A matter of black lives that matter

Terrence Floyd, younger brother of George Floyd, said, “I know my brother would not want violence. Let’s do this peacefully, please.”

In protests of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota police, highlighting the fact that the lives of black persons are important was intended to be front and center. Nevertheless, even more black lives did not seem to matter in the wake of the protests, which disproportionately took the lives of blacks – most at the hands of protesters. Up until today (June 8), I have found records of up to thirteen dead. The following persons are identified as black except Italia Kelly (identified as biracial) and the three that remain unnamed/unidentified. It appears that all, with the possible exception of one, died in incidents related one way or another to the George Floyd protests. It is alleged that much of the violence is perpetrated by “outside agitators” – folks with Left-wing or Right-wing agendas, or both – rather than the initial protesters, who did so peacefully.

• May 27, 2020: Calvin L. Horton Jr., 43, Minneapolis, Minnesota was shot by a pawnshop owner during protests.
• May 29, 2020: 53-year-old Dave Patrick Underwood, 53, on-duty federal security officer, was shot and killed during riots in Oakland, California.
• May 29, 2020: Javar Harrell, 21, during protests in Detroit, Michigan, was shot and killed – apparently specifically targeted, and it is not clear whether his death is directly related to the protests. (But his life still matters.)
• May 30, 2020: Barry Perkins, 29, in St. Louis, Missouri was caught by the truck’s tire, pulled under and ran over. Guns were pointed at the driver, he sounded his horn and drove off, catching Perkins and running over him with his trailer. Attorney for the Perkins family and witnesses say that Barry Perkins was not involved in looting the truck and was an accidental victim.
• May 30, 2020: James Scurlock, 22, in Omaha, Nebraska during protests was shot as a result of a violent encounter with a bar owner. It is at least tentatively determined that the bar owner acted in self-defense.
• May 30, 2020: Chris Beaty, 38, real estate broker and former Indiana University football player, was shot and killed in Indianapolis, Indiana, by rioters on a robbing spree.
• May 31, 2020: Dorian Murrell, 18, Indianapolis, Indiana was fatally shot by 29-year-old Tyler Newby. Newby claims there was an altercation before the shooting and a friend of Murrell claims there was not one.
• May 31, 2020: Italia Marie Kelly, 22, a protest attendee in Davenport, Iowa was shot by a “protester” when she was leaving the protest. Another person was also shot and killed, but was not named last I saw.
• June 1, 2020: David McAtee, 53, shot and killed in Louisville, Kentucky during riots. Law enforcement heard gunshots and returned fire. McAtee was hit by one of the bullets and died.
• June 1, 2020: Two unnamed people killed in Cicero, Illinois (a Chicago suburb).  Their race or the circumstances of their death has not been reported, so far as I have seen – other than that “outside agitators” shot into a crowd.
• June 2, 2020: David Dorn, 77, retired St. Louis City police captain, was shot and killed by looters at a pawnshop in St. Louis, Missouri.

[Note: this information was collected a few weeks ago, and more names could be added to this list, but I will leave it as it is.]