MOVE bombing
The MOVE bombing refers to a tragic incident that occurred in Philadelphia on May 13, 1985, involving the radical activist group MOVE. Founded in 1972 by Vincent Leaphart, who adopted the name John Africa, MOVE was known for its "back-to-nature" philosophy, yet it operated within an urban context, often clashing with local authorities and neighbors. Tensions escalated after a police confrontation in 1978 resulted in the death of a police officer and the conviction of several MOVE members. Following years of protests from neighbors regarding noise and living conditions, city officials decided to take action against MOVE.
During a standoff, police used tear gas to attempt eviction, which led to a gunfight. Subsequently, after receiving permission from Mayor Wilson Goode, police dropped explosives on the group's fortified house, igniting a fire that spread rapidly and resulted in the deaths of eleven MOVE members, including children. The explosion and ensuing fire destroyed two city blocks and left a significant impact on the community. The incident drew widespread condemnation across the nation, although some local residents supported the city's actions. In its aftermath, the MOVE bombing led to significant legal and financial repercussions for the city, along with a reevaluation of police conduct and community relations.
MOVE bombing
The Event: Attempt to evict illegal squatters that killed eleven people and destroyed sixty-one homes
Date: May 13, 1985
Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Significance: One of the most controversial government actions of modern times, the Philadelphia city government’s use of a bomb to evict squatters was widely condemned and raised questions about the limits of government power.
MOVE, founded in 1972 by Vincent Leaphart, who adopted the name “John Africa,” was a group of “back-to-nature” activists with an unusual and inconsistent philosophy. Although they advocated going back to nature, they were an urban movement. They shunned modern technology but used an elaborate loudspeaker system to bombard neighbors with their views. They decried pollution but littered property with their garbage and human waste.
The origin of the name “MOVE” is unclear. Not an acronym, it is generally believed to be merely a shortened form for the term “movement.” MOVE first received media attention in 1978, when Philadelphia police clashed with members when police tried to evict them from an illegally occupied house. One police officer was killed, and eight officers and firefighters were wounded. Nine MOVE members were convicted of murder.
After failing to win the release of their imprisoned colleagues, MOVE members barricaded their new residence in a middle-class neighborhood, hooked up an elaborate sound system, and bombarded their neighbors for twelve hours per day with their profanity-laced speeches. This continued for more than two years, despite repeated appeals to the city by neighborhood residents. Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode, that city’s first African American mayor, chose to ignore the appeals of local residents. At one point, Mayor Goode announced that he preferred “to have dirt and some smell than to have death.” The denouement, however, included dirt, smell, and death.
After local residents held a press conference on May 1, 1985, criticizing the city’s inaction, city officials decided to take aggressive action. On May 13, 1995, Police Commissioner Gregore Sambor told MOVE members to vacate their two-story row house. Tear gas was fired into the house, and a gun battle commenced. Twelve hours later, MOVE members still occupied the house. Police officials requested and received Goode’s permission to drop a satchel filled with explosives onto the roof of MOVE’s house. The goal was to dislodge a rooftop bunker; the result, however, was a fire that quickly got out of control. By the time the fires were controlled, eleven MOVE members, including four children, were dead. Only one thirty-year-old woman and one thirteen-year-old boy escaped alive. In addition to the deaths, two city blocks were destroyed, and sixty-one homes were reduced to embers.
Aftermath
Newspapers across the nation and throughout the world condemned the mayor’s decision to drop the bomb, but a majority of local residents, both black and white, supported Goode and the police department. By the mid-1990’s, the MOVE bombing had cost Philadelphia $30 million, and legal action was still pending. The city rebuilt the sixty-one destroyed homes, paid settlements to residents for lost belongings, and paid damages to the families of slain MOVE members. A 1986 citizens’ commission concluded that Goode and the police and fire commissioners had “exhibited a reckless disregard for life and property.” Goode was reelected to another four-year term in 1987.
Bibliography
Anderson, John, and Hilary Hevenor. Burning Down the House: Move and the Tragedy of Philadelphia. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990.
Assefa, Hizkias, and Paul Wahrhaftig. The MOVE Crisis in Philadelphia: Extremist Groups and Conflict Resolution. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990.
“MOVE Plaintiffs Awarded $1.5 Million in 1985 Bombing.” Jet, July 15, 1996.
Wagner-Pacifici, Robin. Discourse and Destruction: The City of Philadelphia Versus MOVE. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.