By: Eric Xu
Recently, on August 5th, a riverfront brawl in Alabama took place. It stirred up social media greatly and is still under investigation. Five people have been convicted of different degrees of assault, and the factors that led up to this event are important factors.
Racial inequality has been a problem for the United States ever since the beginning of its creation. Black people have been treated unfairly for many centuries, and the effects are still evident in today’s society. Racism persists in the contemporary U.S., which leads to multiple fights and pervasive injustice. Even though we have made progress over the last two centuries, there are still instances where white people attack black people, such as the Montgomery Riverfront Brawl.
This brawl started when three white people attacked a black captain of a ship. The black captain of the Harriott II, a cruise ship, needed to go to the Alabama river. He was blocked by some white boaters, who refused to move out of the way. When he tried to go to them to ask, they responded with cursing, gestures and taunting. This led to the white boaters trying to beat up the captain, and other people decided to come and help the fight. Videos were uploaded to social media, which caused a large response. Many people spread this story, and soon a huge portion of social media knew about this event. Their opinions slightly swayed the views of viewers, and helped authorities understand the situation better. One man who helped was Reggie Ray, a black man who used a chair to defend himself and others. Four other people were found guilty and convicted of different crimes. Mr. Todd and Mr. Shipman were each charged with one count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Mr. Roberts was charged with two counts of third-degree assault; and Ms. Todd was charged with third-degree assault. Mr. Ray turned himself in, only receiving disorderly conduct.
This fight that took place has helped raise awareness that racism has not ended yet, and still is evident in some places. This brawl is still being investigated, and as more details are being uncovered, the more people will learn about this event.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/us/montgomery-riverfront-brawl-charges.html