History of Racism on High Alert #PhillyProtest #PhillyRiots During Corona Pandemic

by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

Kinda hard to have a section of my site called Philly Spotlight without spotlighting what happened yesterday in our city. Philadelphia joined Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, LA, Denver, Detroit, Louisville, Dallas/Fort Worth, Memphis and others in solidarity to the protests that had been going on for several days in Minneapolis in response to the heinous murder of George Floyd, a 46 year-old black male who died at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day.

Many say the violence was started by militant groups wanting to incite trouble to distract from the true purpose of the protests. And I’m sure this is true; regardless, the basis for the protests and rioting were not just in response to one man’s death and one instance of police brutality. Ultimately, people have chosen this incident to be a response to 400 Years of Systemic Racism in America. Something talked about all the time, yet never really addressed. We talk about the loitering and other nonsensical laws that were put in place after slavery was abolished to allow the arrest of innocent black men resulting in them still working as slave labor, just on a chain gang instead of the plantations. We talk about the many thriving black towns in history like Rosewood or Greenwood, which were burned to the ground by white racists.

We talk about the Jim Crow laws having allowed for the lawless, unthinkable act of lynching and solidifying the impossibility of any hope for black Americans to rise up and join a Capitalist society.

Then finally came the fight for Civil Rights, so much unrest, so hard won and in the process losing maybe the most inspiring person since Jesus, Martin Luther King, Jr. But it didn’t end there, bigotry still reigned supreme in terms of educational institutions, hiring, buying homes, starting businesses, you name it, if it’s a part of the American dream, someone white was making sure someone of color was not going to get full participation in that dream.

It continued in the 80’s with the war on drugs only targeting black males, creating mass incarceration, no help for those addicted to crack back then, but plenty of help now that addiction to opioids has hit affluent white communities.

And what about black & brown voter suppression and those who have served their time not having the right to exercise their vote – Professor Carol Anderson breaks this down so clearly & eloquently in this video White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nations Divide

Since the advent of media – TV, Movies, Newspapers, Magazines, white Americans have been able to do further damage by vilifying black leaders, promoting racist propaganda like D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of A Nation; to appropriating our music; to the constant brain washing of our minds to believe the ultimate image of beauty and desirability couldn’t possibly include us, for years, and years!

But more than anything, police brutality has been the weapon of choice in systemic racism. There’s a constant role call of names of unarmed, innocent black and brown people being killed at the hands of over-zealous openly racist cops and even worse, police department cover ups and little to no legal ramification for the murdering officers. Thank God for the advent of cellphones, it’s been the only way some accountability has taken place, allowing for the arrest of policemen, as in some recent cases, including George Floyd’s death kneel. So ironic that Colin Kaepernick and those that supported him were labeled un-American for taking a knee during the Anthem, it’s like he knew how symbolic a knee was going to become.

Despite feeling these racial pains, it also pained me to see our city being torn up, places I’m so used to walking everyday before the pandemic. So I tweeted:

#phillyprotest this sh*t don’t get justice for anyone. When I think about how much I’ve been missing my city during #StayAtHome and now to see this 😣 We need strategy, not a mindless show of being fed up! https://t.co/63adgeDjFv
— Tinsel & Tine (@tinseltine) May 30, 2020

But then later I listened to Trevor Noah‘s take on it all and have to agree with him about the social contract being broken, and that’s why unrest maybe the only answer to speak to those who expect everyone to adhere to a one sided social contract:

I know not all white people as a race are complicit. There’s been very many who have condemned bigotry, discrimination and racism from Underground railroads, throughout the Civil Rights movement and today. I’ve had close white friends all my life. A fan of most predominately white TV shows, movies etc… And it does seem the next generation is a little less color conscious, more mixed couples exist, there’s hope.

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Philadelphia, Pa — May 30, 2020 — Uprising I’ve been reluctant to post these photos because of everything associated w/ them. You find yourself stuck in a revolving door of playing your role as a story-teller, documenting what you see… into naturally trying to protect + preserve my people in distress. Being on the ground, right in the trenches is more than what gets highlighted + broadcasted #phillyprotest #blacklivesmatter // Life Study

A post shared by LaRon Hall (@iamlaron) on May 31, 2020 at 1:10pm PDT

But bottom line: This unrest has been long in the coming. All it needed was a match to light the flame of already high tensions due to the Corona Virus, being cooped up at home, more black and brown people being on the frontlines, not being properly compensated. All races being out of work with unemployment claims going unprocessed. But mostly the Kerosene on the fire, is not only a lack of good leadership at the top, but a so called President who can only be described as an evil, demented, imbecile and a Republican Party not willing to admit this fact and see that he’s controlled. So these riots, yes, this was bound to happen.

So often, you have to wonder if God has a plan in all this? His chosen people, the Israelite, were tested throughout the Bible. Is the Black race another of his chosen people being tested for some long in the future plan to eventually be revealed? If so, I probably won’t be here to see it, but at this point, I just hope to live through 2020.