The first Day of Remembrance of the MOVE bombing, including a march to Malcolm X. Park, will be held on Thursday, May 13. The march marks the 36th anniversary of the bombing, which killed 11 people, including five children, and burned dozens of homes in West Philadelphia.

The MOVE house at 6221 Osage Ave. was the target of the city-sanctioned bombing in 1985. Surviving members and relatives will participate in a MOVE bombing victims commemoration event, which will begin at 5 p.m. at Osage Ave. and Cobbs Creek Parkway. Community members are invited (see the flyer below for more details). Continue Reading

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.  Continue Reading

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.  Continue Reading

The Jubilee School, a private K-5 school located at 4211 Chester Avenue, will be hosting a ceremony honoring the site of the MOVE bombing (at the intersection of Osage Avenue and Cobbs Creek Parkway) on Saturday, June 23, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. The event is open to the community and will feature performances from local poets and artists, including scholar Sonia Sanchez.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approved earlier this spring the placing of a historical marker. Students of the Jubilee School, who have studied the 1985 bombing of the MOVE headquarters at 6221 Osage Avenue for the past two years, approached the PHMC with a nomination, according to the The Philadelphia Tribune.  Continue Reading

The city’s Redevelopment Authority selected a local developer to rebuild the residential blocks destroyed in the 1985 MOVE bombing.

If approved by the authority’s board, Philadelphia-based builders AJR Endeavors LLC will rebuild the 36 homes hastily constructed after the bombing on the 6200 blocks of Osage Avenue and Pine Street in the Cobbs Creek section of West Philadelphia. The project will cost an estimated $3.2 million and AJR Endeavors’ bid was one of two received by the authority. The agreement will require construction to be completed within two years of its start.

The fire that destroyed more than 50 neighboring homes began after police dropped a small bomb from a helicopter on a home at 6221 Osage Ave. following a long standoff with members of the black liberation group MOVE who had barricaded themselves inside. Eleven people, including five children, were killed.  Continue Reading

On Saturday, April 8 at 4:30 p.m., the MOVE organization will host a film screening and discussion at A-Space Anarchist Community Center at 4722 Baltimore Avenue. Howard Zinn narrates the documentary, “MOVE!,” about the 1985 bombing of the organization’s headquarters at 6221 Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia. Eleven people died and 61 rowhomes were destroyed.

MOVE’s Ramona Africa will lead a talk and Q&A after the film screening. The tragedy, which took place over 30 years ago, sheds light on state violence against marginalized communities, especially those dedicated to social change and liberation. Visit their Facebook event page to RSVP.  Continue Reading