenosha rally and march marking the first anniversary of the attempted murder of an African American man, Jacob Blake. Blake, a Kenosha resident, had stopped to break up a fight one year before. When police arrived at the scene to respond to a resident’s call, they immediately assumed Blake was at fault, and seven shots were fired into his back. Blake was paralyzed from the waist down due to this attack. The incident led to what is now known as the Kenosha Uprising.
Kenosha, WI – On the morning of April 23, despite the aggressive posturing of an entire building of public officials, community members gathered in front of the Kenosha County Courthouse in support of Clyde McLemore on his first court date. McLemore is a Black liberation activist from Lake County, Illinois who played a significant role in the uprising in Kenosha after the attempted murder of Jacob Blake by racist cop Rusten Sheskey. McLemore’s impact on the community was made clear by the comments made about him by those who attended the rally.
On January 5, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced that there would be no charges against police officer Rusten Sheskey, who attempted to execute Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, by shooting him seven times in the back at point blank range on August 23, 2020. Blake was shot while his children watched in horror from the back seat of his vehicle. The other two officers who assisted Sheskey in his crime will also face no charges.
Kenosha, WI – Activists from multiple southeastern Wisconsin organizations gathered Monday, January 4, blocks from downtown Kenosha, to hear from Jacob Blake’s family and demand justice. The gathering came together in response to the upcoming decision from Kenosha District Attorney Michael Graveley on whether Rusten Sheskey will be charged with any kind of crime. Sheskey is the officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times in August, which sparked a week of protest in Kenosha and surrounding areas.
Kenosha, WI – In a gesture of solidarity, several Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapters, including Milwaukee and Minneapolis, met with Parkside SDS students to rally in protest of President Trump's visit to Kenosha on September 1. Trump, in a controversial decision, decided to assess the damage to various areas of the city in relation to civil unrest over several days.
Kenosha, WI – On the evening of August 28, more than 200 people gathered outside the Kenosha Municipal Court building to demand justice for Jacob Blake and the victims of killer Kyle Rittenhouse. The rally was called for by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, with support from UW-Parkside Students for a Democratic Society, Kenosha EquiTeens, Wisconsin Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the Chicago Alliance. Many in the crowd held signs that read “Stop police crimes! Demand a civilian police accountability council!”
Kenosha, WI – August 25 marked the third night of the uprising that has engulfed Kenosha since the attempted murder of Jacob Blake at the hands of Kenosha police. It was also the deadliest yet, with several people being shot as reactionaries descended on the city. Two of those shot tragically lost their lives.
Kenosha, WI – Protests demanding justice for Jacob Blake continued here, August 25. Barricades have been erected around the Kenosha County Courthouse, armored vehicles drove through the crowd multiple times, and snipers are on the roof firing pepper-spray projectiles into the crowd. One protester was shot in the head after coming up to bring another protester away from the fencing. There are many reports of people being beaten and abducted by cops.
Kenosha, WI – Hundreds of people rallied at the scene of a shooting that took place around 5:30 pm on August 23. After breaking up a fight between two women, Jacob Blake, 29, attempted to return to his vehicle. The entire time, an officer with the Kenosha Police Department had a gun pointed at him. As Blake tried to enter his car where his children were buckled in the back seat, the officer grabbed hold of the collar of his shirt and fired his gun at point blank range seven times. Blake was taken to the hospital. As of the writing of this article, he is in stable condition.
Kenosha, WI – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized a #FreeChrystul rally at UW-Parkside on February 5 that saw 40 protesters attend. The demonstrators congregated outside the building where District Attorney Mike Graveley, Chrystul Kizer’s prosecutor, was teaching his first class of the spring semester, on criminal law.
Kenosha, WI – As the semester approaches, members of the UW-Parkside chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) have been hard at work. Kicking off the new year, SDS is leading a rally in support of the release of Chrystul Kizer, a Milwaukee teenager accused of killing her sex trafficker, Randall Volar III.
Kenosha, WI – As of December 10, Wisconsin is now one of the 20 states that cover medically necessary gender-confirming surgeries. People in need of these procedures will receive coverage under the state’s Medicaid healthcare plan. This development comes after state officials allowed the time frame to lapse for an appeal of the 2018 lawsuit that initiated the whole process.
Kenosha, WI – When Cyntoia Brown’s case was brought forward to the media, there was a large public outcry for justice. How could a victim of human trafficking be imprisoned for killing her rapist and trafficker? Unfortunately, her case is not novel. Chrystul Kizer, a Milwaukee native, has been charged with multiple counts for defending herself against a sexual predator, Randall Volar III.
Kenosha, WI – Just in time for the new semester, Students for a Democratic Society at UW Parkside came out victorious in their gender neutral bathrooms campaign from the previous semester. Four bathrooms were converted on campus to support the trans and gender non-conforming community, a demand which some students have been proposing for several years.
Kenosha, WI – Protesters rallied outside the Kenosha County Detention Center, July 7. Dozens came together to demand the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a show of solidarity with the detainees held in the center. Demonstrators hoped to raise local awareness of the impact that the federal agency has on Wisconsin’s immigrant communities, including the threats of detention and deportation.