EP 127: The 1985 MOVE Bombing

Hashtag History

This week on Hashtag History, we will be discussing the 1985 MOVE Bombing in which the City of Philadelphia bombed and killed its own people. On May 13, 1985, the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a bomb onto a West Philadelphia home that they knew to be occupied by men, women, and children. Those residing within this house were a part of MOVE, a Black liberation group founded on the principles of racial justice, and other causes such as animal and environmental rights. They had long been a nuisance for the local police and had also become a nuisance to many of their residential neighbors who had made noise and littering complaints. In response to this, the Philadelphia Mayor ordered for the group to be evicted from the home. When they did not do this, the Philadelphia Police Department bombed the home and the Philadelphia Fire Department allowed for the fire resulting from this bombing to destroy an additional sixty-one homes.

At the end of this horrendous event, eleven people were killed (including children) and another 250 people were left homeless.

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