The MOVE Bombing, 1978 - Today By Hannah Pittel
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
Leading up to the Bombing MOVE is a black liberation group founded by John Africa in 1972. The group lived in a communal setting in West Philadelphia, abiding by the philosphy of anarcho-primitivism. In 1978, a standoff between the Philadelphia Police Department and MOVE on 33rd Street resulted in the death of a police officer and several other injuries. Nine members recieved a life sentence for killing the officer. The nine are still referred to as the ‘MOVE 9’.
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Members of MOVE watch guard outside their first headquarters on the corner of 33rd St. and Powelton Ave. in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1978.
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
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Police and reporters gather around 33rd St. and Powelton Ave. in Philadelphia shortly after the police raided MOVE’s first headqaurters in the 1978 shootout.
The view of 33rd St. and Powelton Ave., where the shootout between police and MOVE occured in 1978. Photographed on Feb. 17, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa.
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
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The police and MOVE participated in a shootout until Commissioner Sambor ordered the compound be bombed. A Pennsylvania State Police helicopter dropped two bombs on a bunker-like structure on the roof of the house. The explosions ignited a large and destructive fire. Mayor Wilson Goode made the decisiion to “let it burn,� resulting in the destruction of nearly sixty five homes. 11 people died in the flames. The City of Philadelphia made a poor attempt at rebuiding the homes which have been falling apart to this day. In 1981, MOVE relocated to a new row house on 6221 Osage Ave. farther West in Philadelphia. Neighbors complained to the city for years about disruption from the MOVE house. The city evacuated residents out of the neighborhood in May of 1985 and told them they would be able to return to their homes after twenty-four hours.
On Monday, May 13, 1985, about five hundred officers arrived on Osage Ave. and attemtped to clear MOVE out of their home. The police shut off their water and electricity to lure members out of the house. The police decided to move them out by force by throwing tear gas canisters at the home. MOVE fired back with gunpower. Complaints included trash buildup and broadcasting of obscene political messages by bullhorn. While they were a neighborhood nuisance, the police department and mayor Wilson Goode declared them a terrorist threat and charged occupants with crimes including parole violations, contempt of court, and illegal possessions of firearms
An aerial shot of Osage Ave. in flames shortly after the City of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on MOVE headquarters on May 13, 1985.
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
Spectators watch the fire at the corner of 62nd St. and Larchwood Ave. after The City of Philadlphia dropped a bomb on MOVE headquarters at 6221 Osage Ave. on May 13, 1985.
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The corner of 62nd St. and Larchwood Ave. on Feb. 23, 2019, thirty-four years after the MOVE bombing.
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
Builders work to reconstruct the homes that were burnt down during the MOVE bombing on Osage Ave. in Philadelphia, Pa. Dec. 5, 1985.
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Osage Ave. on a quiet Saturday afternoon on Feb. 23, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa.
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
Workers reconstruct the homes that were burnt down during the MOVE bombing, on Dec. 5, 1985 in Philadelphia, Pa.
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Some of the homes affected by the MOVE bombing thirty-four years earlier are in need of repairs. Feb. 23, 2019, Philadelphia, Pa.
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
Many of the homes on Osage Ave. are boarded-up and remain almost unliveable without needed renovations. Feb. 17, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa.
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6221 Osage Ave., where the MOVE bombing occured in 1985, sits deserted and unnoccipied since the incident thirty-four years earlier. Photographed on Feb. 17, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa.
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
Homes on Osage Ave. where the MOVE bombing ocured remain uninhabited due to unsafe living conditions. Photographed on Feb. 17, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa.
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Contractors have started to show interest on Osage Ave. since 2018 and have advertised plans for renovations on various homes, including 6221 Osage Ave. where the MOVE bombing occured. Photographed on Feb. 17, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa.
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
James Taylor Junior, 53, has lived on Osage Avenue for most of his life. He was nineteen years old when the bombs were dropped on MOVE headquarters. Taylor and his friends watched as the bombs detonated from a nearby rooftop. “I watched the bomb go down from a rooftop at the corner of 61st and Osage. When the bomb was dropped it shoock us so hard that some of us fell off.” Taylor believes no one should live at 6221 Osage Avenue. “So many people died in that house. How could you live in a house where eleven souls are trapped? I couldn’t.” Taylor says that there are still many people who live on Osage Avenue today that were there during the bombing. James Taylor Junior, 53, poses for a photograph on Feb. 23, 2019 on Osage Ave. in Philadelphia, Pa.
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James Taylor Junior, 53, waves to neighbors on Osage Ave. on Feb. 23, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa.
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
Linn Washington, a Temple University professor and former reporter, reflects on his experience around MOVE in his office on Feb. 21, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pa. Washington covered both the police raid and bombing as a journalist and is an expert in law and the history of racism in Philadelphia.
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O
ne of the things that gets lost in trying to understand what happened is that during the 70’s, Philadelphia was in the midst of extradorinary racism practiced by the Frank Rizzo administration. There was more police brutality than any other place in the United States at the time. There was this cauldron of police brutality and systemic inequities going on at the same time as MOVE. One was feeding the other. The racism and the lack of accountability was not limited to police though. Things like education and housing were largely affected.
- Linn Washington
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The Move Bombing, 1978 - Today
A Philadelphia police officer stands on the remains of Osage Ave. after the fire that destroyed MOVE headquarters and sixty-five other West Philadelphia homes was put out.
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Sources Urban Archives - Special Collections Research Center, Paley Library. Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. Philly Mag MOVE Archive. https://www.phillymag.com/tag/ move/ Why Have So Many People Never Heard of the MOVE Bombing? NPR.com. Gene Dembey. May 18, 2015. https://www.npr. org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/18/407665820/why-didwe-forget-the-move-bombing The Bombing of MOVE. Mashable.com. Arbuckle, Q. Alex. https://mashable.com/2016/01/10/1985-movebombing/#jza0Pbm8PkqH
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All living beings, things that move, are equally important, whether they are human beings, dogs, birds, fish, trees, ants, weeds, rivers, wind or rain. -John Africa, founder of MOVE
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