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Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (MOVE) Records
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Held at: Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The confrontation of May 13, 1985, between the MOVE organization and Philadelphia's city government, which left 11 MOVE members dead and 61 homes destroyed, was one of the most controversial episodes in the city's modern history. The confrontation was the culmination of a dozen years of activity on the part of MOVE, which had emerged in the early 1970s as a "back to nature" group following the teachings of John Africa. A gun battle with police in August 1978 left one policeman dead and nine MOVE members arrested and eventually sentenced to jail terms. In 1982 and 1983, a number of the remaining MOVE members settled in a house on the 6200 block of Osage Avenue in the Cobbs Creek area. They began to campaign for the release of the jailed MOVE members. and, in October 1984, they began the construction of a bunker on the top of their building. In Spring 1985, the city finally determined on a plan to evict the MOVE members and arrest several of them. But the attack early on May 13 ended with the Police Bomb Unit dropping a bomb on the house. The ensuing fire was allowed to spread, and 11 MOVE members died in the house, including 5 children, and 250 neighborhood residents were left homeless. Only one MOVE member and one child survived the fire.
In the aftermath, Mayor W. Wilson Goode appointed the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (PSIC), which investigated in detail the events leading up to and including the attack on MOVE, held televised public hearings, and in March 1986 issued a report which was highly critical of government actions. The head of the commission, William Brown III, had been head of the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, and the PSIC's 11 members included prominent individuals from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from attorney and politician Charles Bowser and Reverend Paul Washington to former Judge Bruce Kauffman and ex-Watergate Prosecutor Henry Ruth. William Lytton was retained as Staff Director and Temple Law School Dean Carl Singley as Special Counsel. Eventually, the staff grew to include 7 investigators, as well as support personnel. Outside experts in explosives, fires and forensic pathology were retained, and 11 attorneys and 45 law students conducted about a thousand interviews in Summer 1985.
After conducting its interviews and gathering evidence from a wide variety of governmental agencies the Commission held 5 weeks of televised public hearings in the fall, at which 92 witnesses testified. The members of the Police Bomb Unit refused to testify, taking the Fifth Amendment after attempts by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) to block their appearance failed. The surviving adult MOVE member, Ramona Africa, also refused to testify. However, witnesses did include all the key city officials, as well as residents, citizen negotiators, and expert consultants. The hearings ended in early November. The Commission deliberated for several months before issuing its report on March 6, 1986. That report was a sweeping denunciation of the actions of the city government, typified by the finding that "Dropping a bomb on an occupied row house was unconscionable." The PSIC's conclusions about the facts of the MOVE incident were followed by 38 recommendations for specific improvements in relevant city planning and operations.
The records of the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission provide a comprehensive account of the MOVE crisis and its antecedents. In addition to files organized by relevant city department or other source, the PSIC created computerized lists illustrating the roles and interactions of every policeman, fireman, city official and community resident, computerized grids showing who attended each of the many meetings held before May 13, and indexes to testimony. The records include records generated or gathered by the PSIC, including administrative materials, investigative reports and interviews; testimony at the hearings plus the videotapes of the televised coverage by WHYY Channel 12; clippings related to MOVE; evidence submitted by various sources to the commission; and the live television coverage of May 13, including the full coverage from WCAU Channel 10. In addition, most of the key documents are also preserved on 17 reels of microfilm.
The heart of the commission's files are the interviews it conducted and the evidence, which was submitted to it, often under the subpoena power granted by the city. Investigators from the PSIC staff interviewed all policemen, firemen, public officials, and residents involved in the MOVE events, as well as other relevant individuals such as the FBI liaison to the Police Department and explosives experts. Extensive summaries of all interviews are included in the records. Supporting and related documents submitted by witnesses as part of the interview process are filed with the interviews. These private interviews took place in Summer 1985 prior to the public hearings in the fall.
Photographs in the collection consist almost entirely of Police Department photography of the Osage Avenue area after the fire.
Series 2: MOVE background files, circa 1985-1986, undated
Series 3: Statement files, circa 1985
Series 4: City agencies office files, circa 1985
Series 5: Non-city agencies office files, circa 1985
Series 6: Public hearings records, 1985-1985, undated
Series 7: Evidence, 1954-1985
Series 8: Photographs (PC-33), 1985
Series 9: Microfilm and final report, 1986
This collection contains descriptions and visual images of violence and loss of life. In particular, both the descriptions in the finding aid and the photographs in Series 8, especially those describing or showing the victims of the bombing, may be disturbing to many people.
Deposited by the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission through William H. Brown III, Chairman of the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission and Handsel B. Minyard, City Solicitor of Philadelphia, January 28, 1988 (Acc. 669), through William H. Brown III, November 4, 1991 (Acc. 727), by the PSIC, 1992 (Acc. 764), and through William H. Brown, June 25, 1997 (PC-33).
Hearing transcripts in Series 6 have been digitized and are available in the "Move (Organization) Collections" digitized collection.
Videotaped recordings of WHYY broadcasts of the hearings in Series 6, and photographs throughout Series 7, have not been digitized. For digitized copies of the WHYY broadcasts, see the WHYY Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (MOVE) Hearing Videotapes, SCRC 619.
One-inch videotapes in Series 7, boxes 67-70 and 72, have been digitized and are available to view on the SCRC reading room computer desktop. VHS tapes in Series 7, box 71, are duplicates of the one-inch videotapes, and researchers should use the digitized version of the one-inch tapes.
Photographs in Series 8 (PC-33) have been digitized and, due to disturbing content, are solely available to view on the SCRC reading room computer desktop.
The final report of the Commission in Series 9 has been digitized and is available in the "Move (Organization) Collections" digitized collection..
https://us.preservica.com/explorer/explorer.html#prop:4&11c67e4f-63af-459b-88af-d0dacf64276d
https://templeuni.access.preservica.com/archive/sdb%3Acollection|11c67e4f-63af-459b-88af-d0dacf64276d/
Original audiovisual materials, as well as preservation and duplicating masters, may not be played. Researchers must consult use copies, or if none exist must pay for a use copy. Certain digital files may also be inaccessible. Please contact the Special Collections Research Center for more information.
Original processing date unknown. Finding aid revised according to contemporary archival standards in May 2016.
Finding aid reviewed, corrected, and language regarding content warnings, availability of digitized materials, and materials restricted due to personally identifiable information added in 2023 by John Pettit, Associate Archivist, Katy Rawdon, Coordinator of Technical Services, and Courtney Smerz, Collection Management Archivist.
During 2022-2023, the collection was reboxed, folder numbers were assigned, and the finding aid was revised. Some items listed in previous versions of the finding aid were determined to be missing. These items have been removed from this finding aid listing and recorded internally in the SCRC's collection management database. Additionally, materials found to contain personally identifiable information (PII) were restricted. Please contact SCRC for more information.
People
Organization
- Fire Department of Philadelphia
- MOVE (Organization)
- Philadelphia (Pa.). Police Department
- Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission
Subject
- African Americans -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Black nationalism -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Municipal government -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Police -- Complaints against -- Pennsylvania – Philadelphia
- Police-community relations-- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Place
- Publisher
- Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center
- Finding Aid Author
- Machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan, Sky Global Services India (P) Ltd.
- Finding Aid Date
- January 2024
- Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research. In 2023 the collection was reviewed, and at that time folders containing personally identifying information such as social security numbers were restricted for 75 years from date of creation, as noted at the folder level. One-inch videotapes in Series 7 have been digitized and are available to view on the SCRC reading room computer desktop; the original tapes are closed to research.
- Use Restrictions
-
The Philadelphia Special Investigation (MOVE) Commission Records are in custody of the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries. Intellectual property rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for determining the identity of rights holders and obtaining their permission for publication and for other purposes where stated.
Collection Inventory
Series 1, PSIC administrative files, includes all internal documents generated by the PSIC staff members, including general administrative documents, staff applications, budgets, press releases, notes and correspondence of William B. Lytton, the outlines and drafts of the final report, correspondence with the fire explosive consultants, interviews, and messages. The PSIC also deposited a database created on Lotus 1-2-3. The database no longer exists, but there are some printed lists included in this series.
Vol. I (22-14)
Vol. II (22-14)
Vol. III (22-14)
Series 2, MOVE background files, provides general information about the MOVE organization at the Osage Avenue residence as well as its earlier history. This series includes general information, subjects, interviews with civilian negotiators, a chronological history of events, legal matters, files on former Police Commissioner Joseph O'Neil and Mayor W. Wilson Goode, and subpoenas.
Series 3, Statement files, include records consisting, in part, of pre-hearing interviews. This generally includes administrative matters and the interviews themselves from the Police Department, Fire Department, Department of Licenses and Inspections, residents of the Osage Avenue community, Federal Bureau of Investigation, District Attorney's Office, and Managing Director's Office.
volume I (2-2)
volume 2 (2-2)
Series 4, City agencies office files, consists of the office files of several city agencies including the Philadelphia Medical Examiner, Streets Department, Water Department, Department of Public Property, Philadelphia Gas Works, Philadelphia Electric Company, City Finance Department, and the City Solicitor's Office. This series also includes a file on the Salvatore Commission.
Series 5, Non-city agencies office files, includes the files of the Pennsylvania State Police, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Fraternal Order of Police.
Hearing transcripts in Series 6 have been digitized and are available in the "Move (Organization) Collections" digitized collection.
Series 6, Public hearings records, contains detailed hearing transcripts of the key players in the MOVE confrontation. The transcripts are arranged in chronological order and are accompanied by videotaped recordings of WHYY broadcasts of the hearings, including commentary from hosts and sections of other programming during breaks. The hearing transcripts have been digitized and are available for research on the Library website. The WHYY broadcasts have not been digitized, for digitized copies see the WHYY Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (MOVE) Hearing Videotapes, SCRC 619. Media coverage follows the hearing transcripts and includes an extensive clipping file from local and national media sources. Also included are administrative records, security information, rules, lists of witnesses, press registers, and correspondence with the media
volume 1 (7-2)
volume 2 (7-2)
volume 3 (7-2)
One-inch videotapes in Series 7, boxes 67-70 and 72, have been digitized and are available to view on the SCRC reading room computer desktop. VHS tapes in Series 7, box 71, are duplicates of the one-inch videotapes, and researchers should use the digitized version of the one-inch tapes.
Series 7, Evidence, contains evidence presented to the PSIC for its deliberations. The evidence files are arranged alphabetically by the creating departments or individuals. One-inch videotapes in this series, boxes 67-70, contain news footage from KYW, WPVI, WCAU, and the Philly police used as PSIC evidence related to the May 13 bombing. Sound recordings in box 72 contain police radio transmissions.
142-M vol. I
142-M vol. II
142-M vol. II
142-M vol. III
142-M vol. III
142-M vol. IV
142-M vol. V
volume I, A-L (182)
volume II, L-U (182)
volume III, U-Z (182)
58-C volume I
58-C volume II
58-D volume I
58-D volume II
58-D volume II
58-B volume I
58-B volume I
58-B volume II
58-B volume II
58-F volume I
58-F volume II
58-E volume I
58-E volume I
58-E volume II
58-J volume I
58-J volume II
58-J volume III
58-G-A volume I
58-G-A volume II
50-C volume I
50-C volume II
1 Folders
1 Folders
1 Folders
1 Folders
1 Folders
1 Folders
1 Folders
Alternate format available: Photographs in Series 8 (PC-33) have been digitized and, due to disturbing content, are solely available to view on the SCRC reading room computer desktop.
Please note that these photographs and their descriptions in the finding aid, especially those describing or showing the victims of the bombing, may be disturbing to many people.
Series 8, Photographs (PC-33), consists almost entirely of Police Department photography of the Osage Avenue area after the fire.