The majority of mainstream media coverage of what happened earlier this month on the dock in Montgomery, Alabama, characterized it as yet another isolated occurrence, with headlines like “Brawl reignites national debate over race.” In reality, there was nothing to reignite. The oppression of the country’s Black population is pervasive in the air we breathe. It’s a roaring forest fire that’s never been put out. Sure, there are moments when the wind blows the embers away and the smoke fades, but the fire never goes out. In that sense, the Black population is subjected to constant smoke inhalation and near-suffocation. The charred remains of fire damage can be found throughout the country, from major cities to little communities.
On August 5, the wind swept over and transported embers to a well-burned place in American history, a pier in Montgomery’s Riverfront Park. Enslaved persons were transported in by boat on the Alabama River at the same location. Tens of thousands of enslaved souls were transported from New Orleans on steamboats plying the Alabama River in the mid-1800s. The captives were shackled together and marched to Commerce Street, where they were auctioned off at Montgomery’s slave market. The city was a notable slave-trading community in the state and the Confederacy’s first seat of authority.
The Harriott II riverboat was meant to land after a two-hour tour on this August day, but it couldn’t because a smaller pontoon boat was there, and the individuals involved with the vessel refused to move it. The name of the riverboat, like that of the famous emancipator Harriet Tubman, could not have been more emblematic of the war that was about to erupt. When she and 150 African American Union soldiers liberated more than 700 enslaved individuals in the Combahee Ferry Raid in South Carolina in 1863, Tubman became the first woman to oversee a major military maritime operation in the United States.
Co-captain Dameion Pickett approached the obstructionist pontoon boat operators and was assaulted by three white members of the stubborn crew as the Harriott II waited 45 minutes offshore. Fortunately, Christa Owen, a Harriott II passenger, recorded the entire episode on video, thus, the facts of this case could not be challenged.
A rush of social commentary captivated the imagination of the country’s Black people almost immediately after. People of color have created a plethora of memes, GIFs, and hashtags based on various modified versions of the videotaped incident. Social media declared that it was the first time in a long time that Black people had come together to support one another. The outpouring of reactions to this occurrence has served as a release valve. The welcome change has relieved some of the pressure that has been building up as a result of recent attacks on voting rights, such as redistricting plans to disenfranchise black voters, moves to eliminate affirmative action — which was instituted to address unequal treatment and denial of opportunity for people of colour — and the whitewashing of children’s history books, which promote old lies about how Black people benefited from slavery.
We were the volunteer fire department on August 5, 2023. From co-captain Pickett throwing his hat in the air exclaiming, “it’s on” straight after the first punch was thrown at him to “Aquamayne,” the 16-year-old who leaped off the Harriott II boat to swim to Pickett’s aid, we all helped put out the fire. That day, we all came to the help of one of us who was in trouble.
When the cops arrived, they did not immediately target persons of colour and unleash excessive state brutality. They did not do so since Pickett’s supporters had done nothing wrong but protect someone who was doing the right thing.
That day, white entitlement and privilege were not permitted to run roughshod over people of colour. It was a major departure from the established norm in America — and an example of how we should all continue moving forward, having one other’s backs as we fight racism.
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