West Philly City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier yesterday joined a dozen others on the City Council in formal apologizing for the 1985 MOVE bombing and called on the city to declare May 13th an annual day of “reflection, observation, and recommitment to the principle that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Wednesday, May 13th, marked the 35th anniversary of the city-sanctioned police attack on the MOVE home at 6221 Osage Ave. Police fired thousands of rounds into the building in a siege that culminated in the dropping of two bombs on the building. Eleven MOVE members died, including children and dozens of homes were destroyed in an ensuing fire that consumed dozens of nearby homes.
“MOVE members, Cobbs Creek residents and property owners, and Philadelphia as a whole have waited far too long for this recognition, which serves as validation of their enduring pain,” a City Council statement issued yesterday read.
A resolution will be introduced to the Council later this year formalizing the apology.
Here is the full text of the statement:
Today, on the 35th anniversary of the MOVE Bombing – a brutal attack carried out by the City of Philadelphia on its own citizens – we offer an apology for the decisions that led to this tragic event and announce our intent to introduce a formal resolution to this effect later this year. We call upon the City of Philadelphia to declare May 13th an annual day of reflection, observation, and recommitment to the principle that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Additionally, we call on all people of the City of Philadelphia to work toward eliminating racial prejudices, injustices, and discrimination from our society.
On May 13, 1985, as part of an effort to forcefully evict MOVE, a revolutionary black liberation group, from their home at 6221 Osage Avenue, police fired over 10,000 rounds of ammunition in under 90 minutes at a row house containing children. City officials then made the unconscionable decision to drop a bomb on the home. The resulting explosion sparked a fire, which authorities let burn, not calling firefighters to the scene until nearly an hour later. By the time the decision was made to fight the fire, it was already out of control. Five children between the ages of seven and thirteen, along with six adults, perished in the MOVE house. Two full city blocks were burned to the ground, destroying 61 houses and leaving 250 Philadelphians homeless.
An investigatory commission set up by the Goode Administration concluded that city officials’ decision to bomb the MOVE house was “reckless, ill-conceived and hastily approved.” The commission recommended criminal investigations and charges, but a grand jury decided that these charges were unjustified. To this day, not one individual has faced criminal consequences or been held accountable in any meaningful way for this act of blatant aggression.
MOVE members, Cobbs Creek residents and property owners, and Philadelphia as a whole have waited far too long for this recognition, which serves as validation of their enduring pain. We also acknowledge the physical, mental, and emotional harm caused on May 13, 1985 to non-complicit public servants and their families as a result of following official orders issued by city leadership. As public officials, we have a responsibility to address this trauma, and to make a good-faith effort to right the wrongs of the past. The City has worked to rebuild the properties, and to provide monetary compensation to former homeowners along with the MOVE organization; however, that is not the same as a genuine apology that recognizes the massive failure in leadership that took place that day.
There are echoes of the MOVE Bombing that persist in Philadelphia’s police-community relations. Historical discrimination against people of color and unnecessary use of force has shaped a culture of distrust between police and residents. Perhaps Philadelphia could have been set on a different path, had the bombing been widely condemned in the aftermath. But it wasn’t, and we are still living with those consequences today.
An apology is more than a symbolic gesture – it’s a starting point for conversations on reconciliation, that can build towards a more just and equitable future. We are committed to remembering the devastation that took place on this day 35 years ago, in order to heal the impact of this tragedy and prevent similar such occurrences from happening in the future.
We apologize for the decisions leading to the devastation of that day, and acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of the MOVE Bombing. As members of Council, we acknowledge the significant failures in communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution leading up to and following these tragic events.
The work of Mike Africa, Jr., Ulysses Slaughter, Gabriel Bryant, Dr. Pauline B. Thompson, Eric K. Grimes, and a community of activists working tirelessly for justice have been invaluable in this effort. Their commitment has brought critical conversations to light, allowing the process of true healing to begin – and we thank them.
We plan to formalize this apology with a Council resolution later this year. This is a timely opportunity for us as public servants to recommit ourselves to acknowledge all of our history and work towards eliminating injustice from our society.
May 16th, 2020 at 1:33 pm
I presume MOVE has rightfully denounced this as empty and hypocritical blather. I notice there is no mention of the fact that the people who “perished in the MOVE house” tried to escape and were driven back inside by police fire. And that the only person to spend even a day in prison was Ramona Africa.
May 16th, 2020 at 2:21 pm
What’s up with “the only person to spend even a day in prison was Ramona Africa”? Where you been?
May 16th, 2020 at 8:16 pm
Ramona was the only MOVE member to be locked up or convicted of anything after the bombing. (The others were murdered.) Not one cop or city official has been criminally charged to this day.
May 16th, 2020 at 8:27 pm
PS I see that the resolution actually does mention the lack of prosecution cited above. However I believe MOVE would disagree that the bombing was a “failure of leadership,” as elements in the Philly power structure got what they wanted, i.e. dead MOVE members. The elephant in the room is Rendell, who should at least be retroactively censured concurrently with any eventual Council resolution.
May 16th, 2020 at 8:57 pm
The MOVE 9 suffered greatly and so unjustly. City bosses and the Philadelphia Police have blood on their hands. It is not the fault of the progressive City Council members who want to raise the issue. The System is deeply corrupt and racist.
May 16th, 2020 at 10:35 pm
[Ramona] was asked what she thought of Goode’s call for an apology from the city:
“He said that under the same circumstances he’d do it again, so anyone who tries to make excuses for him is foolish,” she said.
May 17th, 2020 at 8:24 am
“Brothers and sisters, and friends — and I see some enemies. In fact, I think we’d be fooling ourselves if we had an audience this large and didn’t realize that there were some enemies present.”
May 18th, 2020 at 3:05 pm
What is the relevance of the above quote?
May 18th, 2020 at 7:06 pm
I’m not convinced you’re operating in good faith. Otherwise your mediocre arguments might be worth engaging with.
May 18th, 2020 at 9:37 pm
I don’t recall making any “arguments.” Just stating facts. You seem to feel compelled to treat everything as an argument. So argue with this:
Janine Africa: “First of all, it’s not sincere. They are just [trying] to fool people into thinking that they are sincere and take that pressure off of them, because they don’t want people to see them for what they are: baby killers. They deliberately killed five children [on] May 13. They deliberately told them not to put the fire out. They deliberately shot the family members back in the house when they clearly saw them trying to carry the children out of the house,” she said.
“So what is an apology for now? They don’t mean it. They just want to make people see them in a different light,” Africa added.
May 18th, 2020 at 9:48 pm
And from Mike Africa Jr.:
“This has been a day like all the other 34 May 13ths … another reminder that looms over our heads that our family was murdered…There is no way possible to get justice,” Africa told WURD hosts after Goode made his statement. Although Africa said freeing former Black Panther member Mumia Abu-Jamal would be a start.
Free Mumia!
May 19th, 2020 at 12:03 pm
The most real thing we could do right now to fight White Supremacy is banish the demon of Trumpism. Right now it is damaging everything, including the minds of its believers…
May 19th, 2020 at 4:55 pm
So in other words forget about freeing Mumia, let’s argue about “isms,” and about politicians who weren’t even around at the time. When in doubt change the subject.
The persecution of MOVE and Mumia was the work of Ed Rendell, Rizzo, Lynne Abraham, Wilson Goode and their ilk (all Democrats btw). So of course you want to talk about Trump. But as MOVE said, “apologies” not backed up by compensatory actions are empty words.
Free Mumia!
May 19th, 2020 at 5:08 pm
You called yourself a “revolutionary socialist” but your logic is strictly either/or. Where is your dialectical analysis?
May 19th, 2020 at 7:39 pm
Not letting you change the subject again — DO YOU or DON’T YOU want to FREE MUMIA? Or were you just virtue signalling with your supposed concern for MOVE?
May 19th, 2020 at 7:49 pm
Okay, you don’t really know what argument needs and neither do you understand dialectical reasoning.
May 19th, 2020 at 8:19 pm
Give up, it’s hopeless!
May 19th, 2020 at 8:56 pm
I know. Glad someone else noticed.
May 21st, 2020 at 1:31 pm
Janine Phillips Africa, was in prison at the time of the bombing. Her 12-year-old son Phil was one of the victims.
…In a 1976 incident, police arrived at the MOVE headquarters and it prompted a fight. Phillips Africa was knocked down as she held her newborn baby, named Life, in her arms. Baby Life’s skull was shattered during the confrontation and died that day.
…Phillips Africa said the group simply wants the city to acknowledge that MOVE was not responsible for the crimes it was accused of. “We don’t want money or museums or anything like that. We want to be left alone and for this city to acknowledge that MOVE is not guilty of any crimes,” she told WPVI.
https://www.thenorthstar.com/35-years-after-philadelphia-police-dropped-a-bomb-on-the-move-headquarters-killing-11-city-councilmembers-issue-an-apology/
May 21st, 2020 at 2:18 pm
Yes. I hope you will support this simple request and demand that Council stop mincing words. And of course Ramona deserves compensation for being falsely prosecuted, at the very least.
Do I detect a conscious reticence on your part to express solidarity with the campaign to Free Mumia? Here’s your chance to clear up any confusion.
May 21st, 2020 at 2:21 pm
With friends like these…
May 21st, 2020 at 10:42 pm
After all that pontificating about justice and racism I can’t believe you won’t look past your ego long enough to say “I support freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal.”
May 29th, 2020 at 9:24 am
Working to abolish police brutality is clearly on the cutting edge of the struggle for Liberation. Lots more is going on, but this is incredibly important.
May 29th, 2020 at 2:28 pm
Exactly. Which is why your words will ring hollow as long as you refuse to express solidarity with the struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has spent almost 40 years in prison due to police brutality and decades of racist “Democratic” city administrations.
May 29th, 2020 at 2:55 pm
“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart.
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!”
May 29th, 2020 at 3:22 pm
More avoidance behavior as AD blatantly refuses to support Mumia, meanwhile appropriating language opposing “white supremacy.” This is exceptionally hypocritical considering his usual “progressive” rhetoric. However, changing the subject won’t work, and unless AD addresses this contradiction I’m about to call him out as a typical white liberal racist. I may even give MOVE a call, so they can follow this “dialogue” as well, maybe even respond.
May 29th, 2020 at 3:45 pm
Why do you keep avoiding the subject, American Dream? And why are trying to imply that George is the devil?
May 30th, 2020 at 8:22 am
Police brutality does not just happen; it is allowed to happen. It is tolerated by the police themselves, those on the street and those in command. It is tolerated by prosecutors, who seldom bring charges against violent cops, and by juries, who rarely convict. It is tolerated by the civil authorities, the mayors and the city councils, who do not use their influence to challenge police abuses. But why?
The answer is simple: police brutality is tolerated because it is what people with power want.
More: https://roarmag.org/essays/rights-riots-and-police-brutality/
May 31st, 2020 at 7:51 pm
You are a white liberal racist AD. Silence equals violence. Free Mumia Now!
June 4th, 2020 at 1:16 pm
I guess I should add that AD is not alone in this liberal, and very racist, silence around Mumia, who in the rest of the world is known as America’s Mandela. At this pivotal time WPL readers who ordinarily cast themselves as strongly anti-racist still remain distant from a case of global significance, emanating from the same police department people purport to be “opposing.” So amidst all the flying rhetoric and emotion y’all should be re-examining the historic travesty of justice still going on here, and put pressure on Krasner to fight Mumia’s persecution rather than exacerbating it, as has been his pattern since being elected.
This would be a good place to start: https://mobilization4mumia.com/
June 4th, 2020 at 1:56 pm
He’s like an absurd parody of a leftist, as composed by a brain addled member of the Alt Right!
June 4th, 2020 at 3:10 pm
Go for it AD — when reason fails you ad hominems are your last resort.
Free Mumia!
June 4th, 2020 at 9:37 pm
AD, Why not show your support for Mumia instead of attacking someone who does.
June 5th, 2020 at 8:56 am
MAGA-type people are fired up, that is clear. Their chosen candidate is standing on thin ice, after all. Beyond that, the movement for black lives is anathema. So get ready for an exciting six months! The possible overthrow of the Trump regime will not be a panacea, but it will be an important step in a more hopeful direction.