Scuba Gooding Jr and the Riverboat Rumble: why Alabama brawl memes have real power

Black Twitter has seized on the clash in Montgomery, cutting to the heart of the city's troubled history in a moment of catharsis

When a Black riverboat captain was assaulted by a group of disrespectful white pontoon cruisers, the Saturday evening confrontation at Montgomery, Alabama's Riverfront Park set off a melee that would rival any heavyweight prize fight for global attention.

It started after the captain had spent 45 minutes asking the cruisers to move the pontoon they had docked in the riverboat's parking space, a request that was met with swearing and obscene gestures. When one cruiser lunged at the captain with both hands and knocked him back, the skipper dug in for a fight. Seeing him outnumbered and quickly overwhelmed, Black onlookers swarmed to his defense, kicking off an epic brawl that was caught on camera from multiple angles.