Al Sharpton calls for justice for Angela Carr, victims of Dollar General shooting

The sanctuary of The Bethel Church filled with music, love and righteous indignation Friday morning as family and friends remembered Angela Carr – and demanded justice on her behalf.

Carr, a 52-year-old mother of three and grandmother of 14, died in the Jacksonville racially motivated shooting Aug. 26. Her funeral served as a call to celebrate her spirit and work against the hatred that killed her.

“This was not just an attack on the Carr family and our other two families who lost their loved ones,” Carr’s longtime pastor, the Rev. David Green, said. “This was an attack on our entire community, so we come together today to mourn, to lament, to heal and to act."

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Carr’s celebration of life symbolized more than just her own passing, but that of all people taken because of hatred. The clergy in attendance, including civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton, said they would ensure her memory continued through the fight.

A 21-year-old Clay County man killed Carr, Jerrald Gallion, 29, and Anolt Joseph Laguerre, 19, at a Jacksonville Dollar General using an AR-15 style gun with swastikas carved into it. He left behind three manifestos detailing his hatred for Black people, leading the FBI to classify the shooting as a hate crime, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.

In the weeks since the shooting, national and local activists have connected the shooting to recent gun legislation and the slew of education policies passed in Florida that they argue made it easier for the gunman to take Carr’s life.

Sharpton demands justice: 'How many people have to die?'

As the aftermath of the shooting unfolded in Jacksonville the weekend of Aug. 26, Sharpton joined thousands of people in the nation's capital to honor the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He plans to schedule the second “Hate Crime Summit” in Jacksonville instead of in D.C.

“Justice is making sure that all of the things surrounding his death including the gun laws, including the security, including all the things that were put in place that aided and abetted this bad man,” Sharpton said during the eulogy.

Sharpton attended the funeral at the request of Carr’s family and their attorney, Ben Crump – who sued several social media websites, gun retailers, and the parents of the man who killed 10 Black people in 2022 at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. The shooter wrote a manifesto that described himself as a supporter of white supremacy.

Sharpton joined Green, of Saint Stephen AME, and Bishop Rudolph McKissick, of Bethel Church, in condemning Florida policies and Gov. Ron DeSantis – including in the governor’s reaction to the tragedy.

DeSantis attended a vigil for the victims the day after the shooting and was booed by a community that felt he systematically disenfranchised them. DeSantis hadn’t publicly addressed the anger surrounding the shooting until a press conference on Thursday about COVID-19 when a Black Jacksonville resident spoke up about the governor’s “responsibility” in the shooting.

Community outrage: Community condemns DeSantis' presence at vigil for victims of racially motivated shooting

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“You have allowed people to hunt people like me,” the speaker told DeSantis.

“Oh that is such nonsense. We’ve done more, we’ve done more to support law enforcement in this state than anybody,” DeSantis replied as security escorted the attendee out of the room.

DeSantis said the gunman purchased the weapons that killed Carr legally, despite having been Baker Acted years prior, because he was not involuntarily committed.

One solution, Sharpton said, would be to ensure no civilians have access to AR-15 style guns.

“Don't say you're not responsible for one deranged man,” Sharpton said in response to DeSantis. “You're responsible for deranged people being able to get military-style weapons.”

Remembering Angela Carr

While Sharpton was there to remind people of the actions they needed to take following the shooting, Carr’s family was there to speak about the loss they’ve endured.

“It’s not just about Angie,” her uncle Alred Strong said. “It’s about everybody. We got to get together. We’ve got to come together.”

Carr’s son, Chayvaughn Payne, talked with his mother every day – “mad, sad, happy…could be a hurricane.”  He was the last family member to speak about the “beautiful queen” she was.

“I didn’t think I was losing my mother that day…I just want to try that you keep her in y’all’s memory at all costs because she was a hardworking woman,” Payne said. “She did what she had to do for her kids and grandkids.”

Sharpton donated $5,000 to start a scholarship fund named after Carr. He evoked his own experience growing up learning about Emmett Till, a young Black boy killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman in 1955, through similar programs. He was one year old when Till died.

“I want people that are 1 years old to always hear the name Angela Carr and say ‘Well, why are we getting scholarships in her name?’ and tell the story of what happened here in Jacksonville, so we can stop it from happening,” Sharpton told reporters after Carr’s funeral.

“I want them to do it not to be bitter but to be better, so they can understand how well we've come,” he added.

Gallion, Laguerre families to lay loved ones to rest this weekend

Sabrina Rozier, the maternal grandmother of Jerrald Gallion’s only child, attended Carr’s funeral with Gallion’s 4-year-old daughter Je’Asia.

Gallion’s funeral is Saturday at St. Paul Church, 3738 Winton Drive.

Gallion sometimes worked multiple jobs to support his daughter, whom he talked with daily.

“A daddy is supposed to be the first person to break a young girl’s heart, but this white, racist supremacist took that from her, robbed her of being walked down the aisle when she gets married, graduations, everything this young girl got going on,” Rozier said at a press conference Aug. 28.

Anolt Joseph Laguerre, the Dollar General employee working at the time of the shooting, was also laid to rest Friday after a service at Joshua Christian Faith Center. Media was asked not to attend.

Laguerre was a high school graduate with dreams of becoming a professional video game streamer. He planned to attend college to study cybersecurity and worked at the Dollar General to help his grandmother, who raised him after his mother passed away, pay bills.

"AJ's life was marked by resilience and positivity, even in the face of adversity,” his brother wrote on the family’s GoFundMe page. “We lost our mother on January 10, 2009, when AJ was just five years old. Despite this immense loss at such a young age, AJ remained positive and strong for all of us, supporting us through the challenging times that followed our mother's passing …”

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sharpton condemns DeSantis at memorial for Jacksonville shooting victim