PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Thirty-eight years ago on May 13, city officials dropped explosives in West Philadelphia during a standoff with members of Black liberation group MOVE. Supporters, survivors and community members on Saturday hosted a day of remembrance at Osage Avenue and Cobbs Creek Parkway, near the site where six adults and five children were killed, and 61 homes were destroyed.
Dozens came out in solidarity. Along the Parkway on Saturday, people held hand-painted portraits of the 11 members of the Africa family who died in the Mother’s Day bombing.
Ramona Africa, the only surviving adult from the bombing, recounted the horrors from that day in 1985.
“Our house was ablaze,” she said. “Ten thousand bullets were aimed at us and our children and our animals.”
One by one, speakers took up a microphone to recount the tense and chaotic chain of events from that day, conjuring images of hundreds of police, thousands of bullets, and a blanket of tear gas covering the neighborhood.
“It was like a war zone,” said neighbor Jim B. He said they will never forget what happened — because it’s still happening.
“Look at George Floyd, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor. The list just goes on and on,” he said.
Neighbor Imrul Mazid said he came out to honor the legacy of the family and land.
“I mean, I think it’s a beautiful gathering that embodies a sense of love that’s ensconced within struggle itself,” he said.
Mike Africa said this anniversary marks a new chapter for his family, called Reclaim Osage.
“This is our land, and that’s why Reclaim Osage is so important,” he said.
Almost 40 years later, he now has the title to the property at 6221 Osage Avenue, where the MOVE home once stood.
“Thirty-eight years ago, the city of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on our house. That was my aunt’s house. She bought that house.”
He said getting the property back was his aunt’s dying wish. And he said the house will help the city of Philadelphia never forget what took place.
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