The Black community in America recently experienced somewhat of a catharsis…an event took place in Alabama that pumped a certain kind of adrenalin into the collective Black mind. After years of maltreatment from a certain kind of white person, several Blacks got an opportunity to fight back. They did not lose the fight!
The fiasco started in Montgomery, Alabama. Several white men refused to move their boat so that an incoming vessel could dock at Montgomery Riverfront Park.
During the confrontation several white men jumped a Black employee and a melee ensued. More whites joined the fray, and a Black teenager actually swam from the incoming vessel to the dock, to join in the fight to help his co-workers. Other Blacks joined in and the brawl was on!
For once, the Blacks were on the winning end of the fight. At one point, someone picked up a folding chair and used it as a weapon. Interestingly, that chair used as a weapon has become a widespread meme related to Black unity! This gives new meaning to the saying that “Chairity” (‘Chair’-ity) begins at home!
Several people have been taken into custody or questioned and an investigation is ongoing. But there is no mistaking the glee Black people all over America experienced to see Blacks come to the rescue of other Blacks to combat aggressive white men.
Black people have been lamenting the problem of a lack of Black unity for quite a while, and to see those dreams come together in a brawl was unexpected, but you could feel the elation that many Black folks felt that unity had finally happened.
It’s unfortunate that people have become so out of touch that animosity is one of the first responses from some people when approached with a reasonable request. It is as though people do not believe in cause and effect; it doesn’t take too much common sense to understand that violence begets violence. Warfare and evil actions have not solved the world’s problems. As we look around, violence is everywhere, yet problems prevail.
Regarding the brawl and its fallout, let’s hope it’s not a Pyrrhic victory where the repercussions of the brawl turn into something bigger and more menacing. (A Pyrrhic victory is one that inflicts such a devasting toll on the victor that it is tantamount to a defeat).
As mentioned earlier, a lot of people are already coming from a violent mindset and instead of people coming together, many are becoming more uncivil. It’s no secret there is a cadre of white supremacists waiting for the war between the races to happen.
Regarding the boat brawl incident…there is no question in the minds of many that the white guys who refused to move so the boat could dock were in the wrong. They are, therefore, seen as the villains in this scenario, and it will be interesting to see if a rational motive regarding their behavior surfaces.
In the meantime, the Black community should seize upon the opportunity of this unexpected “moment of unity” to change collective behavior. In other words, now that people have seen that unity is possible, let’s expand the idea of what that means, to begin or continue, the process of a genuine unity.
Turn that momentum into peace in Black communities; into economic development; into education that teaches real history; into making it safe for people to navigate city streets without being carjacked or mugged; into shopping at Black-owned businesses.
In a nutshell, this is a time of opportunity; a time to change the way the Black community relates to each other. Seeing that unity during the brawl can spark the imagination to see the possibilities of widening that vision to include the beginnings of a whole new Black ethos, one that is based in love and cooperation. The possibilities are there, waiting to manifest.
There is also another type of hope generated from the brawl fiasco. There were a lot of white people who saw the folly of the behavior of the white perpetrators, and have not responded with anger toward the Black men who jumped into the fray to defend and assist their brethren.
Let’s hope there are enough reasonable people like this who can serve as allies to help change American culture to something more humane. We must reach an understanding that a scorched earth policy, one based on separation and violence, can result in a situation that will be catastrophic for all of us, regardless of race, color or creed.
Yes, some good could possibly come from the “brawl.” Let’s hope it outweighs the bad. A Luta Continua.
