City officials, community members, and organizations are honoring MOVE bombing victims on the 40th anniversary of the tragic event.

Eleven people, including five children ages 9-14, were killed on May 13, 1985 when the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a military-grade bomb on the residence of the MOVE organization, a Black liberation group, at 6221 Osage Ave. The resulting explosion caused a devastating fire that destroyed dozens of homes in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood – two full city blocks were burned to the ground, destroying 61 houses.

In 2020, the Philadelphia City Council formally apologized for the bombing and passed a resolution to establish the MOVE bombing day, May 13, as an annual day of “observation, reflection and recommitment.” The first Day of Remembrance of the MOVE bombing, which included a march to Malcolm X. Park, was held on May 13, 2021.

This year, on May 8, the City Council passed another resolution (Resolution No. 25044700) to declare the 40th Anniversary of the MOVE Bombing, as a day of reflection and remembrance. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District), who represents the community where the MOVE Bombing occurred, authored both resolutions.

A “MOVE Day of Remembrance” will be held tomorrow (Tuesday, May 13). The Day of Remembrance will begin at 9 a.m. with a symposium at Community College of Philadelphia (Winnet Student Life Building, Great Hall, 1700 Spring Garden St.). The program will conclude at 4 p.m. with an annual procession to the site of the MOVE bombing at 6221 Osage Ave.

Community members are invited to honor the lives lost on May 13, 1985 at a special commemoration event, which begins at 5 p.m. at Osage Avenue and Cobbs Creek Parkway. This event is organized by the MOVE Activist Archive (Facebook page). Starting at 5:27 p.m., the time that the bomb was dropped in 1985, the organization members, including writer and speaker Mike Africa, Jr., will begin narrating the series of events that led to the bombing of MOVE. Attendees are asked to wear white. Here’s a flyer on this and other MOVE Bombing 40th Anniversary events: