And it was amazing to me how these white movie critics would lament about the destruction of Sal’s Famous Pizzeria–and in no way ever mention the death of Radio Raheem. For me, this film was a real litmus test. You could just read the review and see exactly where the critics were. And I understand it because in their eyes, the property–this glass, tile, wood, metal, whatever it is, this white-owned property–that’s more important than the life of a young black hoodlum. That’s what they talked about: “Oh, isn’t it too bad that Sal’s got burned down to the ground.” And in no way did they mention the reason it got burned down to the ground: the thing that set everything off was the murder of Radio Raheem at the hands of New York City’s Finest. Sal got punished because the cops had left. And at that time, Sal represented everything black people hated–the government, New York City, Ed Koch, the cops who had just killed Radio Raheem. That’s who they saw there. That’s what Sal’s Famous Pizzeria represented–the establishment–and that’s why they burned it down.
