Do Black Lives Matter? Really? Angela-Underwood Jacobs, whose brother Dave Patrick Underwood was killed recently in the line of duty during a riot in Oakland, California questions the phrase after rioters killed her brother during the riots.No one is shedding a tear for her brother, who was killed in the line of duty to his country. But we are all poorer for having lost him and his service to the country he and we loved.
Jacobs said:
“The heartbreak, and the grief, is unexplainable because it’s very very hard to articulate when your entire world has been turned upside down.”
“I do want to know, though, when I think about all of this, that my brother wore a uniform, and he wore that uniform proudly. I’m wondering, where is the outrage for a fallen officer that also happens to be African-American?”
“As a nation, as a people, we must come together to defeat fear, hate, prejudice, and violence. I was to ensure the memory of my brother, Patrick, is a catalyst against injustice, intolerance, and violence of any kind.”
Underwood died during one of the many riots that have swept the nation following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in police custody. Rioters have destroyed property, looted businesses, and assaulted police officers.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said it appears that the shooting which resulted in Underwood’s death “was part of a targeted attack on federal law enforcement.”
George Floyd’s brother, Terrence, has said he supports the protests over his brother’s death but not the riots. He called for peaceful protests, saying that his brother would not have been in favor of destruction.
“I wish that same justice for my brother, Patrick, who served with distinction and honor as a federal officer for the Department of Homeland Security, until he was murdered, anonymously, by blind violence on the steps of the federal courthouse in Oakland California,” Jacobs told Congress.