Article Review: The Raging Silence By Matthew Teague

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The city of Philadelphia is recognized for its rich historical foundings; home of the Liberty Bell, site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and home to founding father, Benjamin Franklin. In his article “The Raging Silence,” Matthew Teague provides an overview of the buildup of violence in the city, as well as a brief history. The area of North Philadelphia was, once, a pillar of power and charm. Immigrant industrialists, usually German Jews, developed a strong and affluent community with elaborate homes, good restaurants, and nightclubs with new music called jazz filling the streets. Soon industry in the city began to fade as factories and their owners left. Jazz persisted. The area changed into a predominantly middle class,

It was still a thriving place with soulful music spilling out of the shops and clubs. On warm spring days, people would gather in the ballpark on Lehigh Avenue and enjoy the Phillies play. (Teague). Despite Philadelphia’s prominent place in American history, its good reputation, recently, has been tarnished by the significant amount of violence that occurred there. The area of North Philadelphia, specifically, has experienced the most amount of violence. The accumulation of violent events that occurred in Philadelphia has created an atmosphere of fear and mistrust leading to the boldness of offenders. The Odessa Bradford incident in 1964 foreshadowed the vicious actions that lead to the death of a third-grader. ✔️
One of the first violent act that lead to the partition of law enforcement and members of the community and the eventual boldness criminals was the Odessa Bradford incident. It all started in August 1964, “when a car broke down near the intersection of 22nd Street and Columbia Avenue. Two policemen — one white, one black —

This divide continued to grow as time went on. Criminals soon became aware of this rift. In his article “The Raging Silence,” Matthew Teague uncovers the truth behind the fatal shooting of Faheem Childs, a third-grader, at North Philadelphia’s Pierce Elementary School caused by gang violence. The gunmen were said to be shooting in broad daylight in front of multiple witnesses. Yet “the officer noted that no one was stepping forward to tell him what had happened; the shooters had melted into the silent crowd.”(Teague). When one of the gunmen, Kennell Spady, the friend of gang leader Kareem Johnson, was apprehended, he exhibited an extremely lax behavior while in his interview at the police station. Spady described the schoolyard shooting in “ the breeziest way, as though telling his friends about a faintly awkward blind date”(Teague). Throughout the interview process, Spady was relaxed until he demonstrated how he carried his carbine rifle, “He looked like he was demonstrating a clever way to sneak a candy bar into the movies, instead of a rifle into a school zone” (Teague). The confidence of the shooters reveals the fearlessness of their characters, as well as how broken the community is. “District Attorney Lynne Abraham called this moment a historical ‘tipping point’ that announced the new boldness of criminals in Philadelphia” (Teague). The gangsters “‘acted in broad daylight, surrounded