A street demonstration by men identified as members of the Nation of Islam from Chicago on North Boulevard in Baton Rouge on January 10, 1972, ended in a deadly shootout. Accounts differ on who fired first, but the exchange of gunfire left four people dead: 29-year-old Samuel Upton and another Black man, Thomas Davis, plus two white sheriff’s deputies, Ralph Hancock and DeWayne Wilder. A television newsman was critically injured after being attacked by some in the crowd before the shooting began, and 31 people in all were wounded, including 14 police officers.

Authorities moved swiftly: the day after the confrontation, eight men were arrested and charged with murder and inciting a riot, with bonds set at $500,000 each. A grand jury later indicted 14 men on two counts of murder each. Trials followed, with convictions and 21-year sentences in 1973, a Louisiana Supreme Court reversal over venue issues, murder charges dismissed by the trial judge, and a June 1976 retrial that again produced convictions and 21-year sentences.

Does anyone have further information about Samuel Upton’s life or about witnesses to the January 10th violence who haven’t been heard from?