West Philadelphia residents gather during the fire from the bomb dropped on the MOVE home on Osage Ave. on May 13, 1985. (Credit: Wikipedia)
It has been 40 years since May 13, 1985 when the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a bomb from a helicopter on 6221 Osage Avenue in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of West Philadelphia.
The bombing of the row home came as a final response to the 90-minute shootout with MOVE– a Philadelphia based black liberation group.
John Africa, formerly Vincent Leaphart, founded MOVE in 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the goal of rejecting the modern technological society and going back to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle through a back-to-nature movement.
The members of MOVE were deeply religious and deeply advocated for all forms of life; they too, following John, switched their surnames to “Africa”, showing admiration to the continent they regarded as their ancestral homeland.
The relocation of the MOVE headquarters to the Cobbs Creek neighborhood occurred in 1981. For four years neighbors complained about the group causing disturbance to the neighborhood; including leaving trash on the streets, confronting neighbors, and using a bullhorn to make political announcements.
The police obtained arrest warrants for four members of MOVE, charging them for crimes including parole violations, illegal possession of firearms, and making terrorist threats.
On the night of May 12, 1985, police evacuated the surrounding neighborhood of the MOVE occupancy.
Aftermath of the MOVE Bombing, and resulting fire, by the Police Department in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA [May 1985] pic.twitter.com/3BKRdPkDxw
— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) April 28, 2025
At 6 a.m. on the morning of May 13, 1985, around five hundred police officers took their stance at the Cobbs Creek neighborhood in an attempt to execute the arrest warrants of the four adult members and clear the MOVE occupancy of all children ages seven to 13 who were illegally kept from attending school.
MOVE members resisted the Philadelphia Police Department request of evacuation, which led to gunshots being exchanged.
Ten thousand rounds of ammunition were fired by the Philadelphia Police Department before the ultimate decision of dropping a bomb on the residence was made by Commissioner George J. Sambor after he was authorized by Mayor W. Wilson Goode, who was not on the scene, to do so.
Fires from the explosion spread to more than 60 surrounding homes on Osage Ave and Pine Street.
The event resulted in 11 casualties, including the death of five children and MOVE founder John Africa, and left 250 residents of the Cobbs Creek neighborhood homeless.
On May 8, 2025, the Philadelphia City Council voted to adopt May 13th as a day of reflection and remembrance for the victims of the 1985 MOVE bombing. The city of Philadelphia continues to feel the effects of the decision they made on May 13, 1985, 40 years later.
