June 3, 2020

The Frank Rizzo statue was removed from the Municipal Services Plaza overnight. You don't have to be from Philadelphia to understand what this means to Philadelphians. Via the Daily Beast:

Rizzo, who served as police commissioner from 1967 to 1971 and mayor from 1972 to 1980, oversaw a legacy of police brutality in the city and of discrimination against minorities. In 1971, he publicly urged supporters to “Vote White.” NBC Philadelphia reports that a crew arrived just after midnight Wednesday to remove the statue from the steps of the city’s Municipal Services Building. Members of the National Guard reportedly surrounded the area as work began. Shortly before 2 a.m., a truck drove off with the statue. City mayor Jim Kenney posted a photo of the empty spot early Wednesday alongside the caption: “The statue represented bigotry, hatred, and oppression for too many people, for too long. It is finally gone.”

Christine Flowers, a former conservative columnist who's frequently ridiculed, will mourn but I don't think that many people will:

Believe it or not, back in the day, Andrea Mitchell went head to head with Rizzo all the time -- who famously called her a "two dollar whore":

After all these years, Frank still serves a useful purpose. When I meet a neighbor who brings up Frank Rizzo in an admiring way, I know we're not going to be friends.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon