1981

MOVE Relocates

• Surviving members move to 6221 Osage Avenue, Cobbs Creek neighborhood
• Begin rebuilding organization
• Central demand: Free the MOVE 9

1982-1984

Fortification and Escalation

• MOVE builds wooden bunker on roof of row house
• Boards up windows, creates defensive positions
• Weapons visible on roof; armed members patrol
• Loudspeakers installed; broadcast political messages, profanity, demands for MOVE 9 release
• Messages broadcast at all hours; neighbors unable to sleep

Neighbor Complaints:

• Noise disrupting entire block
• Sanitation concerns – outdoor composting, numerous animals
• Armed members intimidating residents
• Property values declining
• Children exposed to constant profanity and radical messaging
• Physical confrontations during disputes

City Response:

• Police begin surveillance
• Warrants issued for several MOVE members (parole violations, weapons charges, terroristic threats)
• Political pressure builds on Mayor W. Wilson Goode (first Black mayor, elected 1983)
• Neighbors demand city take action

Why This Matters: This is where negotiation should have happened. This is where mediators should have been brought in. This is where someone should have asked: what’s the off-ramp? But by 1984, both sides are locked into confrontation. MOVE expects another massacre. Police want revenge for 1978. Neighbors are trapped in the middle. Everyone’s preparing for war, no one’s preparing for peace.

1985: The Bombing

January – April 1985

Planning Phase

• Mayor Goode under increasing political pressure
• Police Commissioner Gregore Sambor publicly vows to remove MOVE
• Election year politics factor into decision-making
• Operational plans developed but not widely shared
• Fire department and emergency management inadequately consulted

May 1-12, 1985

Final Countdown

• Warrants prepared for MOVE members
• Police finalize tactical plans
• Critical Failure: No serious negotiation attempted
• No mediators engaged
• MOVE 9 families not consulted as potential intermediaries
• Decision made to use force to “resolve situation once and for all”

May 13, 1985: The Day Everything Burned

5:30 AM – Dawn

• Police begin evacuating immediate neighbors
• Perimeter established around 6221 Osage Avenue
• Hundreds of officers deployed
• Fire equipment staged

6:00 AM

• Police demand via loudspeaker: MOVE members exit house
• MOVE refuses
• Children confirmed to be inside house

6:30 AM – 5:00 PM

• Police fire over 10,000 rounds of ammunition into house
• MOVE returns fire sporadically
• Water cannons deployed; house flooded
• Tear gas used
• MOVE members remain inside
• Children still inside

3:00 PM

• Final decision made: drop explosive to “blow bunker off roof”
• Bomb constructed: C-4 plastic explosive and Tovex water gel
• Pennsylvania State Police helicopter pilot briefed

5:27 PM – THE BOMB DROPS

• Detective William Klein pilots state police helicopter over house
• Explosive device dropped onto roof bunker
• Massive explosion destroys bunker
• Fuel stored on roof ignites
• Fire starts immediately

5:30 PM – 6:15 PM – THE 45 MINUTES

• Fire burns in MOVE house
• Firefighters positioned and ready
• Fire Commissioner William Richmond orders: “Let it burn”
• Police Commissioner Sambor supports decision
• Stated reason: let fire destroy bunker completely
• Fire spreads through MOVE house
• No firefighting efforts for approximately 45 minutes

6:00 PM

• Fire breaches walls of 6221 Osage Avenue
• Adjacent row houses begin catching fire
• Wind carries embers down block
• Point of no return approaching

6:15 PM

• Firefighting finally begins
• Fire already out of control
• Water pressure problems compound crisis
• Multiple structures fully involved

6:30 PM – Midnight

• Fire burns through two city blocks
• Firefighters battle blaze for hours
• Residents watch homes burn
• Media broadcasts images worldwide: American city bombed itself

May 14, 1985 – Morning After

6:00 AM

• Fire finally extinguished
• 61 homes destroyed
• Approximately 250 residents homeless
• Search for bodies begins

Noon

• Body count: 11 dead
  • Children: Tree Africa (14), Delisha Africa (13), Netta Africa (12), Little Phil Africa (13), Tomaso Africa (9)
  • Adults: John Africa (50), Rhonda Africa (29), Theresa Africa (25), Frank Africa (25), Conrad Africa (26), Raymond Africa (32)

Survivors:

• Ramona Africa (adult) – arrested
• Michael Moses Ward “Birdie Africa” (13) – only child to escape

Why This Matters: Forty-five minutes. That’s how long it took to turn a police operation into mass destruction. That’s how long officials watched fire spread before deciding maybe burning down a neighborhood wasn’t acceptable. I’ve reported on a lot of government failures. This one was documented in real-time. They knew children were inside. They dropped the bomb anyway. They let it burn anyway. Then they acted surprised when the whole block burned.