By Michael Blackshire

In cities like Chicago, Baltimore and Louisville, African-American men have become casualties of gun violence at an alarming rate. This portrait series tells the story of 12 of the hundreds of African-American males murdered in Louisville over the past three decades. All of them had families and many other loved ones who the left behind. In a family tree, when a branch falls, that tree is never the same again.

Phyllis Murphy lost her son for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Her son DeJuan Porter was murdered a few days prior to him catching a bus to take classes at Job Corps. The year DeJuan Porter was murdered, there were 42 homicides in Louisville. In 2017, there were 107 homicides in Louisville, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.