South Philly, explained - Philadelphia Weekly - 0 views
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shared by Ed Webb on 20 Jun 20
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South Philadelphia neighborhoods remain extremely segregated. Girard Estates, a largely Italian American pocket of South Philly, is 91.8 percent white, and Packer Park isn’t far behind at 80 percent white, per US Census Data. On the other hand, poorer neighborhoods like Point Breeze, Grays Ferry, and Southwest Philadelphia, are about 70 percent Black.
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To some South Philly Italians, removing the Rizzo statue was a personal attack to their identity. Many Philadelphians remember Rizzo as a racist who told voters to “vote white” and encouraged Philly police to use excessive force, but South Philly Italians see him as a no-nonsense tough guy who stood up – for them.
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Much like Frank Rizzo, white residents of South Philadelphia gave up on the Democratic Party as it began to signal race in politics and failed to address their needs. In 2016, there was a dramatic shift in mostly white neighborhoods (South and Northeast Philly) to vote for Donald Trump.
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Feelings of resentment toward an ineffective Democratic Party and the blackness of popular culture, along with major demographic shifts visible in their everyday lives led South Philly Italians to the Christopher Columbus Statue on June 13
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The truth is, all of South Philadelphia has been left behind. Years of ineffective governance and corporations reaching to maximize profits have left the majority of America behind. In June 2020, the response of many Americans to the significant amount of injustice in the world was to stand together with the Black Lives Matter movement; to South Philly Italians this was salt in the wound.
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On Sunday, June 14, hundreds of white South Philadelphia residents congregated at the statue of Christopher Columbus to prevent it from being torn down. Armed with knives, bats, guns, and a myriad of blunt objects, they stood there, waiting for someone to let out their anger. The “statue protectors” were out bright and early, drinking like it was a Phillies tailgate
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Not one word was spoken about the merits of Christopher Columbus. The South Philly Italians sang “Happy Birthday” to Donald Trump, begged counter-protesters to fight them, and assaulted a number of people. The Philadelphia Police stood idly by as the South Philly residents got drunker and drunker. Multiple times things got violent. A journalist from Unicorn Riot was chased into the street and attacked, one man in a Frank Rizzo shirt smacked a counter-protester in the direct view of police officers, and little to nothing was done.
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No one in Philadelphia actually cares about Christopher Columbus. Saturday and Sunday were simply the boiling point for a chunk of the population desperate for a win in the culture war.