montgomery riverboat song

‘Black Aquaman’: Riverboat crew member who swam into brawl on dock branded hero

The footage is all over the internet..

David Covucci

An apparent crew member of a riverboat in Alabama became a breakout internet sensation after he swam to the rescue of a co-worker who was being attacked by a group of pontoon boaters.

For his efforts, he’s been dubbed “Black Aquaman,” among a series of other nicknames.

Riverboat fight videos explode online

The viral drama went down Saturday night in Montgomery, Alabama, and according to a series of videos and reports, a group of boaters refused to remove their pontoon boat from a pier where the city’s riverboat, the Harriot II, was supposed to dock.

Watching from the riverboat, a number of people began chanting the lyrics “Move, Bitch,” a popular song by Ludacris, at the pontoon boaters, ratcheting up the tense environment.

Attempting to move the pontoon himself, a Black staffer was then assaulted by the white group.

@ace876media.ent1 This is how it started #MontgomeryRiverfront #BoatBrawl ♬ original sound – Ace876media

As the fight played out, one of the crew members appears to have leaped off the riverboat and swum to the dock to aid in the fight.

Black Aquaman gone get in hella trouble once his momma catch him pic.twitter.com/WxgOkPzExF — Wekglobal (@wekglobal) August 7, 2023

The crew members of the riverboard, along with others on the boat after it docked, then went to confront the owners of the pontoon boat, where another skirmish broke out.

In it, what appears to be a crew member of the riverboat throws a woman into the water, as police struggle to contain the situation.

@barcardg #AlabamaBoatBrawl #Brawl #BoatCruise #BoatsOfTikTok #Boats #BoatsGoneWild #MontgomeryBoatRide #BoysGoneWild #BlackTikTok #BlackTikTokCommmunity #BarCar Ⓜ️EⓂ️🅿️HIS GO FOLLOW ME ON #FB @ #BarCarPromotions FOR MORE #Blogs & #GirlzFromTheHood GO FOLLOW ME ON #IG @ #BarCar_ & #Boss1Bitch #TheNoels #Memphis #MemphisTN #MemphisTennessee #901 #901Memphis #DannielleGriffin #DowntownGirl #DownTownMemphis #FoodCritic #Toxic #GoViral #CapCut #DannielleNoel #Workout #Dance #FitTok #DannielleGriffin66 #fy #ForYou #MemphisTikTok #Foodie #Foodies #SoulFood #SoulFoodie #SoulFoodies #foodiesoftiktok #memphisfoodie #memphisfoodies #foodtok #soulfoodtok #fypage #SouthMemphisMade #memphistn #memphistn901 #901 #fyp #viral #ForYouPage #DannielleGriffin #DannielleNoel #DannielleGriffin66 #BarCarENT #DowntownMemphis #MidtownMemphis #FoodCritic #FoodAndBeverage #MemphisTikToker #MemphisTok #blueeyes #mydolcemoment #nextleveldish #GirlzFromTheHood #BlackTikTokCommunity #BlackGirlFollowTrain #PrettyGirls #BlackGirlFollowTrain #BlackGirlTikTok #BlackTikTok #MemphisBaddie #Baddies #Baddie #baddietiktok #MemphisBaddies #SouthMemphisBaddies #40ClubMom #40ClubMommy #CatsOfTikTok #BlackLivesMatter ♬ original sound – Dannielle Noel

But the breakout star of the video was the crew member who desperately swam to offer aid on the dock.

He’s been dubbed not only Black Aquaman, but also Michael B. Phelps, a play on Michael B. Jordan, Evander Holyfish, and Lil’ Bass X.

Top 10 names given to this young hero: 10. Black Aquaman 9. JJ Fish 8. Michael B Phelps 7. Captain Hook 6. Catfish Cuz 5. Kofi Kingfish 4. Tyrone Lochte 3. 21 Tilapia 2. Lil' Namor 1. Shaquille O'Gills pic.twitter.com/a6c4lbe4HP — Mike Kincaide (@mikekincaide) August 7, 2023

Lil Bass X — JUICEBOXXCRYPTO (@djhugocastro) August 7, 2023

The scene itself got compared to something out of the Avengers .

It’s giving Avengers Endgame! Frame it pic.twitter.com/Lv9LX74ptm — Dawn (@_dawnmontgomery) August 6, 2023

The crew members and the boaters have yet to be identified, and Montgomery police say they are investigating the matter and will file the appropriate charges. The riverboat fight videos apparently helped lead to multiple arrests, according to Montgomery news outlet WSFA .

Update: Several days later, three men were charged with assault in the 3rd degree. Richard Roberts, a 48-year-old white male; Allen Todd, a 23-year-old white male; and Zachary Shipman, 25 year-old white male.

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David Covucci is the senior politics and technology editor at the Daily Dot, covering the nexus between Washington and Silicon Valley. His work has appeared in Vice, the Huffington Post, Jezebel, Gothamist, and other publications. He is particularly interested in hearing any tips you have. Reach out at [email protected].

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Detroit Rapper Gmac Cash Turns Alabama Brawl Into Hilarious Rap Song

Detroit rapper Gmac Cash has taken the viral Alabama riverboat fight and turned it into a hilarious new track, and some big-name rappers are showing him love as a result.

The viral brawl took place at Montgomery Riverfront Park on Saturday evening (August 5), and appeared to be racially divided as several white and Black people were seen fighting each other on the dock.

The internet has been having plenty of fun with the incident for a few days now, and Gmac Cash took it one step further on Monday (August 7) by immortalizing the mayhem on wax.

Recapping the wild scuffle in comedic storytelling fashion, Cash gave a special shoutout to the Black guy who swam to join the fight and the Black man who smashed a foldable chair over a white woman’s head.

“Cuz came out the water like, ‘Let’s get it crackin’/ Unc came with the chair like, ‘I got some action’/ Cuz came no short like, ‘I got Sebastian/’ Even the women getting hit like, ‘Damn, what happened?'” he raps.

“Seen a couple of them boys go night-night/And we got the first Black man to swim to a fight/ If you mad at this song, don’t mention me/ But fuck that, that chair going down in history.”

Big Sean , Sexyy Red and GLC were a few that took to Gmac’s Instagram comments section with their support of the new track.

Listen to “Montgomery Brawl” below:

The mass throwdown began between a Black dock worker and a group of white men regarding a pontoon boat that was reportedly blocking dock space needed to park a riverboat.

Footage showed the men arguing with each other for several minutes before one of the white men charged at the Black man, who reacted by spinning his cap around and fighting back.

From there, several other white men jumped in and began hitting the dock worker. One witness, apparently watching from the riverboat, could be heard screaming, “Y’all help that brother!” to onlookers who were on shore.

At least one Black man heeded the call and stepped in to break up the fight. Another even swam to the dock to help out. “Get up there, young buck!” someone off-camera could be heard saying as they cheered him on.

related news

August 7, 2023

The violence didn’t stop there, though, as a group of shirtless Black men were later seen confronting the white pontoon boat driver and his family, with at least one punch being thrown. When a group of white men — and even women — rushed over, chaos ensued.

According to local outlet WSFA 12 , Montgomery Police have issued four arrest warrants over the riverfront brawl and it’s possible more will follow after they review additional footage. Police confirmed that several people have been detained and charges are pending.

“Last night, the Montgomery Police Department acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job. Warrants are being signed and justice will be served,” Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said in a statement on Sunday.

“This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred. As our police department investigates these intolerable actions, we should not become desensitized to violence of any kind in our community. Those who choose violent actions will be held accountable by our criminal justice system.”

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Detroit rapper writes song about Montgomery riverfront brawl, goes viral

A video of a wild brawl that erupted Saturday in Montgomery, Alabama, when a cruise ship worker was attempting to dock is going viral — and Gmac Cash took notice.

The Detroit rapper, well known for the viral songs "Big Gretch" about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and "Giant Slide" about the infamous Belle Isle slide , decided to mark the moment in a new rap anthem called, "The Montgomery Brawl."

A video of the incident at Montgomery's Riverfront Park, shared Sunday on social media , shows a dock worker, a Black man, arguing with a white man about what the Montgomery Police Department later said was a private pontoon boat blocking the dock space needed to park a riverboat. It escalated when another white man rushed in and punched the employee . The two men began fighting when other white men attacked the employee. After the fight, a separate video shows a group of people approaching the pontoon boat, and more fighting broke out.

“This was really a big moment for us,” Gmac Cash said, referencing the Black community. “It shows us coming together, uniting finally."

On Tuesday, Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert named three suspects involved in the incident: Richard Roberts, 48; Allen Todd, 23; and Zachary Shipman, 25 − all identified as white males. None of the three are Montgomery residents. Police said one man is in custody and arrangements are being made for the others to turn themselves in. Montgomery police is also requesting for a Black man seen wielding a chair in the video, Reggie Gray, to contact the department.

More Gmac Cash: Belle Isle Giant Slide's wild rides featured on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live,' in new song

'Big Gretch': Gov. Whitmer responds to rap song made about her

Albert said the investigation is ongoing and that more charges are possible.

Gmac Cash, whose real name is Gerald Allen, posted his song Monday on Twitter and has received more than 1.3 million views as of Tuesday afternoon. (WARNING: Video contains violence and explicit language. Viewer discretion advised.)

They Made A Song About The #MontgomeryBrawl 🤣 pic.twitter.com/sO73OSnlNl — GMACCASH (@GmacCash) August 7, 2023

He can be heard rhyming out shout-outs to many of the happenings in the brawl, including a mention to the “bro that could swim,” referencing the teen who was seen swimming across the water to the brawl.

“You know they got the saying, ‘We can’t swim,’” Gmac Cash said. “So that was good to see him swim.”

Other lyrical mentions by Gmac Cash in the song include the hat throw-off that took place at the beginning of the brawl, a "Rock Bottom"-like wrestling move, and the “unc with the chair,” referring to a Black man seen on video picking up and wielding a now-infamous white folding chair.

More: Why Detroit ranks as one of 'best cities' for music and some think it should be No. 1

The initial brawl video sparked an instant social media firestorm filled with memes, skits, video productions and passionate commentary, which raged for days online. The chair in particular was made into a t-shirt now being sold on multiple websites, and inspired a resurfaced meme of the popular quote from former U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm: “If they don’t give you a seat a the table, bring a folding chair.”

In Detroit alone, Facebook mentions about the brawl flooded timelines. Brittni Brown, the head publicist of the public relations firm The Bee Agency, reposted a viral meme with the text: “Our Ancestors looking down on Montgomery.”

“It’s funny, but I promise you this is how our ancestors feel,” Brown said.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom)

National reactions were rampant, too. On Instagram, a popular site called The Shade Room posted a group of people posing for a photo holding what they believe to be the “infamous chair” from the fight. Other social media commenters commemorated the date of the event, some even giving it a name.

“August 5 th is National (Explicit) Around and Find Out Day,” @iam_dcarter commented under an Instagram post related to the event on @theshaderoom.

On Sunday, the day after the fight, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed posted to Twitter : “Last night, the Montgomery Police Department acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job. Warrants have been signed and justice will be served.”

Last night, the Montgomery Police Department acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job. Warrants have been signed and justice will be served. This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred. As our police… pic.twitter.com/5cywOwA6Uz — Mayor Steven L. Reed (@MayorofMgm) August 6, 2023

Reed is the first Black mayor of Montgomery , a city well known for its history of racial oppression and being the birthplace of the modern American civil rights movement .

Gmac Cash said he too is aware of Alabama's history, and part of his inspiration for doing the brawl rhyme came from it. He said he believes this moment represents how exhausted Black people are with the treatment they receive from some white people and it’s time for it to stop.

“It's nothing like us," Gmac Cash said. “We are honestly the best people on the planet to me. But I feel like this is a moment that shows we can come together, we have each other's back and that's what we should do all the time in every situation instead of sitting back watching with a camera phone.”

USA TODAY and The Montgomery Advertiser contributed.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit's Gmac Cash writes song about Montgomery riverfront brawl

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The Montgomery Brawl Is Music to the Internet’s Ears

The breakout star of the Montgomery brawl is a white folding chair. I know this because her name is in Sheryl Lee Ralph’s mouth. “I have one thing to say,” the Emmy-winning Abbott Elementary actor began her remarks on the altercation that saw multiple Black bystanders come to the defense of a Black riverboat captain after white pontooners attacked him. “Lift every chair and swing ,” Ralph sang in the tune of the Black national anthem, per the video she posted on Twitter on August 8. Her lyric change refers to the famous piece of portable furniture that a Black man wielded during the brawl, an object that has now become a symbol of rising up against oppressors by grabbing the nearest weapon and joining the fight. A day before Ralph’s “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” remix hit the Twitter timeline, “Big Gretch” rapper Gmac Cash found the chair to be a source of inspiration for his viral song “Montgomery Brawl,” recounting the events at Riverfront Park on August 5. “Ayy, I’m really proud of y’all (Montgomery Brawl, bitch) / Not one, but them all (Montgomery Brawl),” Cash raps in the chorus. “Shout-out bro with the chair (Montgomery Brawl) / Everybody that was there (Montgomery Brawl, all of y’all).” The first verse sees him prophesize about the significance of the object. “Unc came with the chair like I got some action (bitch),” he describes. “That chair goin’ out in history.” The 16-year-old whom Cash calls “the first Black man to swim to a fight” does get a salute in his track (and many a nod online), but it’s clear that the chair has taken on an importance beyond wildest dreams.

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The Montgomery boat brawl and what it really means to “try that in a small town”

The viral fight valorized Black resistance — and punctured Jason Aldean’s racist “small town” narrative.

by Aja Romano

One of the key facets of extremism is the element of plausible deniability. As such, “ dog whistles ” — coded language used to mask a deeper extremist or discriminatory rhetoric — have become a pervasive part of the way we talk about politics and the culture wars. They’re also exhausting to unpack.

No matter how diplomatically or plainly you point out the underlying racism or bigotry of a specific image or turn of phrase, there’s always someone eager to take the code literally, to dismiss its context, its subtext, and clearly harmful impact. They’re happy to claim this is just what happens when you pucker your lips and blow, and any hateful dogs that come running are just a coincidence.

Then a song comes along like country singer Jason Aldean’s risible “ Try That in a Small Town .” The lyrics and accompanying video are layered with references to Black Lives Matter protests , sundown towns (“see how far you make it down that road”), and white protectionism (“good ol’ boys ... we take care of our own”). The video’s main location was no less than the site of historical lynchings , a particularly unsubtle jab. Inevitably, however, when you attempt to illuminate this racist imagery, a “Try That in a Small Town” defender will show up. They will assert that the whole thing is really just about, as Aldean himself tried to assert , “the feeling of community” and the desire for a return to “a sense of normalcy.”

Normal, to Aldean, seems to be a reality where Black protesters don’t disrupt the everyday lives of white citizens — even if those citizens are, as the song suggests, stockpiling guns and turning paranoid eyes on any and all outsiders. This attempt to reframe socially sanctioned racism as “just a community looking out for itself” has long been a part of the discriminatory tactics used against Black Americans, from lynch mobs to the racist, KKK-apologetic Birth of a Nation , to the legal defenses used by white men who murder unarmed Black ones. It’s a cultural tactic used not only to disenfranchise Black Americans but to then gaslight them about their own reality and experience. It’s a tactic that turns aggression into “self-defense.”

It’s one big reason, out of an infinitude of reasons, that the world was transfixed earlier this week when video surfaced of a group of Black boat workers in Montgomery, Alabama, appearing to voraciously fight back after a group of white pontoon boaters began attacking a Black boat captain.

What happened at the Montgomery boat brawl

The white boaters, coming from nearby Selma, had allegedly repeatedly caused trouble at the dock by parking their pontoon illegally in the spot reserved for a large tourist riverboat, the Harriott II. On Sunday, August 5, the riverboat had been waiting for around 45 minutes, with passengers aboard, to dock. Damien Pickett, the riverboat’s first mate and co-captain, disembarked in order to move the pontoon boat himself. In response, according to reports, at least three of the boaters attacked Pickett, punching him in the face, beating and kicking him.

This sounds like an all-too-familiar tragedy in progress: white-on-black violence, motivated by a sense of racist entitlement. Speaking to the Daily Beast after the incident, the boat’s captain, Jim Kittrell, stressed that the only motive appeared to be racial: “It makes no sense to have six people try to beat the snot out of you just because you moved their boat up a few feet. In my opinion, the attack on Damien was racially motivated.” Kittrell’s assumption seems to be bolstered by eyewitness testimony: One bystander, a victim’s family member, said in a sworn statement that she heard one of the white men drop the n-word before the fighting began.

It’s important to consider this incident in the broader context of Montgomery’s history, as well. Montgomery, one of the major historical fronts of the civil rights movement, is no stranger to racialized violence. It was there, in 1954, that a young Martin Luther King Jr. took up pastorship at a local church, where he became a spokesperson for the Montgomery bus boycotts alongside Rosa Parks. Through boycotts and years of sustained activism amid tense civil unrest, Montgomery protesters successfully challenged the rule of Jim Crow in the South and ultimately changed the nation. Montgomery also saw devastating segregationist violence throughout this period, including one of the most violent moments in the civil rights movement, “ Bloody Sunday .”

In 2023, coming after a cultural period of intensifying racialized protests, a group of white people whaling on an unsuspecting and defenseless Black man could have led to tragic consequences or, at the least, traumatized victims and onlookers.

What the video shows happening next, however, flipped the script: Seeing one of their colleagues being attacked, other Black boat workers rushed in to defend him and fight back. Bystanders also joined in, with one teen now known as “ Black Aquaman ” famously jumping into the water and swimming across the dock in order to help. One man, known to the internet as “Folding Chair Guy,” gained instant fame when he went after the three attackers with, you guessed it, a folding chair.

The suddenness of the fight, combined with the enthusiasm of the brawlers, the glee of the onlookers, and the fact that everyone had phones out recording the incident, made the Montgomery brawl — dubbed the Alabama Sweet Tea Party — into an immediate viral sensation. It produced everything from evocative Twitter reactions to a live swimming pool reenactment to a remix of Ernie Barnes’s iconic painting of Black partiers, Sugar Shack . The folding chair was instantly memorialized .

Most extraordinarily of all, no one rushed to mete out punishment for the Black dock workers who fought back. Though multiple fighters were briefly detained, all were released. Folding Chair Guy, real name Reggie Gray, has been dodging police requests to speak with him, but no one seems to be pushing too hard for his arrest either, although the investigation into the brawl is ongoing. At a press conference, Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert notably didn’t attempt to distort the power dynamics, stating simply that “several members of the Harriott II came to Mr. Pickett’s defense.” The three white attackers turned themselves in to police custody after warrants were issued for their arrest.

The prevailing public mood around the Montgomery brawl has not been racist backlash or anxiety over such a backlash, but rather deep satisfaction at a battle in which justice seems to have prevailed: The perpetrators were rounded up and the victims received a rousing defense from the community. For once, the marginalized underdog — a Black man being ganged up on by a group of white bullies — came out no worse for wear; Pickett reportedly walked away from the fight with only a headache and some minor cuts and bruises.

What it means to try that in a (not entirely) small town

The collective sense of satisfaction might be exactly the kind of communal security Jason Aldean was attempting to portray in “Try That in a Small Town.” This was, in fact, almost the exact scenario Aldean says he was attempting to capture in his ode to small-town vigilante justice: a group of outsiders come into town, refuse to obey the local customs or follow the local laws, and then get their asses duly whooped by the town citizenry.

While Montgomery is not a “small” town, its history of banding together to rout out racists is deeply relevant here. Montgomery is precisely the type of heartland town that deserves to have songs written about the bravery and commitment of its citizens to protecting one another, to fighting back against injustice — to defending its people and its way of life at all costs. But there’s plenty of reason to suspect that Montgomery wasn’t the kind of town — and this wasn’t the kind of scenario — that Aldean had in mind. We know that celebrating moments of Black defiance is incredibly rare in American history.

The Montgomery brawl represents an extraordinary triumphant moment in which Black resistance has been seen as a just force rather than a threat to the white establishment. Black shows of defiance, even when used in clear self-defense, are all too often wielded against the victim . Historically, instances of rebellion such as that of slave revolt leader Nat Turner have been used to justify more violence against Black people. Today, in cases where Black victims of police violence attempt to seek justice, the legal doctrine of “ qualified immunity ” — in which police have almost unlimited power to use force without fearing a lawsuit in response — is invoked.

The entire justice system, in other words, too frequently gets weaponized against Black Americans who assert themselves in the face of threats to their safety, property, and human dignity. Black citizens are rarely allowed to be “ heroic through defiance ,” to reclaim Black rebellion as an act of valor, or to wield reactive violence as a form of patriotism and idealism. That framing of violence is almost exclusively reserved for the kind of white supremacists Aldean’s song seems interested in protecting.

The Montgomery brawl was subversive, shocking, even refreshing in its memeability — not because violence is something to be enjoyed, but because the long arc of history, honed to oppress, simply could not withstand the glorious righteous fury of a bunch of boat workers who’d been forced to stand around for nearly an hour thanks to some entitled jerks who refused to follow the dock rules.

It’s worth asking whether the public’s reaction to the brawl would have been as laid back if the stakes hadn’t been so clear. These Black dockhands, after all, were working in the service of something undeniably anodyne, even arguably white-coded: a cruise on a 19th-century riverboat , with all the ties to antebellum history such a tour implies. Would this minor moment have been framed as heroic had the victims been trying instead to dock a summer cruise full of raucous Black partiers? If the dockhands had all turned out to be Black Lives Matter activists, would their rebellion have still been valiant?

It may seem silly to ask these kinds of questions about a heavily memed brawl involving a folding chair and a person known only as “Black Aquaman,” but this is exactly when we should be asking them. It’s the constant policing and challenging of ordinary Black existence by the white establishment — through microaggressions, or macroaggressions, like writing an entire song about how badly you want to lynch outsiders — that leads to the fomentation of anger that spills over into protest. That then gets used to justify more policing and challenging of ordinary Black existence.

That’s why the Montgomery brawl was, on a level, a brilliant deconstruction of the lie behind “Try That in a Small Town”: It effortlessly destroyed the song’s flimsily veiled conceit that the “community” that needs protection is that of innocent white people being besieged by scary Black protesters.

Perhaps that’s also why Aldean’s song, though it had a brief stint atop the Billboard Hot 100 after all the controversy surrounding it broke, immediately plummeted a full 20 slots. This was reportedly one of the biggest drops in history, and the biggest ever for a song that didn’t debut at No. 1.

The deepest irony of all this is that Jason Aldean — who grew up in the big town of Macon, Georgia, and now resides in the bigger town of Nashville — tries to court “ that small-town vibe ” without ever delving into what the vibe actually is. Anyone who’s from a small Southern town understands exactly what he’s referencing.

Like anywhere, small towns are full of wonderful individual people and affirming communities. But also like anywhere — and perhaps even a little more often than anywhere, given their size and emphasis on the collective — they can be subject to toxic groupthink. When the idea of a small town is freighted with notions of an “us” and a “them,” notions that can distort a sense of self and what exactly needs to be defended, they can also be as alienating, dangerous, and violent as anywhere else on earth.

That’s why narratives of Black defiance are all the more crucial as representations of what real community can be. A sweet tea party, indeed.

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How a 'Good Times' Alabama Brawl Meme Got Black People Sharing On Social Media

There have been many montgomery brawl memes, but the 'good times' meme got black people everywhere sharing..

Good Times. Anytime you need a payment. Good Times. Anytime you need a friend.

Maybe it’s those last words ... “need a friend,’’ from the theme song of the classic television show “Good Times,’’ that connected with so many of us.

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The “Montgomery Uprising,” as it’s been nicknamed by the internet, has clearly made an impact. Millions of social media users have posted videos and images dissecting every moment of the Alabama riverfront brawl .

But one highly shared video has managed to snag everyone’s attention. This week, artist James Charles Morris remixed a video of the riverside altercation with the theme song from Good Times .

Scott poulson-Bryant tweeted posted tweet, adding “We just some creative ass folks.”

Then there was this poetic tweet: “My soul is rested. my heart is full. I have a Denzel Glory tear rolling down my cheek.”

That tweet came from Ohio State University History Professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries, who has the video pinned.

We caught up with Jeffries who says it struck a nerve for a reason. “It encapsulates everything that drew the Black community to this moment,” explains Jeffries.

The video starts off with the Black Riverboat worker, highlighting the “Brother Doing His Job” as the star of the production. Jeffries says the caption truly highlights the dark absurdity of the situation. “All he is doing is his job,” says Jeffries, but that didn’t prevent him from being the victim of a “potential lynch mob.”

The fact that instead of watching another “George Floyd” video, we saw Black people fighting back in mutual defense resonated with people, says Jeffries.

The video also highlights other “characters” from the brawl, including “UNC With The Chair,” “The Aunties,” “The Bruhs,” and even “Michael Evans Phelps.”

“One of the funniest things about the video is the naming of the young brother who dives Into the Alabama River,” says Jeffries. “The fact that he sees his coworker being assaulted and it pisses him off so much that he has to get there... it’s a rejection of this deeply rooted racist stereotype, Black people not having unity and also not being able to swim.”

What we’re witnessing in this video of the incident is a show of Black solidarity and resistance, says Jeffries. “It was the willingness of these folks to pick up arms in self-defense, and it’s one that we don’t hear about because of the media’s bias to non-violence,” he says. “And we have the symbolically with the chair.”

The choice of the Good Times theme song also can’t be ignored, says Jeffries. “There’s a soulful connection to good times,” he says. “I grew up on Good Times, and the theme song is arguably one of the top theme songs in television history and... one of the top theme songs in Black history.”

The Black community continues to rejoice over a fight that took place at Montgomery, Alabama’s Riverfront Park. As REVOLT previously reported, video footage released on social media showcased a fight between a group of white boaters and Black individuals who alleged witnesses claimed came to the aid of a dock employee. Following the apparent beatdown of the former group, the internet has been full of hilarious takes on the situation.

In an Instagram post shared earlier today (Aug. 7), Plies joined in on the discussion with an animated reaction of his own. “B**ch, I wish I was in Alabama tonight!” the Floridian rapper could be heard saying while play fighting solo in his bathroom. “Yea, them boys caught y’all funky a**es tonight! Them boys was giving it to y’all… Them boys ain’t bulls**tin’ in Alabama. Y’all gonna stop thinking them boys is bulls**tin’ in Alabama. Y’all thought s**t was sweet out there.”

In one of the many clips shared from that day, an unnamed woman attempted to give a breakdown of the incident that was reportedly taking place in front of her. “These white folks jumped on this Black man that work security . We tryna get on the Sip-n-Cycle, the [boat] tryna come through. This man was tellin’ em to move, ’cause the [boat] couldn’t dock, so folks could get off… Why these folks done swung on, jumped on this Black man? The crew members done jumped off, they whoopin’ a**,” she explained.

Makina Lashea, a family publicist representing an involved teenager identified only as Aaren, shared an official statement (above) that described him as a “young hero” who “selflessly came to the rescue of a fellow colleague.” “Aaren’s unwavering commitment brings immense pride to his parents, leaving him feeling grateful and touched by the strong support of the community . With his sights set on the future, he is eagerly preparing for a successful upcoming school year,” the message read.

'Just in shock': Dock worker assaulted in Montgomery brawl speaks out in 'GMA' exclusive

Dameion Pickett spoke out in an interview with "GMA" co-anchor Robin Roberts.

Nearly two months after a brawl at Riverfront Park in Montgomery, Alabama , went viral, Dameion Pickett, a dock worker who was at the center of the melee after he was assaulted by a group of boaters, spoke out about the incident in an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America."

Pickett, who is the lead deckhand of the Harriot II, reflected on what led up to the altercation and told "GMA" co-anchor Robin Roberts that he was just "just doing my job" and was "just in shock" when he was violently attacked.

"I didn't expect this to happen at work today," Pickett said. "I was just expecting another peaceful, nice cruise."

Arrest warrants issued after boaters attack dock employee at Montgomery riverbank

According to Pickett, as the Harriott II was ending a dinner cruise and getting ready to dock, a private pontoon boat was illegally parked in its place, preventing the riverboat from docking safely.

"We could have docked, but we would end up hitting a couple of those boats and be responsible for it," Pickett said.

According to Pickett and witnesses aboard the Harriett II who spoke with ABC News, crew members made several attempts to ask the owner of the pontoon boat to move it, but their calls were ignored.

"Everybody was yelling, "Could y'all move y'all boat?" Pickett said.

It was then that Pickett said he got off the riverboat "by the captain's orders" and went to move the pontoon boat himself.

"Really just moved it about one, two, four-- four steps to the right, that's it," he said.

"I was, like, 'I'm just doing my job … After we dock, we don't mind y'all staying there but not at this time while we're trying to dock,'" he added.

Moments after Pickett moved the boat, videos show that he was confronted and punched by a man and soon after, others attacked Pickett and were later identified by police as a boat owner and his family.

Pickett said that after he was assaulted, he had to defend himself.

"This man just put his hand on me. I was, like … it's my job, but I'm still defending myself at the same time. So when he touched me, I was, like, 'It's on,'" Pickett said.

According to videos captured by bystanders and obtained by ABC News, the incident led to a massive brawl that started between the individuals who attacked Pickett, all of whom were white, prompting several Black eyewitnesses to join a fight in an apparent attempt to defend Pickett, including a viral video of a teenager later identified as Aaren Hamilton-Rudolph swimming to the dock to defend him.

Hamilton-Rudolph, a 16-year-old who was only on his second week on the job, reflected on what made him swim to Pickett's defense in an interview with "GMA."

"Everybody was just recording. No one helped," Hamilton-Rudolph said. "So I couldn't just watch and sit around and just let him get beat on while everybody else is just recording and watching."

Roshein "RahRah" Carlton, Pickett's coworker and friend, also rushed to his defense.

"It's our duty as-- as our coworker, as a team, to go and aid and assist him," Carlton told "GMA."

Pickett said that "some nasty words" were directed at him when he got attacked, while Carlton claimed that he heard "a lot of racial slurs" being used during the incident.

The incident was investigated by the Montgomery Police Department, leading to misdemeanor assault charges against four white individuals, all of whom are now out on bond and set to appear in court for a hearing this week.

Montgomery Police Department Chief Darryl Albert identified Pickett and an unnamed 16-year-old white male who was allegedly struck by the owners and operators of the private boat as victims in this case during a press conference on Aug. 7.

The incident led to charges against five individuals.

Alabama riverfront melee: 5th suspect turns himself in, police say

Richard Roberts was charged with two counts of assault in the third degree, court records show. Meanwhile, Allen Todd, Zachary Shipman and Mary Todd were all charged with assault in the third degree. All have pleaded not guilty .

ABC News has attempted to reach out to the suspects and their attorneys, but requests for comment were not returned.

A fifth arrest was made days later when Reggie Ray, a Black man who was seen attacking someone with a beach chair in a viral video, was charged with disorderly conduct. He also pleaded not guilty.

Ray's attorney, Lee Merritt, told ABC News that his client had a "limited role" in the brawl and was "involuntarily roped into the disorderly conduct initiated by a violent white mob."

Asked if there's any evidence of a hate crime, Albert said that police "looked at every avenue" and left "no stone unturned" but "were unable to present any insight in a riot or racial racially biased charges at this time."

A spokesperson for the Montgomery Police Department told ABC News on Friday that there are no additional updates to share regarding the investigation.

Pickett told Roberts that all he wanted to do was make sure that the Harriott II, which was carrying more than 200 passengers at the time, was able to dock safely.

"I had a responsibility," he said. "I was still trying to get that boat in while the fight was still going on. I'm still telling the captain, 'We gotta get these folks here safely to this dock.'"

Asked how he was doing after the incident, Pickett said, "I'm just a little-- a little sore, little bumps and bruises here and there. But I'm here by the grace of God."

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