St. Petersburg's City Council members were plodding through a discussion over the possible development of a green parcel of land at 66th Street and Ninth Avenue North when there was a sudden commotion.
Activists from the African People's Socialist Party, better known as the Uhurus, had stormed council chambers, and immediately began shouting about the city's treatment of African Americans. They heralded a decades-old act of civil disobedience in which Uhuru founder Omali Yeshitela (neé Joe Waller) tore down an objectively racist mural at City Hall that depicted African Americans in a derogatory way.
"Tear it down!" they shouted, along with other phrases that were hard to make out over the cacophony.
Councilman Charlie Gerdes smiled and kept his cool.
"You know, it's way more effective if you do it in a way that's courteous and respectful," he said, trailing off when the shouting overpowered his voice.
"Wow," Gerdes said.
One of the activists left a bag in the room, sparking an evacuation of City Hall that lasted roughly 20 minutes.
St. Petersburg police confirmed on Twitter that the owner of the package was identified quickly and council resumed its meeting.
Incidentally, much of that meeting was going to consist of a discussion of a redevelopment plan for south St. Petersburg, a predominantly African-American area with economic and social conditions stemming from the very same institutional racism the Uhurus have railed against for decades.
This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2016.