(Part II of my thread of my conversation with Herbert Hawkins): Under Rizzo "Police harassment was a normal thing. I think in a lot of cases it was something they felt they was supposed to do. There was a special unit called civil disobedience. We got to be quite personal w/them"
"They knew all of us, we knew all of them. It was very hostile. They didn’t like us. We didn’t like them. There was blacks in the unit. They thought we were anarchists, we thought they were pigs. "
I asked what he thought of this year's protests:
"It gives me some hope but I know there’s so many different ills that plague the black community that police brutality is only one aspect. It might be the most detrimental because they take black lives."
"It gives me some hope but I know there’s so many different ills that plague the black community that police brutality is only one aspect. It might be the most detrimental because they take black lives."
"But the effect of drugs and the influx of guns to our young people is just another ill. The Trumps, the Rizzos, use our young people to gain the upper hand. They used that against us. I think white America basically fears black men, especially our young hood wearing youth."
"I believe the majority of black youth work, go to school, but we got a good percentage that get caught up in the bling bling of the whole drug culture. Fear promotes this whole racism, the fear that we’re taking their jobs, the fear that we’re going to rob them."
"It’s the fear of what blacks are capable of doing. And that’s the whole platform, to promote that racist image. And coupled with the institutional racism, we still have a hell of an uphill fight."
I asked him what the best way to fight is: "We believed in trying to get out true information. If you get out the right information you hope that intelligence will take over."
" I think Trump winning the election is a prime example (of fear). I think Trump’s a bully and America thinks that’s the answer to their problems. Go around bullying other countries, bullying black people. Just get them in line. That’s what he’s saying now."
On watching Rizzo get elected mayor:
"I’ll never forget that night he won. I was ready to pack my bags and get the hell out of here."
I asked what kept him.
"I’m Philadelphia to the bone."
"I’ll never forget that night he won. I was ready to pack my bags and get the hell out of here."
I asked what kept him.
"I’m Philadelphia to the bone."
He left the Black Panthers in 1971 and started a chapter of the Black United Liberation Front.
In 1976, he left that group to raise his six kids. He went on to be a master plumber and worked 22 years at the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
He's now a grandpa of 11.
In 1976, he left that group to raise his six kids. He went on to be a master plumber and worked 22 years at the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
He's now a grandpa of 11.
"I see Trump as the new national Rizzo. They both bring the racism out. Racists feel more comfortable operating under their leadership. I think they feel they’re not going to be prosecuted."
"The smart phone makes all the difference in the world. It takes unbelievable videos and that’s the only difference. There’s nothing new out here."
I can't thank Herbert enough for sharing his story with me. It's only been through listening to the stories of others - especially people who don't look like me - that I've ever learned anything.
To close, I'll just add that it brought me great joy when Herbert's cell phone rang and the ringtone was DMX's "One More Road to Cross."
