Scenes from the Black Israelites' Holiday Display
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Besides their usual flashy garb, poster-size photos of mangled fetuses and microphone-enhanced religio-political message, the Black Israelites today worked a noosed Santa (and a humiliated virgin Mary) into their presentation at 16th and Chestnut.
Besides their usual flashy garb, poster-size photos of mangled fetuses and microphone-enhanced religio-political message, the Black Israelites today worked a noosed Santa (and a possibly-noosed virgin Mary) into their presentation at 16th and Chestnut.
A guy in a Santa hat tried to engage them in an argument and told them they were racists, which I think they know or have at least heard before. But they believe in the rhetorical power of repeating yourself, so argue on, Santa man, argue on.
I felt pretty bad for the Salvation Army lady whose post was mere feet from the stage, her bell mostly drowned out by prophecies of white people becoming slaves sometime soon.
