The Montgomery Riverboat Brawl remains one of the most engaging moments in recent Black history. The image of a Black man slamming a chair onto a White woman galvanized the entire community. Now, nearly four months after the incident, two of the central figures are fighting back against those who have profited off of their likeness.
I don’t know about y’all, but I saw a lot of people on social media who started to promote various types of clothing items and merchandise that referenced the infamous brawl. Shirts with folding chairs on them that read, “Lift every voice and swing;” items with the multiple Black men swimming across the river to join in the fight; cups that read, “The Sweet Tea Party.”
People saw the opportunity to make a penny and took it.
But after months of silence, Reggie Ray, the man who was charged with hitting a white woman with a folding chair, and Tammie Howard are working with an attorney to start their own clothing line and take legal action against those who have used their likeness without their consent.
Attorney Jehan “J” Carter told TMZ that the duo is working to create their own merchandise due to seeing hundreds of others on Amazon and Etsy selling items that directly reference the incident (like the ones I referred to earlier).
Ray and Howard are calling their line the “Alabama Brawl Collection,” and it includes a series of socks, T-shirts, bags, sweaters, hoodies, hats, mugs, and water bottles. The items include multiple phrases, including: “Fade In The Water,” “Chairman For Justice,” “Let Freedom Swing,” and “Lift Every Chair and Swing.”
All items are being sold on www.theblacklawyers.com.
The duo will also have legal smoke for all parties who think it’s fine to continue releasing merch without their consent.