On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped a bomb from a helicopter onto MOVE’s home at 6221 Osage Avenue. The resulting fire killed six adults and five children and spread through the surrounding neighborhood, destroying 61 homes.
The bombing came after a daylong confrontation between police and MOVE, whose members lived communally and advocated Black liberation and a way of life opposed to industrial society. Officials allowed the fire to burn instead of immediately putting it out. Residents who had left their homes for the police operation returned to a devastated block.
Those killed were John Africa, Rhonda Africa, Theresa Africa, Frank Africa, Conrad Africa, Raymond Africa, Tomaso Africa, Little Phil Africa, Delisha Africa, Netta Africa and Tree Africa. Ramona Africa and Birdie Africa survived.
The city’s commission condemned the bombing. A later civil case produced damages for survivors and relatives, but no official was criminally charged for the deaths. Forty years later, the consequences remain part of the lives of MOVE families and the people displaced from Osage Avenue.
The handling of the victims’ remains brought further distress. The city commissioned an independent investigation in 2021 after revelations about remains retained by public institutions. Its report examined both that history and failures in the medical examiner’s practices.
On the fortieth anniversary, commemorations in Philadelphia brought together survivors, relatives, neighbors and people who had learned about the bombing through their work. NPPC joins them in remembering the eleven people killed and in supporting the families’ demand that the city account honestly for what it did.
