Call Number:

SCRC 620

Repository:

Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center

Extent:

9.64 linear feet (11 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], American Friends Service Committee MOVE Organization Project Records, SCRC 620, Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Date:

1975-1994 (inclusive)

Creator:

American Friends Service Committee (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Philadelphia Perspectives Project

Form:

Audiocassettes, Clippings, Correspondence, Legal documents, Newsletters, Pamphlets, Periodicals, Photocopies, Press releases, Publications, Questionnaires, Reports, Sound recordings, and VHS (TM)

Abstract:

Founded in 1917 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) to help victims in WWI, the American Friends Service Committee today states their mission as "guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light of each person, AFSC works with communities and partners worldwide to challenge unjust systems and promote lasting peace." Based in Philadelphia, AFSC continues to this day working for social justice issues.

The May 13, 1985, confrontation between MOVE and Philadelphia's city government was the culmination of a dozen years of conflict between the government and the "back to nature" group which followed the teachings of John Africa. A previous gun battle with police in August 1978 left one policeman dead and nine MOVE members arrested and eventually sentenced to jail terms. After a number of the remaining MOVE members settled in 1982 and 1983 in a house on the 6200 block of Osage Avenue in the Cobbs Creek area of the city, they began to campaign for the release of the jailed MOVE members and began the construction of a bunker on the top of their building. After years of conflict between MOVE and their neighbors, the city decided in Spring 1985 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 eleven MOVE members died in the house, including five children, and 250 neighborhood residents were left homeless. Only one MOVE member and one child survived the fire.

This collection consists of materials the American Friends Service Committee collected during 1985 and onward to document the MOVE confrontation that occurred May 13, 1985, on Osage Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The collection also includes interviews conducted by the Philadelphia Perspectives Project, which interviewed a wide range of residents soon after the bombing to gauge how everyday citizens felt about the event. In addition to publications and news clippings, the collection also includes correspondence between Ramona Africa and various Philadelphia officials. There are also various video recordings about both the bombing and MOVE.

The collection is arranged into 5 series as follows:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1988-1994

Series 2: Interviews, 1985

Series 3: Publications, 1977-1992

Series 4: News clippings, 1985-1988

Series 5: Video recordings about MOVE, 1987-1988