A past not easily forgotten...
06.032008
Our recent posting about the South Philly Biennial has no intentions to be offensive in any way. Although, our installation is about South Philly's quirky custom of chaining chairs to the hand bar of a front stoop, we at 1026 understand how the grand image of Frank Rizzo serving as the backdrop, in our last blog entry, carries an evocative history that cannot be ignored.
As a local Philadelphian my blood often boils after confronting images of our former mayor, Frank Rizzo. It's a weird feeling to have, as I tend to carry thick-skinned sensitivity regarding such controversial figures. Yet, I think it's the nature of his position in Philadelphia's history that brings to the forefront an ambivalence surrounding many of our city's transgressions (past and present).
Many transplants to Philadelphia are not as familiar with these injustices, which are often attenuated in public discourse, and even...public art works (e.g. mural art).
It was my grandfather, my father, my uncles, aunt, and often parents of my friends that educated me about Philadelphia, it's history, as well as how to transcend some of the limitations that have resulted from that history. This collective education–rooted in personal stories of my elders–informed me a great deal of the level of corruption that existed under the supervision of Frank Rizzo. Rizzo was a corrupt Police Chief and politician whose pernicious influences encouraged police brutality and hate crimes in Philadelphia. Many times over the victims of these acts were members of minority groups such as gays, Asian-Americans, Latinos, Hispanics, Blacks, and African-Americans.
During his "public-service," Philadelphia was known to have one of the most corrupt police forces in the nation. A force that dutifully harassed gays; beat, and humiliated innocent persons of color; and racially profiled and illegally documented new immigrants. When Rizzo became the Mayor of Philadelphia, his crimes were extended to citywide extortion (the beginnings of what many have come to understand as the "pay-to-play" system in Philadelphia politics).
It is with this understanding that I felt a need to clarify the conscientiousness of the 1026 community. It is our understanding that any reification of the Rizzo legacy is similar to raising a Confederate flag; as it promotes an outdated world-view that doesn't apply to the collective community building beliefs shared in our space. With that said, we believe and support the freedom of speech without censorship. Nevertheless we understand that images and representations carry strains of history that can prick, provoke, and implicate social contexts that are not popular (some that would rather be forgotten). However, we do not, and will never forget....with hopes not to repeat or condone social troubles with ethnic difference, and economic equality.
Posted by HAo on 06.03.2008 in illadelphia
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