Some of CVS Health Corp.’s stores were damaged in the protests but no employees were hurt, spokesman Mike DeAngelis said in an email. A number of the stores were closed as a result, and some others were temporarily closed as a precaution.
Almost 30 of Rite Aid Corp.’s drugstores were affected by the protests, though no employees were injured, spokesman Brad Ducey said in an email. Walgreens Boots Alliance Corp. spokesman Jim Cohn said some Walgreens stores had been damaged and closed, but he didn’t give a precise number.
The fury over Floyd’s death comes as black Americans are dealing with a disproportionately heavy impact on their health and finances from the virus. In New York City, African-Americans have a higher rate of infection than other races, according to city data. A McKinsey & Co. report found that 39% of jobs held by black Americans are at risk from furloughs or layoffs due to the shutdowns meant to curb the spread of the pandemic.
Del Shea Perry, who filed a lawsuit alleging her son died in a Minnesota jail after getting inadequate medical care, spoke at a protest in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. She said she doesn’t condone the looting, but it reflects building frustration in the community over the deaths of black men like her son and Floyd. “Why must we fight like this to get justice?” she said.
People have stepped in to aid businesses affected by the protests in Minneapolis, with hundreds of residents joining the cleanup effort. More than $800,000 was raised on GoFundMe to help rebuild Scores Sports Bar, which delayed its opening during the pandemic only to be destroyed in the protests.
In Chicago, the South Loop neighborhood was one of the hardest hit areas. The long list of businesses hit by looting or vandalism included Trader Joe’s, Kasey’s Tavern, which holds the city’s second oldest liquor license, pet store Kriser’s Natural Pet, Bulldog Ale House and a knitting shop.
Many residents on Sunday morning took to the streets to help sweep sidewalks of broken glass from looted businesses.
“So many people have stopped by to buy brooms,” Mike Wiese, manager at Gordon’s Ace Hardware, said. The store’s cash registers were too damaged overnight to do any transactions, so he’s been giving the brooms away and asking people to come back later to pay.
By Sunday afternoon, similar efforts were underway in Los Angeles. Scores of young people, many of whom had been protesting the day before, were cleaning up graffiti and sweeping streets. Many structures, including an iconic tower at the Original Farmers Market in the Fairfax district, had already been painted clean.
Los Angeles hotel owners Peter and Ellen Picataggio boarded up the windows of their Farmer’s Daughter hotel in the Fairfax district before the neighborhood erupted in violence Saturday night with stores looted nearby. Fortunately for the Picataggios, their damage was limited to a stolen fire extinguisher and graffiti tagged on the plywood.