Philadelphia imposes curfew amid unrest following police shooting
The mayor’s office of the US east coast city of Philadelphia said Wednesday that a citywide curfew would be put in place overnight in an attempt to quell two nights of unrest following the police shooting of a Black man.
The curfew will begin on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. local time through 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning, according to the mayor’s office website. Grocery stores, restaurants and pharmacies have the option to operate delivery services.
On Monday, 27-year-old Walter Wallace was shot to death by police following an altercation during which authorities say he ignored orders to drop a knife.
Man had ‘mental health’ problems
Wallace’s family said he was experiencing ongoing mental health problems, and that they had called an ambulance as Wallace was having an episode.
The scene following the police shooting of Walter Wallace on Monday
The family’s lawyer, Shaka Johnson, said that Philadelphia police officers are not properly trained on handling mental health crises.
“When you come to a scene where somebody is in a mental crisis, and the only tool you have to deal with it is a gun … where are the proper tools for the job?” she said.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the department will release 911 tapes and footage from police body cameras “in the near future.”
Read more: Opinion: Black Lives Matter protests are not enough for long-term results
Ongoing unrest
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Philadelphia, a city with over 1.5 million people, since Monday’s shooting.
There have been clashes with police and reports of shops damaged by looting. City officials said they estimate that about 1,000 people were involved in looting on Tuesday night.
“These individuals are doing nothing but simply wasting our precious resources,” Police Commissioner Outlaw told a press briefing, describing the “widespread lawlessness” in the city.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
‘Necessary trouble’
The image of civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis, who died on July 17, is projected onto the statue of Confederate Robert Lee in Richmond, Virginia. A champion of non-violent protest, he attended the 1963 March on Washington and played a key role in abolishing racial segregation. He famously declared: “Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
‘A voteless people is a hopeless people’
Amelia Boynton Robinson was a civil rights pioneer who fought for voting rights for African Americans. She helped organize a 5-day civil rights march from the city of Selma to Montgomery in Alabama in March 1965. During the protest, Robinson and others were brutally beaten by state police. Images of what became known as Bloody Sunday went around the world.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
‘The right man and the right place’
Thurgood Marshall, pictured here in 1957, was the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court. Announcing his pick, US President Lyndon B. Johnson declared it was “the right thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man and the right place.” Marshall, who was born in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, successfully fought against the racial segregation of US schools and universities.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
‘Tired of giving in’
Rosa Parks made history, when on December 1, 1955, she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. Her subsequent arrest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, led by Martin Luther King. The 385 days of protest proved effective when on November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling declaring segregated busses unconstitutional in Alabama and Montgomery.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
‘I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the promised land’
Martin Luther King at Memphis’ Lorraine Motel, on the day of his killing on April 4, 1968. One day earlier, King famously said: “I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land.” Also pictured (to King’s left): Civil rights activist Hosea Williams and Baptist minister Jesse Jackson, to his right, Ralph Abernathy.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
Civil Rights Ambassador Young
Andrew Jackson Young was in Memphis, Tennessee, on the day of Martin Luther King’s murder. The politician, civil rights leader, and clergyman had joined King in leading the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1967, President-elect Jimmy Carter nominated Young as the US ambassador to the United Nations. In 1981, he was elected mayor of Atlanta.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
‘We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us’
Malcolm Little, better known as Malcolm X (left), rejected Martin Luther King’s notion of non-violent protest. He was portrayed by actor Denzel Washington (right) in Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic “Malcolm X.” Once the African American leader of Nation of Islam, he later abandoned the organization, becoming one of its most fervent critics. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
‘My faith in the Constitution is whole’
Barbara Jordan was the first woman and the first African American keynote speaker at a Democratic National Convention. In 1974, the attorney, legislator, and educator declared in the House of Representatives that “my faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total.”
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
A jazz and civil rights icon
Ella Fitzgerald, born in a New York suburb in 1917, was not only a jazz but also a civil rights icon. Fitzgerald, who won 13 Grammys and sold some 40 million records, always insisted musicians touring with her be treated equally, regardless of their skin color. She was the first African American woman to perform at Los Angeles’ Mocambo night club after actress Marilyn Monroe publicly backed her.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
Strong, black women
Novelist Alice Walker became involved in the US civil rights movement in the 1960s. She was just 17 when she joined the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Walker’s novels feature strong, black women. And her work The Color Purple won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
An outspoken activist
Baptist minister Al Sharpton speaking at George Floyd’s funeral service. In 2004, Sharpton was a Democratic candidate for the presidential race. Two years later, in 2006, he led a protest march in honor of Sean Bell, a 23-year-old African American who had been shot dead by police. Al Sharpton is an outspoken and at times controversial activist.
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#BlackLivesMatter: Key figures in the US civil rights movement
Kings of hope
US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama visited a Washington homeless shelter in January 2017, where they helped finish a mural of Martin Luther King. Obama was the first-ever African American to be elected president of the United States.
Philadelphia police reported 81 arrests overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday, including eight for assaulting police, 53 for burglary and one for arson. Dozens of police officers were treated for minor injuries.
Pennsylvania officials have said the National Guard is due to arrive in the next few days to focus on guarding infrastructure.
Candidates denounce violence
Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden said Wednesday that there is “no excuse whatsoever” for looting and violence, while expressing support for “legitimate” protests. Biden said he would look into ways to prevent police shootings if elected.
Following a campaign event Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said the looting was “terrible.”
Read more: US election: Trump bets on law-and-order campaign, again
“The mayor, or whoever it is that’s allowing people to riot and loot and not stop them, is just a horrible thing,” Trump told reporters. “You can’t let that go on,” he added.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, said Tuesday that although there are “a lot of peaceful protesters,” vandalism and violence is “not an acceptable form” of protest.
wmr/sri (Reuters, AFP, AP)
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