The Racially motivated Black Lives Matter organization, has continued cause controversy Friday evening at a rally near Norfolk, Virginia, when the group singled out freight giant, Norfolk Southern, and their specially painted locomotive that honors Police, Firefighters and Paramedics.
The locomotive, which is numbered 9-1-1, was painted by the railroad Pennsylvania in 2015 as a way to say thanks to the first line of defense on the home front, but with the events of the past few years, Black Lives Matter has now targeted the railroad for its support.
“We do not understand how a black railroad employee would even want to step foot on those despicable pieces of train equipment. Why would they want to drive a train that honors the very thing that is oppressing the black people of this country!” Stated Maurice Pearson, of Raleigh, NC. “When I first happened to see the engine that honors first responders, my blood boiled, and if it had not been moving, I would have torched it.” he continued.
While most rail enthusiasts along Norfolk Southern’s 23,000 mile network would agree that paying tribute to first responders is a great idea, not all people have even heard about it.
“They have a first responders engine? I would love to see it some day, my father was a police officer for the Virginia Highway Patrol in the 1980’s” Said Ashley Roblesky of Lynchburgh.
We spoke to numerous people in the area, and while not all of them had heard of the special locomotive, all agreed that it should stay the way it is.
A message left for Norfolk Southern for a comment on this story was not returned by the time this story went to press.