As social media continues to react to the iconic Montgomery brawl that occurred over the weekend, Black people have been the most vocal in their opinion. The jokes have seemingly been unending, ranging from Black Panther similarities to renaming the fight Riverboat Wrestlemania. Surprisingly, the observations are anchored in humour that comes from a deeper and far more sophisticated place.
And, unfortunately, it’s a place that Black people are all too familiar with. A group of white males assaulted a lone Black dock worker who was doing his job by ordering the group to move their pontoon boat (the boat was preventing a riverboat from docking).
The white men’s reaction was consistent with American history: they brutalized a Black person when they were inconvenienced by them.
Racist violence against African-Americans has always been made a public spectacle. Following the Civil War, images of lynchings were circulated as postcards with racist writing until the United States Postal Service outlawed them in 1908. This brutal tradition has been resurrected as Black people are killed on tape and the footage is broadcast on the internet.
It is a rare occurrence for justice to be served to us, and when we attempt to attain it, we are often blamed for our own misfortunes.
The events that took place in Montgomery were not just a remarkable display of solidarity amongst Black individuals, but a complete contrast to what we are accustomed to witnessing.
In this instance, when a Black man was being assaulted by white individuals, he and those who intervened on his behalf fought back. This holds significance both in a broader historical context and in a more localized one.
As Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, highlighted, “If you comprehend Montgomery’s history – one of the most prolific slave-trading cities in the United States, which transformed into a brutally repressive apartheid regime after, and only just elected its first Black mayor despite having a majority-Black population – it provides so much more context to this footage.”
Black people have been celebrating since we learned of what occurred in Montgomery, and for good reason. We live in a society that will go to any lengths to maintain white supremacy and the violence that goes along with it.
What took place at the dock that day reminded us that there is strength in the community and that Black individuals have had enough.
More News –
- Police Issue Arrest Warrants For 3 White Men Involved in massive fight at Montgomery riverfront
- Meet the Founders of the Montgomery Riverfront Brawl
- The Montgomery Riverfront brawl unified Brothas and Sistas Against White Violence Against Black Security Guards
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