Columbia Avenue Riots - Essay Example

full Columbia Avenue Riots (religion, theology, and politics Culture and Memory 28 November Introduction The history of black nationalism is closely intertwined with its religious movement. A close examination will reveal that the Civil Rights Movement had it origins in the roots of a religious awakening among the black Americans and the pulpit served as the political rallying point for black nationalism. Most leaders of the Civil Rights Movement were either pastors or had some links to religious movements in their area and during their era. This is probably due to many of the blacks were not registered as voters and so black churches were used to help in promoting black political consciousness. It seemed to be the only avenue open to them due to so many discriminatory laws and practices despite the passage of many laws outlawing black discrimination in social, political, and economic spheres of life. In other words, discrimination was back then and even until now a very persistent problem that defied easy solutions. The race riots in Philadelphia were caused by some black activists who hijacked the sentiments or resentments of black people against a lack of equality and used these for their own ends. Discussion The city of Philadelphia in the mid-twentieth century had been divided into the white Philadelphia (southern portion) and the black Philadelphia (northern portion). This division is not only geographic but also economic and ethnic because the white southern Philadelphia in many ways was vastly superior to its northern part. White people in the southern portion had a better life in terms of economic opportunities, nicer neighborhoods with less crime, and had a more than fair share of good-paying jobs. This situation can be contrasted with its southern counterpart which had cheap government housing, more crimes, and less jobs to be had. Philadelphia has a great tradition in American history as it was the preferred city of the countrys Founding Fathers who often met in this city. The Declaration of Independence was made in Philadelphia in 1776 as well as the signing of the American Constitution in 1787. It is known as a place of religious and racial tolerance because it welcomes successive waves of immigrants from Europe such as the Dutch, then the English, and then much later, Swedes. They were soon followed in the next century by the Scots, the Irish, and German immigrants. The next century saw new arrivals from southern and eastern Europe such as the Greeks, the Poles, Italians, and Hungarians. Philadelphia became the second-largest city on the eastern seaboard after New York City and rivals it in terms of ethnical and cultural diversity. At one time during its heyday, Philadelphia surpassed Boston as the chief seaport in America. It was not surprising that many freed black American slaves choose Philadelphia as their destination because of its good reputation for racial and religious tolerance. Those black Americans who escaped the intolerable conditions in the South during the Jim Crow era saw a beacon of hope and freedom in Philadelphia which literally means in Greek as brotherly love. The black Americans saw Philadelphia has a tradition of being the seat of independence and they also saw it an appropriate place to launch their fight for real independence and equality from the constraints of racial discrimination. The big number of blacks who went to this city became known in black American history as the Great Migration and they brought along with them their religious practices and congregations such as the Baptists and Methodists. The big and sudden increase in the black population of Philadelphia also contributed to its problems. Moreover, its black population is a big proportion of its total state population and at one time Philadelphia had the fourth-largest urban concentration of black Americans in the nation. The ethnic diversity of Philadelphia compares favorably with New York City and can be called as one of the “salad bowls”of America but this rich heritage of racial equality is an illusion. Northern cities such as Philadelphia became overpopulated as black Americans tried to find a better life up north. This created an oversupply of unskilled labor for most industries such as textiles and in other sectors where the jobs were dirty, dangerous, low-paying, and in most instances requiring very few skills.1 This was probably a big shock for most blacks who had a high regard for Philadelphia because it was one of the few states which had abolished slavery quite early back in 1779. Blacks moved north to escape slavery in the South but soon realized a new version of slavery was also very prevalent which is racial discrimination. An estimated eight million blacks moved north during the Great Migration and many of them were enticed by exaggerated and unfounded reports of a new climate of freedom that even allows a black man to “talk back” to a white man without any serious repercussions. But the rapid expansion of black populations in the northern industrial cities such as Philadelphia created tensions as discrimination persisted as social and cultural geography in this era show a clear distinction between what was perceived by blacks and what was the reality.2 There were many reasons for black Americans in the north to be disappointed because they found out the plight they now have was almost very similar to the situation obtaining in the South. The social and cultural mix in Philadelphia between the blacks and the whites was very volatile already in mid-1960s as job hiring and promotions were not only discriminatory but also its neighborhoods were segregated by race. The famous connotation of Philadelphia as a “liberated city” did not exist in reality but in name only. Its public education system was in many ways unequal and segregated too while the citys police force was mainly white and the citys resources were not utilized equally but allocated in a discriminatory manner also. Black churches and religious congregations in Philadelphia provided fellowship, order, and stability to northern blacks upon their arrival and made their transition much easier. However, even if most black religious ministers were the most educated among blacks, they still fell short of what was required in a volatile situation such as that obtaining back then. In a sense, they failed to provide the moral authority normally given in black communities in the South. Communal ties present in the rural South were not present in the urban North and this absence of a sense of community gave rise to “riot liturgy” in lieu of religious chants because it was the only way to promote black nationalism. In other words, civil rights activism in the North was done through non-religious political groups unlike in the South where black church leaders took the lead in the Civil Rights Movement. Such an abdication of moral leadership allowed the Philadelphia race riot to occur because there was a political power vacuum. Conclusion People like Muhammad, Hall, and Mobley stepped into this vacuum to promote their own kind of black militancy by using religious techniques to gain followers. In effect, they had taken over the role of the religious pastors to advance civil rights but using violent means to do so. Their agenda was clearly political in nature which was to push for black nationalism. In many cases, nationalism is equated with extremism and when combined with religion, it can result into fundamentalism and further radicalism that results in open violence.3 It seems that America even today has not really learned its lessons on racial or ethnic tolerance because many of the factors that caused the riot of Philadelphia in 1964 are present still in its midst. Economic hegemony by whites is still prevalent as well as the white police brutality complained so often by the black communities still happen from time to time. Works Cited Berlin, Ira. The Making of African America: The Four Great Migrations. New York, NY, USA: Viking Penguin Group, 2010. Print. Cooley, Kelly. Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Genocide: A Sociological Analysis of the Factors Contributing to the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust. Reno, NV, USA: University of Nevada (Reno), 1996. Print. Frazier, John W. and Eugene L. Tettey-Fio. Race, Ethnicity, and Place in a Changing America. New York, NY, USA: Global Academic Publishing, 2006. Print. Lyons, Courtney Ann. “Burning Columbia Avenue: Black Christianity, Black Nationalism, and Riot Liturgy in the 1964 Philadelphia Race Riot.” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 77.3 (2010): 324-348. Print. Due: November 29, 2014 @ 12:15 p.m. Read More