If you haven’t heard already, there was a brawl in Montgomery, Alabama that started between a group of white boaters and one African American cruise boat worker, catapulting several Black boaters and onlookers coming to the employee’s defense, resulting in a huge, chaotic fight. The August 2023 fist (and folding chair) fight on the popular Montgomery riverfront is just one of a centuries-long battle African Americans have faced due to oppression and attacks from white Americans. However, the fight on Aug. 5 is also an example of Black Alabamians’ long history of boldly combating injustices.
Just two days before the Saturday ruckus, on Thursday, Aug. 3, while at the 2023 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Birmingham, Alabama, writer and podcast host Panama Jackson hosted a live recording of his podcast “Dear Culture,” with The Grio’s Michael Harriot and The Daily Show Correspondent and comedian Roy Wood Jr. At the beginning of the podcast, Jackson revealed the three had all lived in Alabama at one point in their lives. This revelation encouraged an insightful and often hilarious conversation on the beauty, strength and resilience of the state and her people— particularly Black Alabamians.
Harriot noted that Black people from Alabama have historically fought back.
“Black people here will fight,” Harriot said. “It’s because the people here fight back [that Alabama has its reputation].”
In the 1950s and 60s, Alabama became the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott (December 1955– December 1956), to the tragic bombing in Birmingham at the 16th Street Baptist Church (September 1963), and the Selma marches (March 1965), Black Alabama, like much of Black America, proved to be under serious attack. However, despite racism, the state also became a place for organizing, action and propelling change.
After gaining a deeper appreciation for the state due to attending the “Dear Culture,” recording, spending time there, and considering Harriot’s notion of Black people in Alabama historically fighting back, the Aug. 5 brawl was truly no surprise.
If the 2020 organizing and protests against police brutality post the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and more weren’t a sign that Americans, in general, have had enough of systemic racism, the fight in Montgomery was a reminder. While the Informer does not endorse violence, standing up for what is right and just is always encouraged.
It’s important to take note of this: as Black Alabamians have done historically and demonstrated to this day, there is great power in unity, which is key in combatting racist attacks.
karma