Twenty years ago, Philadelphia’s Osage Avenue was the site of a stunning use of force by city police. After a long standoff, police dropped a bomb on the headquarters of a radical group called MOVE, sparking a fire that gutted a neighborhood and left 11 people dead. Five were children.
What happened to the MOVE members in 1985?
The 1985 bombing of MOVE in West Philadelphia killed 11 members of the group including five children. The city was trying to evict them from their home on Osage Ave after years of complaints by their neighbors. The bombing led to an out of control fire that destroyed those neighbors’ homes.
In what city did the MOVE bombing occur in 1985?
What you need to know about the desecration of MOVE bombing victims’ remains. It was 36 years ago that city officials targeting The Movement, a Black liberation group, flew a helicopter over a West Philadelphia home and dropped a bomb on top of it — killing 11 people, five of them children.
Does the MOVE organization still exist?
“The organization is still actively involved and informing people of the dangers of a systematic oppression of life, but we try to focus on the softer side of it — of the revolution,” he said. The remaining MOVE 9 members in prison continue to weigh on Debbie Africa.
What is the MOVE 9?
The nine members of MOVE charged with third-degree murder for Ramp’s death became known as the MOVE 9. Each was sentenced to a maximum of 100 years in prison. They were Chuck, Delbert, Eddie, Janet, Janine, Merle, Michael, Phil, and Debbie Sims Africa. In 1998, at age 47, Merle Africa died in prison.
Why did the 1985 MOVE bombing happen?
In 1985, the house and surrounding neighborhood was set aflame when police besieged the MOVE rowhouse for hours after harassment complaints from neighbors, firing rounds of bullets, water cannons, and smoke grenades, and pumping tear gas into the home, before eventually dropping a bomb on its roof.
Where was the MOVE house?
1985 MOVE bombing | |
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Location | 6221 Osage Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
Coordinates | 39.955679°N 75.246836°WCoordinates:39.955679°N 75.246836°W |
Date | May 13, 1985 |
Target | MOVE members |
What did John Africa do?
John Africa (July 26, 1931 – May 13, 1985), born Vincent Leaphart, was the founder of MOVE, a Philadelphia-based, predominantly black organization active from the early 1970s and still active.
Who is Chucky Africa?
Chuck Africa was one of nine MOVE members convicted of third-degree murder for the death of Ramp and seven counts of attempted murder following an Aug. 8, 1978, shootout with police at the radical group’s compound — a three-story Victorian twin at 33rd and Pearl Streets in Powelton Village.
Who is Janine Africa?
I’m Janine Africa, Minister of Education for the MOVE Organization. I’ve been in MOVE since 1973. I’m one of the MOVE Nine. We all were sentenced to 30-100 years for a crime we didn’t commit.
Who was mayor during MOVE bombing?
On May 13, following the failure of Mayor Wilson Goode, the first Black mayor of Philadelphia, and police commissioner Gregore J.
What does move stand for?
Acronym | Definition |
---|---|
MOVE | Microsoft Overlay Virtual Environment |
MOVE | Mobile Networks for Vehicular Environments (Workshop) |
MOVE | Mobilizing Opportunities for Volunteer Experience |
MOVE | Medically Oriented Vocational Education |
What is the group called MOVE?
The Move | |
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Genres | Rock freakbeat psychedelic rock psychedelic pop progressive rock |
Years active | 1965–72 2004–14 2016 |
Labels | Deram Regal Zonophone Stateside A&M Polydor Fly Ariola Capitol Harvest |
Associated acts | Electric Light Orchestra Wizzard |
When was the Move movement in Philadelphia?
When Philadelphia was Called ‘The City that Bombed Itself’
On Monday, May 13, 1985, a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter dropped two bombs on a Philadelphia house where members of the MOVE Black liberation organization lived.
What was the move group about?
MOVE, founded by John Africa, was originally called the Christian Movement for Life. John Africa and his group advocated a radical form of green politics and a return to a hunter-gatherer society while stating their opposition to science, medicine and technology.
Are the MOVE members still in jail?
Two members of the MOVE 9 died in prison before they could be released. The remaining members are now free. The 1978 standoff was years before MOVE became known nationwide.
What happened to Chuckie Africa?
Africa was imprisoned for 41 years before being paroled in Feb. 2020. “Chuck had a heart and a fighting spirit that was unparalleled,” Brad Thomson, Africa’s lawyer at the time of this parole, tweeted. “He loved animals, boxing, and literature-which we’d talk about often.
What happened to Mumia Abu Jamal?
Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death and, though he maintains his innocence and his death sentence was dismissed in 2011, has remained in prison for the last four decades. In that time, Abu-Jamal has become one of the most famous prisoners in the world.
Who was Philadelphia mayor in 1985?
Wilson Goode Jr. Woodrow Wilson Goode Sr. (born August 19, 1938) is a former Mayor of Philadelphia and the first African American to hold that office. He served from 1984 to 1992, a period which included the controversial MOVE police action and house bombing in 1985.
When was Frank Rizzo mayor of Philadelphia?
As police commissioner during the riots of the 1960s, he left one black-tie affair to go to a riot scene. He arrived with a nightstick tucked into his tuxedo cummerbund. Rizzo was mayor from 1971 to 1979 and presided over a city fraught with racial tensions and corruption scandals.
Who was the police commissioner in Philadelphia in 1985?
Gregore J. Sambor (February 22, 1928 – September 15, 2015) was an American Police Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department from 1984 to 1985. He served for 35 years in the United States Military and earned many awards in marksmanship.
How did the Philadelphia City deal with move in 1978?
After a 10-month stalemate, on March 1, 1978, Rizzo obtained an order from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to blockade the house, deny MOVE access to city water, and prevent anyone from resupplying house. The blockade also impacted Powelton Village residents.
What was John Africa’s real name?
As for Vincent Lopez Leaphart — the full name John Africa was given at birth on July 26, 1931, at the now-demolished Philadelphia General Hospital — he was a short, painfully thin boy, so underweight that the school doctor twice made note of it.
Who raised Mike Africa Jr?
At 13 he began working to free his parents from prison. After over 25 years of struggle, with the help of his family and attorney Brad Thomson Mike got his parents out of prison, at age 40.
What happened to Michael Moses Ward?
Autopsy shows Birdie Africa highly intoxicated when he drowned in hot tub. A Florida medical examiner has ruled the hot tub death last year of Michael Moses Ward, once known as Birdie Africa, was a drowning due to extreme intoxication. … He died in September while he was on a cruise with his extended family.
What happened to Michael Ward?
Michael Moses Ward, 41, who was known as Birdie Africa when he survived the 1985 MOVE bombing, died Friday, Sept. 20, aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean, officials said. … The death appeared to be an accidental drowning, he said, but a toxicology screening will take about six weeks.
What happened Moving children?
In 1985, police bombed the group’s home, which sparked an inferno that killed 11 people including five children. Two city blocks were burned and 61 homes were destroyed. Many MOVE members were jailed.