Rickey Smiley had a spiritual experience when he watched the viral video of white men jumping a Black security guard on a dock at Riverfront Park in Montgomery, Alabama.
Bystander footage of the brawl shows the guard informing the occupants of a pontoon that they needed to move their vessel to make way for a riverboat carrying several passengers. Instead of complying, one of the white men chose to charge at and strike the guard.
The park employee was quickly outnumbered when other white agitators joined in the scuffle. However, within minutes of witnessing the fight unfold, countless Black men came to the guard’s defense, taking aim at nearly any and every white person who made their way to the dock.
Countless people online have heralded the footage for showing how Black men can band together when an injustice is being enacted against one of their own. Others, like Smiley, have humorously expressed joy in seeing a WWF-esque scene unfold.
On Instagram, the radio show host shared his “sermon and prayer reaction” to the melee. He began, “I do not advocate violence at all, whatsoever. But today is the first time in my life I done seen a fight break out, and I got the Holy Ghost.”
He continued, “I done shouted, spoke in tongues, cursed, cussed, swung, swung in the air like that dude on ‘Boyz in the Hood,’ all the emotions wrapped up in one. I saw Moses part the Red Sea, I saw the trumpet blowing, the angels in the sky.”
Smiley made clear that he is not racist, but that “white folks” felt entitled to attack the guard, similar to times of segregation in the Deep South. He also alluded to a recent political rally possibly being a contributing factor to the onset of the showdown. The brawl reportedly followed a Republican Party summer dinner in Montgomery, which included former President Donald Trump and his supporters.
“See, Trump just did a rally in Montgomery, and see, when Trump leave town, or Trump come to town, they get to feeling theyself … They messed around and found out,” said Smiley. Elsewhere in the video, he gave a play-by-play of the fight, noting the Black 16-year-old who swam to the dock to defend the guard.
According to The Selma Times-Journal, one of the white men who allegedly assaulted the guard has been identified as Chase Shipman, the owner of Vasser’s Mini Mart. He reportedly shared footage of the physical altercation on social media. In the aftermath, his business has been flooded with bad reviews and criticism for his alleged involvement.
Police confirmed that multiple arrests were made and that warrants also have been issued.
