Thread by @hate5six

35 years ago today in 1985 the City of Philadelphia dropped a bomb from a helicopter and destroyed 60+ homes, murdering 11 adults and children. The MOVE bombing is a highly touchy subject in Philly but every time I post about either of the MOVE standoffs at least one person (1/)

tells me they learned something new. If you want to understand the militarization of US police forces, and the degree to which the state can get away with mass murder, learn about MOVE. It's deeper than race alone.

Watch Jared Osder's "Let the Fire Burn".

Here's a @CornelWest speech I filmed 5 years ago today on the 30th anniversary of the bombing:

"The day-long broadcast will feature an in-depth examination of the Philadelphia phenomenon that continues to test the soul of the City. On the 35th anniversary of the tragic MOVE bombing, the series of convos will feature new insights on a timeless story"
wurdradio.com/event/wurd-spe…

From "Let the Fire Burn"

WURD live stream has started:

The MOVE bombing was not an isolated, monolithic miscarriage of justice. Any meaningful conversation about MOVE must address:

1. MOVE as a religious organization and WHAT John Africa was actually teaching about systemic flaws

2. Government informants infiltrating MOVE in the 70s and claiming they had a cache of weapons

3. Philly police ramping up surveillance and aggression towards MOVE

4. Philly police stomping one month old Life Africa to death in 1976

5. Mayor Rizzo setting up blockades preventing MOVE from getting supplies

5. The 1978 standoff

6. The arrest of 9 MOVE members for firing 1 bullet that killed Officer Ramp, whose injuries point to friendly fire

7. Rizzo ordering the home to be demolished the same day as the standoff, destroying all evidence

8. Debbie Africa giving birth to Mike Jr in prison and hiding him from guards for multiple days out of fear he'd be killed and existence erased

9. The rising tension in 1985 as the remaining MOVE members fought to free the MOVE 9

10. Philly police firing 10,000 rounds into the home preventing people from escaping after the military grade bomb was dropped on the 62nd block of Osage Ave

11. Mayor Wilson Goode preventing firefighters from putting out the fire

12. The mass murder of 11 men women and children in that holocaust 

13. The fact that to this day, 35 years later, the "rebuilt" homes are still condemned for shoddy construction

14. The lack of any accountability from the city or government for a deliberate act of mass murder

15. The persecution and continued imprisonment of Mumia Abu Jamal for being the only journalist in the 70s to criticize Philly police/paint a fair picture of who and what MOVE was

16. The continued lack of education about any of this

Any reconciliation about this doesn't end with an apology. It needs to include actions that move towards the end of police violence, mass incarceration, and the conditions that created all of it.

Glad to see this thread is taking off. I HIGHLY suggest starting by watching Jason (not Jared) Osder's "Let the Fire Burn".

I think it's still available on iTunes but if you don't wanna pay the $2.99 you can watch a lower quality rip of it here:

After 3 week old Life Africa had her skull crushed by Philly police in '76, MOVE displayed her body publicly for local politicians to see.

After the '85 fire the coroner found at least one of the burned children had bullet fragments resulting from the 10k rounds fired by police.

When asked why he let the fire burn 60+ homes for hours without firefighter help, Mayor Goode said under oath that "at some point he thought firemen were fighting the blaze, but what he thought was water from the fire hoses was static on his TV."

inquirer.com/philly/opinion…

Been getting a lot of messages about how people can help. I am not a member of MOVE but I have worked with them. What will help them the most:

1) Having people educate others about what happened
2) Increased awareness and mobilization around the movement to free Mumia Abu Jamal

The 7 surviving members of the MOVE 9 stemming from the 1978 standoff have all been released since October 2018 and are all rebuilding their lives. Below are links to GoFundMe's/FundRazr's for them:

GFM for Chuck Africa: gofundme.com/f/help-chuck-a…

GFM for Delbert Africa: gofundme.com/f/delafricasup…

GFM for Debbie and Mike Africa: gofundme.com/help-debbie-am…

FR for Janet and Janine Africa: fundrazr.com/janet-janine

FR for Eddie Africa: fundrazr.com/eddie-africa