Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Carlton Jenkins shared a statement Wednesday condemning the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot in the back seven times by Kenosha police.
In his statement, Jenkins said the school district stands with the city and the country in the wake of the shooting of Blake and other acts of violence against Black Americans, which he said resemble “modern day lynchings.”
“In my thirty years as an educator, and 54 years of life, the horrifying events of racial injustice we have had to bear witness to this summer have been among the most challenging situations I have experienced,” Jenkins said. “I have repeatedly stated ‘I don’t want to have the same conversations about safety with my African American grandson that my mother had with me.’”
Tuesday night, Jenkins joined other community leaders — including Boys & Girls Club of Dane County President and CEO Michael Johnson, Representative Shelia Stubbs and former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin — for a march calling for peace in the wake of the Kenosha shooting.
In his statement, Jenkins called on the community to advocate for human decency, saying the nation can not decide who is worthy of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” based on identity.