Hump Day History

 Very recently I came across a comment that said:

 "Y'all don't know that the government straight up bombed West Virginia and it shows."

(Battle of Blair Mountain, 1921)

A response to that referred to a bombing in Philadelphia that I was also unaware of, and today happens to be the anniversary.

On this day in 1985, Philadelphia police began evacuating homes on Osage Avenue.  They were preparing for an operation against MOVE, an organization that advocated for black liberation, natural laws and natural living.

Following an incident in 1978, which resulted in the death of a police offer and the arrest of nine members, leader John Africa started planning a counterattack.  By 1983, they were staging protests outside the headquarters/home, as well as assembling a cache of weapons.

The mayor ordered police to raid the address, but they were unable to remove members who had taken up positions.  There was gunfire back and forth throughout the day, but SWAT was unable to gain entry.  At 5:30pm, a helicopter dropped a bomb to destroy the bunker, but with the roof covered in tar and gas, a huge fire broke out.

The fire department couldn't even reach the location for an hour.  Six members and five of their children in the home were killed.  65 other homes in the neighborhood were burned down.

"The City that Bombed Itself."

Years later, in 1996, MOVE survivors won a civil suit with settlement from the city; and in 2005, displaced residents won a settlement of their own.

I suppose we can't compare this to Waco, because that was on a federal level, but both come down to excessive force against an organization that isn't exactly innocent, but whose members still have rights.