Why Are People Making Memes About Folding Chairs? The Alabama River Brawl And Its Infamous 'Folding Chair Meme' Explained

White folding chair memes have been one of the most searched queries on Google since a brawl occurred last Saturday in Montgomery, Alabama. Even the inventor of the object, Nathaniel Alexander, became a trending topic on Twitter. But what's the chair's relevance to the Riverboat Brawl?

Let's explain how this simple object became a massive meme in recent days and was subsequently transformed into a symbol of resistance and empowerment for some members of the Black community on social media.

What Is The Folding Chair Meme?

The folding chair memes began after a video was posted on Twitter showing a group of white men attacking a lone Black security guard working at a dock in Montgomery, Alabama. The brawl started after the worker asked the group to move their pontoon boat to some other spot as the place was already taken by a large riverboat trying to dock. During one particular moment of the fight, a Black man is seen (shown below) using a white folding chair as a weapon to hit people in the group.

this view is crazy 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/0U5B0iyvp2

— Menace ² Society (@kingtrelll) August 7, 2023

At least four people have been arrested since the events of last Saturday.

Why Are People Posting About Who Invented The Folding Chair?

Nathaniel Alexander, who invented the folding chair in 1911, became a trending topic on social media after videos of the Montgomery Riverboat brawl were highly shared on multiple platforms.

While netizens have condemned the use of the white folding chair as a weapon, others have approached the moment with a more lighthearted tone. For example, Twitter user @SoulKingLives said the object was invented by a Black man "for his descendants to be used for times like this," as he wrote in a caption while sharing a still image of the brawl.

The object also became a symbol of resistance in the Black community, as the brawl carried a racial connotation when several bystanders (most of them Black people) were quick to jump into action to help the dock security guard.

How Are People Referencing Folding Chairs In Memes?

The white folding chair is being considered by netizens one of the “stars” of the Montgomery Riverboat brawl. For instance, on August 8th, Twitter user @TheSGTJoker posted an ironic tweet saying the chair is "forming an exploratory committee for a potential Senate run" against a particular political candidate. On August 7th, Twitter user @yatta_reynolds uploaded a still image of the brawl and the caption "A few generations from now, somebody gonna have a folding chair at the ancestral altar."

Memes about the folding chair also received a fair amount of buzz on TikTok. Like the video posted by TikToker @TTEcclesBrown (shown below, left) in which she is preparing her kids for the "next battle of Montgomery." The video amassed over 1.2 million plays and 234,000 like in one day. TikToker @jrobdarcel uploaded a video on the same day showing some "quick draw" tips for using a folding chair as a weapon. The post (shown below, right) garnered over 53,000 plays and 8,700 likes in a day.

For the full history of the Montgomery, Alabama Riverboat Brawl, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.