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Walter Wallace Jr and West Philly History

By Beaudry Rae Allen, Laura Bang, and Deborah Bishov

 

Illustration of a smiling young Black man with shoulder-length locs. Text says “Walter Wallace Jr.” and “Black Disabled Lives Matter”

Illustration of a smiling young Black man with shoulder-length locs with text saying “Walter Wallace Jr.” and “Black Disabled Lives Matter” By Micah Bazant

This week we mourn and once again must grapple with the senseless killing of a black person by the police, this time in Philadelphia. Walter Wallace Jr. was gunned down by Philadelphia Police on the 6100 block of Locust Street, despite the fact that his family had called for an ambulance and begged the police not to shoot, because he was experiencing a mental health crisis. The events unfolding are not a microcosm, but they highlight issues around race, police brutality, and mental health services in our communities.

The use of excessive force by the police, particularly in this geographic location, is sadly not an anomaly and sparks a reminder of the Philadelphia Police Department’s sordid history with the West Philadelphia community. Only a few blocks from the site of Wallace’s murder is the site of the 1985 MOVE bombing in which Philadelphia Police dropped a bomb on a residential home of the black liberation group MOVE. The bombing killed 6 adults and 5 children as well as destroying many homes in the area. If this is your first time reading about the MOVE bombings the library has many resources available to learn more about the events and how Philadelphia has been shaped by the events.

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Last Modified: October 30, 2020

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