Browse Items (40 total)

After talks to resolve the issue peacefully failed, police were given the order to advance on the compound. Commissioner Gregore Sambor addressed MOVE via megaphone: "Attention, MOVE! This is America." After one final attempt to convince the MOVE…

This was a forum discussion at the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists conference in 2015. Included on the panel are individuals who had covered MOVE in the past. Linn Washington was a professor of journalism at Termple University and had…

The documentary Amateur Night at City Hall detailed Frank Rizzo's rise from deputy police commissioner to mayor of Philadelphia. This film accurately portrays the atmosphere that Rizzo created in the city. Most lower-class white Philadelphians…

Police Commissioner Sambor submitted his resignation in November of 1985 following the backlash against his actions in the MOVE bombing. At the time, he claimed that he was not being forced out of his position. However, just three months later in a…

In this detailed report, the Special Investigation Commission laid out the facts of the incident as well as their findings and recommendations for the future. While they condemned the actions of Mayor Goode, Commissioner Sambor, and Commissioner…

This is a collection of interviews done with various people associated with the MOVE bombing. Interviewees include Ramona Africa (a MOVE member and the only adult survivor of the May 1985 confrontation), Officer James Berghaier, Fire Commissioner…

Then-Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo addresses the media at a press conference. As Commissioner, Rizzo was devoted to putting criminals behind bars using whatever means necessary. These harsh tactics and his larger-than-life personality made him…

Local news stations showed the siege and the bombing in real time. This image was taken from a WCAU Channel 10 broadcast. After the bomb was dropped, cameras caught the fire spreading from the MOVE compound to surrounding properties. This event stuck…

The New York Times published a long story about the bombing. This article not only discusses the bombing but also the immediate justifications for assaulting the compound and dropping the bomb. Despite an evident lack of planning, city officials did…

The bombing made the front page of the New York Times the next day. In this article, author William K. Stevens gives a general overview of the history of the group as well as an account of the bombing. Steve Harmon, an Osage Avenue resident, said of…