ATLANTIC CITY — Saying he was ashamed, embarrassed and hurt by the actions of looters after Sunday's peaceful protest against police brutality, Mayor Marty Small called on residents to come out to help clean up the city.
"This is sickening, y’all," said Small, who was at the protest and witnessed the looting afterward. "You all got to live here, and you all let it happen."
In a video recorded Sunday night and posted on his Facebook page, Small said many in the protest crowd "participated and video recorded the whole thing. Some of you do anything for a like or a share."
Commenters on the page were split between those agreeing with Small, and those who questioned how they could have stopped the violence without risking their lives.
Small said the looters he confronted dropped merchandise when he told them to do so, but not enough people were discouraging the behavior.
He also veered into a discussion of economic inequalities, and suggested that residents have a hand in it, as well.
"People want to blame others for the black community's issues. They say things like ... want to blame white people, blame Asians, blame everyone, because of (our) lack of owning businesses," Small said. "Problem is let’s be honest with one another. We’ve got to get our (expletive) together.
He said opportunities are there, and his administration is providing them, such as small business program targeting minorities.
"We were just starting to get things in place to put people back to work. Every food bank in Atlantic City is overcrowded," Small said. "But you all just set us back today. It was a major setback."
Residents are employed by stores at The Walk, where the looting happened, and now they will reopen even later than they would have because of COVID-19, Small said.
