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1985 MOVE bombing remembered with new exhibit

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The city unveiled a permanent exhibit entitled “Remembering MOVE: May 13, 1985” in the lobby of the Municipal Services Building on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023.

Mike Africa, Jr. pauses in front of the exhibit. He has been at the forefront of efforts to ensure that Philadelphia, and the rest of the US, do not forget the tragic police confrontations of both 1978 and 1985.
Mike Africa, Jr. pauses in front of the exhibit. He has been at the forefront of efforts to ensure that Philadelphia, and the rest of the US, do not forget the tragic police confrontations of both 1978 and 1985.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

The exhibit is in response to an independent report published in 2022 recommending that the city make a concerted effort to educate Philadelphians about the events that day, when police dropped a bomb on a West Philly house, resulting in an explosion and fire that killed 11 MOVE members, including five children. The exhibit uses documentary photography and other sources to present this complex history and remind all of this destructive event and its victims.

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