The story of Andre Martin demonstrates how institutional racism and the failure of criminal reform for juveniles have contributed to the cycle of police-community violence.[10] During the late 1960s and early 1970s, as a means to address increasing juvenile crime in the city, both the Black Panther Party and the city’s Police Athletic League stretched to address the perceived crisis. The resulting efforts and subsequent rivalry demonstrated the very different approaches both groups took to combat the socioeconomic barriers African American youth faced, while also emphasizing the inability of the police department to reduce police brutality or improve the lives of marginalized residents. During the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, America witnessed peaceful protests for racial equality and socioeconomic inclusivity through social and legal channels. However, police brutality against black demonstrators and criminal suspects sparked a nationwide outbreak of over 200 race riots.[11] Locally, the 1964 Columbia Avenue Riots in North Philadelphia began over the false rumor that a white policeman had beaten a pregnant black woman to death. During the two-day riot, 1,800 officers were called to stop the uprising after African American residents burned cars, destroyed and looted more than 200 white businesses, and fought with police.[12]
Amidst this period of social unrest, many city officials often conflated civil rights protestors, rioters, and gang members into a single entity that was a constant nuisance for the police. Nationwide, there was increasing pressure on local politicians to support tough on crime policing to control gangs and eliminate crime rather than invest in social welfare programs.[13] Police soon became militarized, and schools, streets, mass transportation, and housing projects inhabited by African Americans became criminalized.[14] Additionally, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society programs, War on Poverty and War on Crime, led politicians to debate how to reduce crime under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.[15] Conservatives argued police departments should receive the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) grant to spend on strengthening their crime-fighting methods. Conversely, liberals lobbied to finance social uplift programs that would gradually rectify urban poverty and effectively reduce crime.[16] However, influential politicians like Frank L. Rizzo refused to believe that curing the social ills of poverty, unemployment, school dropouts, and gang violence would result in massive crime reduction.