A History of Resistance to Policing in Philadelphia

By Arturo Castillon

Relations of Power and Force

One night in April 1936 on South Street, at the time a black neighborhood in Philadelphia, a large gathering of youths surrounded a white policeman who had struck Luke Carter, a black man, for no apparent reason. The group demanded Carter’s release and argued that the officer was drunk. The cop in question called the riot squad and when they arrived Carter was arrested with two of his defenders from the crowd. A newspaper account of this incident would describe the spontaneous formation on the street as an “irate mob,” while, of course, no such negative characterizations would be made of the belligerent police. The use of violence by the police is presumed legitimate.[1] What constitutes the realm of legitimated force? How can it change?
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