MOVE
The block I chose is the block at 33rd and Pearl Sts.
MOVE is an organization formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972 by John Africa (Vincent Leaphart) and Donald Glassey. It was described by CNN as: A loose-knit, mostly black group whose members all adopted the surname Africa, advocated a "back-to-nature" lifestyle and preached against technology. They also disrupted meetings and lectures by personalities as varied as Jane Fonda and Buckminster Fuller.
Powelton Village, 1978
Glassey owned a large twin house at 33rd and Pearl Sts. in the Powelton Village neighborhood of Philadelphia, and it became the first home base for MOVE. The members erected a wooden stockade and ramparts along the front and sides of the house and established a curb-side carwash business. Neighbors allegedly began to complain about the sanitation aspects of their back to nature philosophy and their use of bullhorns to lecture and admonish authority.
MOVE refused access to health inspectors and other state and city officials. The situation escalated until the members one evening marched along the ramparts carrying rifles. In response, Mayor Frank Rizzo ordered a blockade of the immediate neighborhood, in order to prevent food and supplies from reaching MOVE and thus force the members out of the house. However, since the blockade was announced in advance, supporters were able to bring in large supplies of food. (It was also later discovered that MOVE members had dug a tunnel through to Powelton Ave., outside the police perimeter.)
The blockade lasted several weeks, during which time residents of a roughly two-square-block area had to show identification to reach their homes. Several hundred members of the police department were involved in the action. The MOVE members ultimately refused to meet the city's demands, and on August 8, 1978, Philadelphia police attempted to clear the house by force. Every tactical move was telegraphed to the house via bullhorns. One of their first tactics was to turn fire hoses on the house. The police even considered the depth of the basement of the MOVE house and the height of the basement windows, to ensure that nobody would drown if the basement was completely flooded.
Who began shooting is disputed; MOVE claims that they never fired a shot; videotape of an unconfirmed moment of time during the incident shows muzzle flashes from the basement windows of the MOVE house. One police officer, James Ramp, was killed. The autopsy of James Ramp revealed that the bullet had entered his body in a downward direction. At the time, the inhabitants of the house had reportedly been in the basement. Rizzo had the house demolished illegally the next day. Leaphart and eight other MOVE members were sentenced to prison for the murder. None of the MOVE members that were arrested were taken into custody with weapons.
MOVE is an organization formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1972 by John Africa (Vincent Leaphart) and Donald Glassey. It was described by CNN as: A loose-knit, mostly black group whose members all adopted the surname Africa, advocated a "back-to-nature" lifestyle and preached against technology. They also disrupted meetings and lectures by personalities as varied as Jane Fonda and Buckminster Fuller.
Powelton Village, 1978
Glassey owned a large twin house at 33rd and Pearl Sts. in the Powelton Village neighborhood of Philadelphia, and it became the first home base for MOVE. The members erected a wooden stockade and ramparts along the front and sides of the house and established a curb-side carwash business. Neighbors allegedly began to complain about the sanitation aspects of their back to nature philosophy and their use of bullhorns to lecture and admonish authority.
MOVE refused access to health inspectors and other state and city officials. The situation escalated until the members one evening marched along the ramparts carrying rifles. In response, Mayor Frank Rizzo ordered a blockade of the immediate neighborhood, in order to prevent food and supplies from reaching MOVE and thus force the members out of the house. However, since the blockade was announced in advance, supporters were able to bring in large supplies of food. (It was also later discovered that MOVE members had dug a tunnel through to Powelton Ave., outside the police perimeter.)
The blockade lasted several weeks, during which time residents of a roughly two-square-block area had to show identification to reach their homes. Several hundred members of the police department were involved in the action. The MOVE members ultimately refused to meet the city's demands, and on August 8, 1978, Philadelphia police attempted to clear the house by force. Every tactical move was telegraphed to the house via bullhorns. One of their first tactics was to turn fire hoses on the house. The police even considered the depth of the basement of the MOVE house and the height of the basement windows, to ensure that nobody would drown if the basement was completely flooded.
Who began shooting is disputed; MOVE claims that they never fired a shot; videotape of an unconfirmed moment of time during the incident shows muzzle flashes from the basement windows of the MOVE house. One police officer, James Ramp, was killed. The autopsy of James Ramp revealed that the bullet had entered his body in a downward direction. At the time, the inhabitants of the house had reportedly been in the basement. Rizzo had the house demolished illegally the next day. Leaphart and eight other MOVE members were sentenced to prison for the murder. None of the MOVE members that were arrested were taken into custody with weapons.
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