The highlight of last week’s Philadelphia City Council meeting was the passage of a law banning ski masks…and the sermon that proceeded it.
By Denise Clay-Murray
One of my favorite parts of any Philadelphia City Council meeting is the public comment section.
That’s the moment when Philadelphia’s citizens get to weigh in on an issue that Council is taking on that day. While you have some folks that think that they should be allowed to get on the microphone and riff about anything they want, Council President Darrell Clarke ain’t trying to hear that.
Usually, public comment is where you get the best speeches. There’s something that happens when people who may not have spent much time in the room where it happens, get their moment in the sun.
But last Thursday, Councilmember Anthony Phillips did something that rivaled the best of the city’s public commenters when he gave a speech regarding the ski mask ban that Council passed by a 13-2 vote.
He gave the Sermon on the Mount.
(Or more correctly, the Sermon Of The Mask…)
Phillips introduced the bill back in June due to requests from constituents, particularly senior citizens, who feared young people in masks committing crime. Under the ban, walking into a public space like a day care center, a park, a school or even City Hall or a SEPTA train can cost you $250 if you walk into those spaces wearing a ski mask. There are exceptions for protests (or First Amendment activities) and religious observances.
During public comment, a lot of folks, most of them civil liberties and defense attorneys, took to the mic to talk about the myriad of ways that this bill is going to cause more problems than it solves. Many of them said that the ban would create another means of criminalizing the style of young Black men.
On some level, I think Phillips took that personally.
When he started his speech with the phrase “This is a good afternoon…”, you kind of knew where this was going. Calling the ban “a piece of legislation that will return power and safety to the people,” Phillips said that the legislation had been carefully considered and it was the kind of thing that the residents of the city had sent them to Council to do.
“We must do our duty and place the highest premium on restoring public trust by having safer communities,” he said.
Had he left it at that, it probably would have been okay. But he kept talking. And talking. And talking…
When he started quoting poet and novelist Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s “We Wear The Mask”, which had nothing to do with actually wearing masks by the way, my eyes glazed over.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I understand that Philadelphia has a pretty serious crime problem that doesn’t need to add masked marauders to it. Macy’s in Center City was closed for two days due to an attempted shoplifting that turned into a murder.
But I can’t help but think that this law wasn’t worth the 10-minute recitation that Phillips gave to it, especially since there’s more than a few holes in it.
Do you know many kids who have the $250 fine? No? Well, I don’t either. And because of this, we’re going to have a lot of young people that are going to get hit with fines and fees for nonpayment. How is this law going to be enforced in a way that doesn’t cost the city millions of dollars lawsuit settlements due to the Philadelphia Police Department’s “knucklehead contingent”?
And last, but not least, name one occasion where criminalizing clothing has stopped crime. I’ll wait.
One of the biggest problems that the city’s new elected officials are going to face is the problem of stopping crime. Philly didn’t get this way overnight, and the problem won’t be solved that quickly either.
But it really won’t get solved if the way we choose to solve it is through what I’d like to call “Jesus is coming! Look busy!” legislation.
I understand the councilmembers passion on this issue.
I just believe that in the end it’s going to be shown to be a little misplaced.
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the article belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, The Philadelphia Sunday SUN, the author’s organization, committee or other group or individual.
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