When President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president, the inauguration audience won’t be the largest in history. But some families who made history will be among the crowd.
Family members of Jacob Blake -- Jacob Blake Sr. and his brother, Justin Blake -- said they are in Washington, DC, with the aunt of Breonna Taylor for the inauguration of Biden and Vice-President elect Kamala Harris. The Blakes said they were required to test negative for Covid-19 before receiving credentials for Wednesday’s inauguration.
Justin Blake said they were invited when Biden and Harris learned the family was in Washington, DC. They are fighting to change policing in America and have taken their grievances to Washington. The Blakes believe Black voters helped propel the Biden-Harris ticket.
"It’s clear to us they understand what we did to help them get in office. They will live up to the promises, if not we will be making a fool of ourselves and our life," Justin Blake told CNN’s Adrienne Broaddus. "We believe these two individuals will make an important change in African decedents and their life."
The younger Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times by police last year. The officers involved in that August shooting were cleared of all wrongdoing earlier this month. Blake survived the shooting but was left partially paralyzed.
Breonna Taylor was killed by Louisville police officers in her apartment during a flawed forced-entry raid in March 2020.
The Louisville Metro Police Department fired two detectives connected to the shooting earlier this month.
On Tuesday, Biden showed empathy as he spoke about moving this nation forward and he once again revealed another level of common ground. He knows and understands pain.
"It's hard sometimes to remember, but that's how we heal. It's important to do that as a nation," Biden said.
The Blake and Taylor families said healing also means action and policy changes.