ROXBURY, Mass. — A public vigil and rally were held in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood Sunday evening, the Party for Socialism and Liberation [PSL] announced on Facebook. That group organized the event and described it as a vigil for Jacob Blake and a rally against police violence.
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Blake, a Black man, was shot multiple times in the back by law enforcement in Kenosha, Wisc. last week. Family members say he was breaking up a fight that led to the apparent domestic incidence response by police. He is now paralyzed from the waist down, according to family.
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The event began at 6 p.m. Sunday at Roxbury’s Nubian Square, where speakers spoke to those in attendance at Dudley Square Park.
Following the speaking event, those who gathered marched down Washington Street to Franklin Park, the PSL announced.
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Event organizers asked those in attendance to adhere to social distancing guidelines, including standing six feet apart, as well as to wear masks.
“Join us as we demand justice for Jacob Blake and all victims of police terror, standing in solidarity with the continuing rebellion against racist police violence,” the PSL wrote on the event’s Facebook page. “Through our collective strength, organization, and righteous anger, we will force change!”
There was an increased presence of the National Guard in Boston Sunday night; dozens of military police were on standby near Chinatown for several hours.
Gov. Baker ordered their deployment Friday without saying why the troops were needed. Eventually, the guardsmen left downtown Boston by 8 p.m. without incident.
Several businesses in Downtown Crossing and along Newbury Street also boarded up their windows as a precaution to the protest that took place in Nubian Square.
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