workingclasshistory:

On this day, 13 May 1985, Philadelphia police attacked the home of Black liberation and environmentalist group MOVE with automatic weapons, then dropped a bomb on it, killing 5 adults and 6 children, destroying 61 homes in the predominantly Black neighbourhood, and making 250 people homeless.
Almost 500 police officers fired over 10,000 rounds of ammunition into the house, which was filled with women and children, while other officers blew holes in the walls with explosives. The police commissioner then ordered the house to be bombed, which they did using an improvised device made from C4 given to them by the FBI.
Only two people survived the blast and ensuing fire: Ramona Africa, and Michael Ward, aged 13. While no officials were prosecuted, Ramona Africa was subsequently jailed for 7 years on riot and conspiracy charges. The incident occurred during the tenure of Philadelphia’s first Black mayor, a Democrat named Wilson Goode. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1424778457707300/?type=3