MOVE Bombing (1985)

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6221 Osage Avenue after the bomb

On May 13, 1985, the long-term tension between the black liberation organization MOVE and the Philadelphia Police Department was appalling. That night, Philadelphia dropped a satchel bomb, a demolition device usually used in combat, at 6221 Osage Avenue, Philadelphia. It contained Tovex and C-4 explosives on the MOVE organization. They lived in a row of row houses in West Philadelphia. The row houses are used by men, women, and children. It rises in the extinguished flame. 11 people were killed, including 5 children and the founder of the organization. Sixty-one houses were destroyed and more than 250 citizens were left homeless.[1]

This incident has been made into a documentary film entitled "Let the Fire Burn"

Incident

The tensions between MOVE and the police had been rising for years. In 1981 MOVE, the radical group moved to 6221 Osage Avenue and it gained a tensions and between MOVE and their neighbors on that block.

On May 13, 1985 the residents near 62 and Osage in front were evacuated from their homes before the deadlock. The police ordered them to take some clothes and toothbrushes. The police told them all that they had to return home the next day. The nearly 500 police officers gathered at the scene were ridiculous, ferocious and well equipped-body armor, tear gas, special police equipment, 0.50 and .60 caliber machine guns, and an anti-tank machine gun. Heavy rain was shot from the firetruck. The state police have sent a helicopter to the scene. The city has cut off the water and electricity supply to the entire neighborhood. The public will soon learn that the police have explosives on hand.

The final warnings from the police said "Attention, MOVE ... This is America," Gregore Sambor, the police commissioner, yelled into his megaphone to the people in the compound. "You have to abide by the laws of the United States." The police told the MOVE members that they had 15 minutes to get out of the compound. Instead, someone in the MOVE house started shooting at the police. Then there was a shootout between MOVE and the police.

Mayor Wilson Goode made a decisive decision: The police approved a temporary bomb to be dropped on the MOVE compound to destroy the bunker on the roof.

The bomb had set the roof on fire, and soon, thick smoke erupted from the roof. The flames seemed to be spreading, but the firefighters were ordered to stand down by Police Commissioner, Sambor. Within 45 minutes, three more houses on the block also caught fire. Then the roof of the MOVE house buckled under the fire and collapsed. By the time the firefighters finally started fighting the fire in earnest, it was too late. Within 90 minutes, the entire north side of Osage Avenue caught fire.

By the time firefighters got them under control before midnight, 61 houses on the once tidy block had been completely destroyed. Two hundred and fifty people were suddenly homeless. It was the worst residential fire in the city's history.

In the end, 11 people died in the fire on Osage Avenue, including five children. Weeks passed before the police were able to identify their remains.[2]

Aftermath

Ramona Africa, a survivor at MOVE bombing.

Only two people survived the bomb attack-Ramona Africa, who was 29 years old at the time, and a child, Birdie Africa, who was then 13 years old (later called Michael Moses Ward); both were severely burned. Despite two large-scale jury investigations, a civil lawsuit, and a final committee report that said the bombing was "reckless, improper, misunderstood, and hastily approved," no one has ever been criminally charged for the attack. The survivor Ramona Africa was immediately sentenced to 7 years in prison for riots and conspiracy charges due to an arrest warrant before the explosion.[1]

In the next few years, the confrontation with MOVE would be remembered as an ordeal that changed the structure of the city. For many, the unreasonable performance of force has consolidated the distrust between Philadelphia residents and the government. “The story is a parable of sorts; it’s a parable of how the unthinkable comes to happen,” said Jason Osder, the director of Let the Fire Burn, a documentary about the bombing. “It’s a tragedy. In my opinion, everyone who was an adult in the city failed that day ... collectively, the whole city failed.”[1]

In 2020 the Philadelphia City Hall formally apologized this week and demanded a decision in 1985 to drop an improvised bomb in a row house occupied by the MOVE separatist group. This measure also requires that a commemorative event be held every year on May 13th, the anniversary of the bomb. This measure was initiated by City Councillor Jamie Gauthier, who was in the west where the explosion occurred. Grew up near Philadelphia.[3][4]

External Link

MOVE bombing in 1985 on youtube (VICE)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Norward, Lindsey. The day Philadelphia bombed its own people. Vox August 15, 2019. Retrieved January 23 2021.
  2. Demby, Gene. I'm From Philly. 30 Years Later, I'm Still Trying To Make Sense Of The MOVE Bombing. NPR May 13, 2015. Retrieved January 23 2021.
  3. Pilkington, Ed. Philadelphia city council apologises for deadly 1985 Move bombing. the Guardian November 13, 2020. Retrieved January 23 2021.
  4. Ismay, John. 35 Years After MOVE Bombing That Killed 11, Philadelphia Apologizes. The New York Times November 14, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2021.