4 horrific and heartbreaking words were spoken on May 13th, 1984 by Frank Powell a Philadelphia police lieutenant. These words would cement the MOVE bombing in Philadelphia and Black history as another tragic event of systematic racism and the unimportance that black lives have to white America.
A C4 explosive on top of the 62nd Osage Ave home-turned-compound of the MOVE organization, killing 11 people including 5 children and the founder John Africa.
Background
MOVE is a Philadelphia organization that is known for its pan-Africanism, black nationalism, and anarcho-primitivism. They were known for their avoidance of modern medicine and technology and work for animal rights and environmentalism, though they were very loud about their quest for racial justice. The organization was very tight-knit during those times and those that were a part of the movement changed their last names to “Africa”, in reverence to the continent. MOVE styled itself as a “self-defense” organization, where they took matters into their own hands, arming themselves since they believed that trust could not be put in the police or government. There was a lot of support for the group throughout the years within the community, donating food, supplies, and other necessities to the organization, though their next-door neighbors weren’t too fond of them. The block in which the group resided felt threatened due to the group reinforcing the house and building a bunker on top of the building. They used airhorns and speakers mounted outside to spread their propaganda as well as advocate for the release of the MOVE 9. (Read here about their recent release.)
Aftermath
The reaction to the bombing was a tragic one. Citizens of the city saw not only an entire neighborhood go up in flames, but also completely disappear.
The shadow of the MOVE fire is one that never has gone away and still sits with residents of the neighborhood today. Diane J., a resident of the neighborhood says, “Folks just moved on from the community because it was easier. But the memories will always be there.” Neighbors try to upkeep the houses and decorate the outside with potted plants and tend to the gardens, seeing this as an act of resistance for not being able to completely wipe out an entire neighborhood.
Another one is the way that MOVE is still an active organization. Completely relocated from Osage Ave and moved somewhere in West Philadelphia, surviving MOVE members now still use their activism to keep talking about that faithful spring day and have a low presence in the Philadelphia community. Ramona Africa, the lone adult survivor of the bombing, served seven years in prison for riot and conspiracy charges immediately after the bombing. Once out she ended up suing the City of Philadephia and won $1.5 million in a civil suit and continued to be an active member of MOVE and still advocated for the ways of the group and against the Philadelphia police force.
Present Day
Many present-day MOVE members were shocked to learn that the city has “disposed of” the remains of the children who had died in the fire with Mike Africa Jr. stating “They were bombed, and burned alive … and now you wanna keep their bones.” This ongoing tragedy was fueled by the already tense situation of the resurgence of the BLM protest, with the center of the protest being the defunding of the police and ending police brutality. The black community in Philadelphia would still be grappling with the force used against them today and after the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement resurgence this has caused many of those in the community to completely dissociate themselves from the police entirely.
Now that the city is again quiet and the talk of this tragedy is currently at rest, one can only wonder where else this can go for the black community and other allies that live and work here. Though life moves on and so do people. Sometimes you can still see folks looking at each other, and hear with a fist and pride, “On the move!”