Showing their solidarity with the movement in Kenosha, Wisconsin for Jacob Blake, about 100 demonstrators gathered at a rally in downtown Los Angeles Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s rally is one of many that occurred this week throughout the country after Blake was shot seven times in the back by Kenosha officers, while leaning into his car where his children were sitting.
The shooting will likely leave him paralyzed, according to reports from Blake’s family.
At the rally, many organizers and peaceful demonstrators called for complete criminal justice reform and the reallocation of police funding.
One demonstrator, who asked to be identified as Ka, has been camping out with a few others at Grand Park in front of City Hall for approximately 70 days.
“I am here long-term,” Ka said.
Despite the small gathering, there was a diverse crowd of coalition members who each expressed their concerns about police brutality that has rocked the country.
A community leader and humanitarian for several organizations in Los Angeles, including “Creating Justice L.A.,” Pastor “Cue” spoke at the rally, voicing his hopes for the movement and his concerns regarding the intersectionality of poverty and Black injustice.
“What we are seeing is state-sanctioned violence,” he said.
“Cue” is also a pastor on Skid Row and has been for years. At the rally, he emphasized the need to correlate homelessness with racial justice and advocated for more unity within these social struggles.
The rally remained peaceful throughout the day without a police presence, and no arrests were made.
“This is an assembly of hope for us all and also a reminder that we need drastic change in the system,” RJ Dawson, a community organizer, said.