ade of their home at 309 North 33rd Street in the
Powelton Village section of West Philadelphia on
March 16, 1978. Five months later, on August 8,
1978, a battle left police officer John Ramp dead and
the home bulldozed. Nine MOVE members were
convicted of murder and imprisoned.
The remaining members found a new home at
6221 Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia. On Au-
gust 8, 1984, MOVE marked the sixth anniversary of
its first major battle with police by beginning con-
struction to turn this home into a fortress. Neigh-
bors, especially whites, became fearful. They asked
the city for help. On May 13, 1985, Mayor Wilson
Goode, himself an African American, ordered five
hundred police officers—including special weapons
and tactics (SWAT) teams armed with tear gas, ma-
chine guns, and heavy military gear—to surround
the fortress and force MOVE to vacate the premises.
MOVE refused to surrender. During the day-long
siege, sporadic gunfire erupted from both sides.
In the late afternoon, Police Commissioner
Gregore J. Sambor ordered an aerial attack. About
5:30p.m., a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter
dropped a powerful explosive on the roof. Only one
adult, Ramona Africa, and one boy, Birdie Africa,
survived. John Africa was among the six adults and
five children killed in the attack. The fire from the
bomb spread throughout the neighborhood, de-
stroying or damaging about sixty homes. The attack,
explosion, and aftermath were broadcast live on lo-
cal television. Shortly after the national media re-
ceived the story, Philadelphia was ridiculed as “the
city that bombed itself.”Impact MOVE was a prominent theme in the ur-
ban folklore of Philadelphia even before the 1985
bombing. In 1983, local white rock band Beru Revue
recorded a song about MOVE, “Be Careful Tonight.”
After the bombing, several African American rap-
pers and white punk bands nationwide mentioned672 MOVE The Eighties in America
A Philadelphia neighborhood burns after city authorities dropped a bomb on the MOVE headquarters on May 13, 1985.(AP/Wide
World Photos)