but many countries around the world,

there was definitely a sense that this could be the moment

of systemic change.

Cops marched with protesters.

City councils discussed alternatives to police.

And most importantly, pancake syrup become woke.

But as we've been reminded of yet again,

there is still a long way to go.

NEWSMAN: Disturbing video throwing a city into turmoil.

A Black man walking away from police

shot repeatedly while reaching into his car.

Kenosha, Wisconsin, police

responding to a domestic incident

at about 5:00 Sunday evening.

At least two officers with their guns drawn followed him

as he walked around the front of his gray SUV.

Then at least seven shots.

Blake's family now says the 29-year-old's spinal cord

is severed, and that he's paralyzed from the waist down,

though doctors aren't sure it's permanent.

His family is now demanding

the officers involved in Sunday's shooting,

captured on this cell phone video, be fired,

and the one who shot Blake in the back be arrested.

No matter how many times I watch these videos,

I'll never get used to how quickly police

go from issuing commands to using deadly force.

Like, whatever happened to warning shots?

Or tackling a suspect.

Like, are we really meant to believe

that the only two options a cop has is do nothing,

or shoot somebody in the back seven times?

That's all we have?

I mean, think about it, even when wild animals

are loose on the streets, they don't always shoot to kill.

They have tranquilizers. They have nets.

I never thought I would wish for Black people

to be treated at least like a wild bear,

but here we are.

And I know people are questioning

why Blake didn't just follow the police's orders.

"Just listen to the cops, and you'll be fine."

And look, I don't know why he didn't.

I don't. All right?

Maybe he was worried because he had outstanding warrants.

Maybe it's because he knows what happened to George Floyd

when he did follow the police's orders.

Maybe he just wanted to get his sunglasses.

It doesn't matter to the police,

because they jumped straight to:

"This Black man is gonna try to kill us

if we don't kill him first."

Like, let's say for argument's sake

that they shot Jacob Blake to stop him from reaching his car.

And let's ignore for a second that that's a (bleep) up,

terrible, inhumane way to stop somebody

from reaching into their car.

They shot him seven times.

What purpose do bullets two, three, four, five, six

and seven serve?

Either way, Blake's move toward his car

made them see him as a threat.

But as his sister reminded us, they forgot to also see him

as a human being.

I am... my brother's keeper.

And when you say the name Jacob Blake,

make sure you say "father," make sure you say "cousin,"

-MAN: Mm-hmm. -make sure you say "son,"

make sure you say "uncle,"

but most importantly, make sure you say "human."

WOMAN: Thank you.

Human life.

Let it marinate in your mouth, in your minds.

A human life.

So many people have reached out to me,

telling me they're sorry that this happened to my family.

Well, don't be sorry,

'cause this has been happening to my family for a long time.

Longer than I can account for.

MAN: Mm.

It happened to Emmett Till.

Emmett Till is my family.

Philando, Mike Brown, Sandra.

This has been happening to my family,

and I've shed tears

for every single one of these people

that it's happened to.

This is nothing new.

I'm not sad. I'm not sorry.

I'm angry.

And I'm tired.

I haven't cried one time.

I stopped crying years ago.

I am numb.

I have been watching police

murder people that look like me for years.

I'm not sad. I don't want your pity.

I want change.

Those are powerful words.

Those are words filled with pain,

and it only makes sense

that Jacob's sister is angry.

Because not only have black people

been mistreated for generations by the police

but because there's almost never any police accountability.

These incidents remain an open wound,

and the pain and the anger just builds and builds

with no closure or relief.

Black people are tired of hearing "I'm sorry"

and then nothing happening.

Because essentially, what they're really hearing is,

"I'm sorry this is happening,

and I'm sorry that it's going to happen again."

And it's because of that frustration and anger and pain

that once again, people took to the streets

to express their rage.

NEWSMAN: Outrage igniting in Kenosha,

a city on fire.

Rioters smashing traffic lights,

storming businesses, looting,

torching buildings and cars.

(indistinct chatter)

MAN: From battalion one, we have multiple cars on fire.

NEWSMAN: As demonstrators faced off with police,

tensions quickly escalating.

Authorities pepper spraying civilians.

The entire site, as you can see, uh, still smoldering.

And firefighters are still running around town

dealing with several sites just like this one.

The governor deployed 125 members

of the National Guard here yesterday to help

as those peaceful protests during the day

turned destructive after the 8:00 p.m. curfew.

Yes, for three days now,

the streets of Kenosha have been ablaze.

And although there have been peaceful protests,

I mean, that inevitably gets overshadowed

when there is so much civil unrest.

So, once again, the pattern repeats itself.

An unarmed black person is shot by the cops.

In response, people go into the street.

More law enforcement is sent in,

and the chaos only continues to grow.

I could tell you this story with my eyes closed by now.

Like, if I wanted to, I could prerecord

five of these segments, go on vacation,

and you'd probably never know.

And in this situation, just when you thought

things couldn't get any worse, last night, it did.

Breaking news. A very dangerous situation in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Two people are dead

in clashes that may have involved armed vigilantes.

People may have moved in to that city

to counter the protests

following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

NEWSWOMAN: The sheriff used the word "militia"

to describe some of the people

who may have been involved in last night's shooting.

We've just learned that a 17-year-old

has been charged with first-degree murder

in at least one of those killings last night.

And we now have seen some social video... media video

of a man with a long gun strapped across his chest

running down the street or walking down the street

and being chased by people who are yelling,

"He's shooting. He shot someone."

The man trips, falls on his own.

People still try to come a-and apprehend him and get him.

He then fires again

at point-blank range at two more people,

and then the man continues to walk down the street.

He is a white man with a huge gun

strapped across his chest with his hands up.

As you see, police vehicles-- not one, not two

but three vehicles who are coming towards him.

He has his hands up with his gun,

people are yelling, "He shot someone,

he shot someone," and police pass him by.

They are a lot of questions here

as to why he wasn't apprehended at that time.

That's right. Last night,

some guy decided to drive to Kenosha

with his militia buddies to "protect a business"

and apparently ended up shooting three people and killing two.

But don't worry, the business is okay.

And let me tell you something.

No one drives into a city with guns

because they love someone else's business that much.

That's some bullshit.

No one has ever thought, "Oh, it's my solemn duty

to pick up a rifle and protect that T.J.Maxx."

They do it because they're hoping to shoot someone.

That's the only reason people like him

join these gangs in the first place.

And yes, I said it, a gang.

Enough with this "militia" bullshit.

This isn't the Battle of Yorktown.

It's a bunch of dudes threatening people with guns.

And while what happened

with those shootings last night is tragic,

what happened afterwards is illuminating.

Because it made me wonder, it really made me wonder

why some people get shot seven times in the back

while other people are treated like human beings

and reasoned with and taken into custody

with no bullets in their bodies.

How come Jacob Blake was seen as a deadly threat

for a theoretical gun that he might have

and might try to commit a crime with,

but this gunman who was armed and had already shot people,

who had shown that he is a threat

was arrested the next day,

given full due process of the law

and generally treated like a human being whose life matters?

How did Dylann Roof shoot up a church,

James Holmes shoot up a movie theater

and both live to tell about it?

Why is it that the police decide

that some threats must be extinguished immediately

while other threats get the privilege of being defused?

I'm asking these as questions,

but I feel like we know the answer.

The answer is that the gun

doesn't matter as much as who is holding the gun.

Because for some people,

black skin is the most threatening weapon of all.