Still, Robbins said the goal of Sunday’s peace rally was not to make white people feel guilty, but rather to give Philly residents marching orders for how to create lasting change, the first of which was to vote in Tuesday’s primary.
“The power is in your vote,” Robbins said. “If you do not exercise your power, you are part of the problem.”
Harnessing the collective grief and anger being felt by the Black community, was chief among the recurring themes of the more than two-hour rally.
Fresh in the minds of organizers were the images of the looting and vandalism that had taken place Saturday night, and continued on Sunday, spreading to other neighborhoods in the city.
WURD host and WHYY columnist Solomon Jones said residents were right to be angry because Philly, like Minneapolis, has a police force that has long faced accusations of racism.
Residents need look no further than a series of misogynistic and racist Facebook posts made by more than 300 city police officers, which were made public by the Plainview Project. Following that revelation last year, Philly residents laid out their demands to the city, and more than a dozen officers were fired or chose to leave the force.
Jones urged protestors to make their demands clear once again.
“I understand people being angry and burning stuff down. I understand people being angry and looting. I understand people being angry and destroying stuff — but what is your agenda?” Jones asked the crowd. “Because if you don’t have any demands, guess what, power concedes nothing without a demand.”
Attendees like Taija-Dawn Coleman denounced the looting, but she said she understands why it’s happening.
“We’re tired of being killed, we are tired of being treated unjustly, we’re tired of literally fighting for human rights,” she said. “And the only way that it seems white people understand us is if they feel physically or financially unsafe.”