Thread by @RetroReport

1/9 A statue of Frank #Rizzo, Philadelphia’s former police chief turned “law-and-order” mayor, was taken down from across City Hall after years of complaints that it was a monument to brutal, racist policing. It had become a rallying point for protestors. #Philadelphiaprotest

2/9 Rizzo rose to power during the fight for civil rights in the 1960s. As manufacturing left Philadelphia, he stoked a blue-collar conservatism that found intense support in white ethnic neighborhoods. Like President Trump, he styled himself as a straight talker.

3/9 Rizzo’s way with words was so remarkable even his opponents cashed in. In 1977, a chapter of the liberal group @ADAction published an anthology of Rizzo’s wildest quotes, “The Sayings of Chairman Frank, or I Never Saw My Mother Naked.” Some excerpts:

4/9 Rizzo delighted in goading his political rivals, declaring during his 1972 mayoral run: “I'll give you $5 for every liberal who jumps off the Walnut Street Bridge when I'm elected." He said his goal was "to prevent the do-gooders and ultra-liberals from taking over.”

5/9 Rizzo had a tense relationship with Philadelphia’s black community. In 1970, he ordered a raid of a local Black Panther office, saying they “should be strung up,” adding, “I mean, within the law." Later in his career he would tell Philadelphians to “vote white.”

6/9 Rizzo seemed to be fueled by the fight. Heading into re-election for a second term as mayor, he promised: "Just wait after November, you'll have a front row seat because I'm going to make Attila the Hun look like a faggot."

7/9 Rizzo lashed out at the press, accusing the local papers of a vendetta against him. "I'm convinced The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News are against ethnic groups,” he said, adding “The Philadelphia Inquirer is out to destroy me and at the same time destroy Philadelphia."

8/9 Rizzo claimed to have “great confidence” in polygraph tests as an investigative tool. “If this machine says a man lies, he lied." After failing the test himself, he said "this examination is not worth the paper it's written on."

9/9 Rizzo’s image as a brawler against the forces of social change retains support from some Philadelphians, and moving his statue was a political football until the city acted this week. A mural over the city’s Italian Market may be next to go, @PhillyInquirer has reported.