In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, police begin evacuating people from their Osage Avenue homes in order to prepare for an operation against MOVE, a radical cult group that had assembled a large arsenal. By the end of the confrontation, 11 people were dead and 61 homes had been burned down.
The roots of the 1985 incident date back to 1978 when a confrontation between MOVE and the police left Officer James Ramp dead. Several innocent MOVE members were convicted of murder, enraging other members. Leader John Africa began a counterattack on Christmas Eve, 1983. At the MOVE headquarters at 6221 Osage Avenue, members set up several loudspeakers and began shouting profanities at their neighbors. Even more ominously, MOVE began assembling a cache of weapons and building bunkers in their row house.
Everything came to a head in May 1985 when Mayor W. Wilson Goode ordered police to raid the MOVE headquarters. Authorities soon realized that there was very little they could do to remove MOVE members from their entrenched position. At about 5:30 p.m. on May 13, a small bomb was dropped on the roof of the building in an attempt to destroy their bunker. This proved disastrous, as the roof was covered with tar and gas, and a blistering fire broke out.
It took the fire department an hour to begin extinguishing the fire. By this time, it was raging out of control. In the ensuing chaos, six adults and five children inside the MOVE home were killed. By the time the fire had been contained, nearly an entire block of homes in Philadelphia had burned down.
Much like the Waco, Texas, raid of the Branch Davidians eight years later, the government came under heavy criticism for their harsh handling of the confrontation. In 1986, a jury awarded $1.5 million to three survivors of the MOVE raid.
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It was a start. Should have cleaned up all of Philly. The Move was a POS. They all deserved to die.
One of the scariest days of my life. It was a Sunday. I was going to Drexel University and living at 31st and Baring in West Philly. It was one block closer to the ghetto than the original MOVE headquarters at 31st and Powelton. I usually drove home on Sundays through some of the worst neighborhoods in West Philly along Springfield Ave., so my mom could wash my clothes and feed me a good meal.
I had to drive home that night while those homes were burning to the ground. I was driving my unreliable 1973 Ford Capri. The natives were on every street corner milling about as smoke drifted above. I was praying my ass off for the entire trip.
Good times.
Good PS to the story.
In addition to the $1.5 million lawsuit payout, Goode had to rebuild the houses for all the people whose houses burned down. The corrupt government and corrupt unions used “diverse” builders and built dozens of highly defective homes. They were so badly built, they all had to be knocked down and rebuilt for a 2nd time.
Phila government at its finest.
The MOVE ain’t dead…
The group’s name, MOVE, is not an acronym. They claim that all that lives, moves, otherwise it’s dead.
They are supposed to greet each other with the phrase, ‘On the Move.”
http://www.onamove.com
“Almost 35 years after the Aug. 8, 1978 confrontation in Philadelphia, the five remaining “MOVE 9″ prisoners are still being denied parole, after becoming eligible in 2008 (two MOVE 9 members, Phil and Merle, have died under very suspicious circumstances). MOVE is asking for support in building public pressure for the MOVE 9′s release.
Write a letter or send a card to the MOVE 9 and let them know they are in our hearts and on our minds.”
I’ll be sure to get my letter in the mail To-Day!