Philadelphia mayor: Time to discuss future of Rizzo statue

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Updated 10:38 am, Wednesday, August 16, 2017


PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The mayor of Philadelphia says the city should discuss the future of a statue of one of his predecessors after reports of possible vandalism and a city councilwoman's call for its removal.

Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney said Tuesday now is the "right time" for a conversation about the statue of Frank Rizzo, a former mayor and police commissioner who critics say reigned over the city when police brutality was the accepted norm.
 
The talk comes days after a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that was sparked by the planned removal of a Confederate statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee, and as cities and institutions across the country are tackling how to handle monuments linked to racism and other emotionally charged issues.
 
Philadelphia has long tried to reconcile the complicated legacy of Rizzo, who served as mayor from 1972 to 1980 and who died of a heart attack in 1991. His friends, family and fans remember him as a devoted public servant unafraid to speak his mind. His detractors saw his police force as corrupt and brutal and said Rizzo alienated minorities both as police commissioner and mayor.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Philadelphia-mayor-Time-to-discuss-future-of-11822631.php

[SaveOurDemocracy]

1. Rizzo was a thug and his "Blue Army" defined police brutality.

[bobbieinok]

2. Was he in charge

when Philadelphia bombed the buildings where black families were protesting?

Don't remember much about this. I was told that in an article about this written years later, the author said that this bombing was one of only 2 incidents when US police bombed people in their city. The other event was during the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 when areas of North Tulsa (until the late 1950s the only part of Tulsa where blacks could live) were bombed by prop planes. The business area of North Tulsa was known as the Black Wall Street until its destruction in the Race Riot.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. No. The MOVE thing happened under W. Wilson Goode.

And the C4 drop on the "bunker" was done by the state (GOPer Dick Thornburgh was governor).

Rizzo was the douchebag that ordered strip searches of young black men in the streets and sometimes the pics would appear on the front page of the local tabloid - the Philalephia Daily News. He had been Police Commissioner before becoming Mayor and then tried to get a 3rd term (like Bloomberg did) but the referendum voted that down 2-1.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. They need to put it somewhere down in South Philly where he was from.

When I was looking this story up, I didn't realize what folks were doing to the thing!




Yay at this!

[BigmanPigman]

5. I took out an old (Aug 1974) copy of the Philadelphia Inquirer that I saved

since it is from the day Nixon resigned and the font is about 3". On page 2 there is a nasty article about Rizzo trying to strengthen the executive branch of the city government. My parents bitched about him the whole time I was growing up.

[Blue_Tires]

6. that's gonna be a sticky wicket...