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| Courtesy of A Zeitgeist Films release. |
Simply put - there are events that occur that must not be allowed to escape our collective memory, only to become buried and forgotten. Such is the case back on Mother's Day in 1985 - May 13th. Twenty nine years later, the scars remain, the acrid smell still burns and lingers in memory. On that day eleven people were killed, murdered - five were children - innocent Black children. Over sixty homes were destroyed and over 250 people were without a place to live. On that day the Philadelphia police department dropped a bomb - yes, that's right - they dropped a bomb on a city block. But the bomb was dropped after nearly 10,000 rounds of ammunition was fired by 500 police officers along with teargas. Now the mayor at that time - Mr. Wilson Goode - a Black mayor gave the "go-ahead" to launch an attack of sheer terror on MOVE. For those who are well informed about the MOVE-9, well, then this is just what they say - preaching to the choir. But there are many who are not aware of what happened or more importantly - the connection to state terror.
Why would Mayor Goode take such an extreme approach with MOVE? Well, lets first understand MOVE...they were founded in 1972 by Vincent Leaphart renamed John Africa, whose political views and subsequent protests were in direct contrast to the political agenda of Philadelphia's City Hall and Police Department. As a result, there would be a number of confrontations between MOVE and the police that ultimately led to the terrorist act of bombing a city block on Mothers Day in 1985 - when mothers and children were killed.
See this backgrounder put together by Temple University who holds archived records to what occurred on May 13th: The confrontation was the culmination of a dozen years of activity on the part of MOVE, which had emerged in the early 1970s as a small and very extreme "back to nature" radical group following the teachings of the self styled John Africa. Years of increasing trouble with police and neighbors in the Powelton area of West Philadelphia ended in a gun battle in August 1978 in which one policeman was killed and nine MOVE members arrested and eventually sentenced to jail terms. A number of the remaining MOVE members - all of whom were black - settled in 1982 and 1983 in a house on the 6200 block of Osage Avenue in the Cobbs Creek area, a predominately middle class black neighborhood. They began to campaign for the release of the comrades and in May 1984 started day and night denunciations of their enemies through a loudspeaker.
See this backgrounder put together by Temple University who holds archived records to what occurred on May 13th: The confrontation was the culmination of a dozen years of activity on the part of MOVE, which had emerged in the early 1970s as a small and very extreme "back to nature" radical group following the teachings of the self styled John Africa. Years of increasing trouble with police and neighbors in the Powelton area of West Philadelphia ended in a gun battle in August 1978 in which one policeman was killed and nine MOVE members arrested and eventually sentenced to jail terms. A number of the remaining MOVE members - all of whom were black - settled in 1982 and 1983 in a house on the 6200 block of Osage Avenue in the Cobbs Creek area, a predominately middle class black neighborhood. They began to campaign for the release of the comrades and in May 1984 started day and night denunciations of their enemies through a loudspeaker.
During an 2010 interview between Democracy Now and the lone surviving adult of the 1985 bombing, Ramona Africa, she explained the Mayor's motivations: "I want people to understand is that that bombing did not happen because of some complaints from neighbors. This government had never cared about black folks complaining about their neighbors or any other people complaining about their neighbors. They bombed us because of our unrelenting fight for our family members, known as the MOVE 9, who have been in prison unjustly going on thirty-two years now, as a result of the August 8th, 1978 police attack on MOVE. I just wanted to make that clear."
Less than a month after the massacre, the Mayor signed an executive order establishing the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission. See here and here for excerpts from the Commission's Report that indicated:
"The bomb was larger and more powerful than police originally said. It weighed 4.5 pounds and included a powerful plastic explosive known as C-4. This disclosure contradicted officials` statements in May that the bomb weighed only 2 pounds and had not contained C-4."
"The bomb was larger and more powerful than police originally said. It weighed 4.5 pounds and included a powerful plastic explosive known as C-4. This disclosure contradicted officials` statements in May that the bomb weighed only 2 pounds and had not contained C-4."
"The Mayor abdicated his responsibilities as a leader when, after midday, he permitted a clearly failed operation to continue which posed great risk to life and property; On May 13, the key decision makers were prevented from easily and directly contacting each other because of an inadequate communications system; The plan to bomb the Move house was reckless, ill-conceived and hastily approved; Dropping a bomb on an occupied row house was unconscionable and should have been rejected out-of-hand."
For additional reading go to articles published in phillymag.com for an oral history and an inside account of what occurred on May 13th. There's also the documentary website here, for "Let the Fire Burn" and an interview with the film's director here.
What happened on May 13th - on Mother's Day - should never be forgotten...support the MOVE-9 and call the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole at 717-772-4343.
ONA MOVE
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