The Philadelphia City Council has unanimously passed a resolution to establish the MOVE bombing day, May 13, as an annual day of “observation, reflection and recommitment.” The resolution formally apologizes on behalf of the City Council for the 1985 city-sanctioned bombing of the MOVE home at 6221 Osage Ave. that killed 11 people, including five children, and burned dozens of neighborhood homes.
The resolution was introduced by City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) in connection to last month’s police killing of Walter Wallace Jr. in the Cobb’s Creek neighborhood.
“Thank you to all my Council colleagues for your support. This resolution serves as recognition of the pain and trauma that these events have brought upon the Cobbs Creek community, and Black people in our city as a whole,” Gauthier tweeted on Thursday after the resolution was approved by the City Council.
The resolution acknowledges “the immeasurable and enduring harm caused to citizens across our city, region and country as a result of officially sanctioned actions by the City of Philadelphia” and “recklessness in communication, negotiation and conflict resolution management on the part of City of Philadelphia officials in crucial matters related to the MOVE Family, their neighbors, friends and the first responders.”
The resolution also includes the City Council’s commitment “to not supporting the use of excessive force against the citizens of Philadelphia that mirrors the force used at 6221 Osage Avenue on May 13, 1985.”
The full text of the resolution is available here.
November 23rd, 2020 at 3:45 pm
To WHOM is the city purportedly “apologizing”? — seems like they carefully crafted their wording to avoid apologizing to MOVE, and are taking political advantage of the current “charged” political climate.
November 23rd, 2020 at 6:01 pm
Let’s take it farther:
1. We Demand an Authentic Defunding of the Police Budget
Since the uprisings began, the Philadelphia organizing community has made unequivocal demands for the City of Philadelphia to vote NO on a proposed increase to the police budget. In recent days, the city has responded to this public pressure and announced a reduction to the police budget by $33 million dollars. This supposed decrease in funding is simply a ploy by city officials to mislead the public. City Council has merely moved the budget for crossing guards to another department of city government. This type of subterfuge is unacceptable. We demand an immediate and authentic reduction in the police budget by 20%. We want public funds to enrich our communities, not the police. We demand the originally proposed $14 million police budget increase be augmented by $11 million and go to the Philadelphia School District budget for the removal of environmental hazards from schools, namely, asbestos and lead paint, which is estimated to cost $25 million per year.
More: https://blackphillyradicalcollective.com/our-13-demands/