It’s a familiar story to those of us in Philadelphia, but one important to remember in full.

Around dusk, the peaceful protests and marches that took place downtown throughout the day morphed into waves of vandalism of local businesses in Center City. The corporate retail stores lining Walnut and Chestnut streets were damaged, and in some instances ransacked. As the night grew darker and vandals left storefronts a horrid shambles of broken glass and toppled over window displays, a surreal air permeated the city. But the damage was far from over.

The weekend of May 29 was a tumultuous one in cities nationwide. Four days prior, on Memorial Day, George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, the latest victim of disproportionate police brutality waged against Black Americans. While national news fixated on protesters taking a stand in Minneapolis in the days that followed, Philadelphia was mostly calm.

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