PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The University of Pennsylvania is apologizing for keeping the remains of children killed in the 1985 MOVE bombing in West Philadelphia, and says it will return them to their families.
However, Penn's apology is not sitting well with members of the group.
It has been 36 years since Philadelphia police dropped a bomb on the MOVE compound along Osage Avenue, but for N’Djamena Africa, it feels like time has stood still.
“I feel like I am reliving 1985,” she said.
N’Djamena and other members of the Africa family and MOVE effort spoke publicly on Monday, following the recent discovery that the Penn Museum has been in possession of the remains of children killed in the 1985 bombing. They say those remains were taken from them and never returned.
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The Penn Museum has faced considerable public criticism and outrage from Philadelphians in recent years. Its Samuel G. Morton Cranial Collection consists of more than 1,300 human skulls that were gathered in the early 19th century. The skulls have been stored at Penn Museum since the 1960s and include the remains of dozens of Black and Cuban Philadelphians, some formerly enslaved.
Morton, a pseudo-anthropologist, used the collection to “justify white supremacist views of race,” said museum director Christopher Woods.
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The museum recently announced it will give those skulls a proper burial in Philadelphia.
In a statement, University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann said the university was “profoundly disturbed” to learn of the MOVE remains. She said they were provided to a faculty member by the medical examiner decades ago as a way to identify a victim of the MOVE compound. The remains have been kept at the Penn Museum “for much of that time.”
“Simply said, this was insensitive, unprofessional and unacceptable,” she said.
It is unknown how many individuals’ remains are in the museum’s possession.
The university is also investigating how the remains ended up there in the first place and how they stayed there for so long.
Mike Africa, Jr. added he could hardly hold back his emotions about how to move forward.
“I’m feeling hurt,” he said, “feeling angry.”
Gutmann also extended an official apology to the Africa family on behalf of the museum and university and assured them they are working to return the remains to the family.
When asked if Penn reached out, N’Djamena said no.
“Why couldn’t they have said all of that 36 years ago?” she asked. “They can contact us.”
The city of Philadelphia also said it is conducting a review of how and why someone in the Medical Examiner's Office gave the museum remains from some of the 11 victims killed in the bombing.