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MY'STORY

The MOVE Fire

This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985 Philadelphia police fired thousands of rounds at the MOVE house, city officials approved dropping an explosive device on the roof, the resulting fire was allowed to burn, 11 people—including five children—died, and 61 homes were destroyed. Philadelphia City Council later called it a “brutal attack carried out by the City of Philadelphia on its own citizens” and acknowledged that no individual faced criminal consequences for the bombing. One timeline correction worth preserving for the BHP record: the major previous MOVE-police confrontation was August 8, 1978, about seven years before the bombing, not a year or two earlier. Officer James Ramp was killed, other police and firefighters were wounded, nine MOVE members were later convicted, and television cameras recorded police beating Delbert Africa during his arrest. The 1985 MOVE Commission later specifically criticized city planners for failing to adequately use lessons from that 1978 confrontation. And that actually strengthens the point you’re making: 1985 did not happen without precedent or institutional memory. There had already been a deadly confrontation with MOVE, years of conflict, negotiations and police involvement before Osage Avenue.

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BLACK FACTS
The Truths They Never Taught You...

Katherine Johnson — Mathematics to the Moon

Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.

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BHP gathered finds from its connected research sources. Showing the 4 strongest Black History matches.
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NMAAHC

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and ribbon bar awarded to George Francis Bland

Date
ca. 1942
Designed by
Thomas Hudson Jones, American, 1892 - 1969
Adolph Alexander Weinman, American, 1870 - 1952
Issued by
United States Navy, American, founded 1775
Received by
Ck2c George Francis Bland, American, 1922 - 2014
Subject of
Naval Station Pearl Harbor, American, founded 1899
Description
An Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal and ribbon bar awarded to Ck2c George Francis Bland.
2024.46.12a: An Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal awarded to Ck2c George Francis Bland. The medal is comprised of a bronze medallion suspended from a short medal ribbon. The circular medallion features an embossed image of two soldiers in the foreground holding rifles. The soldiers are depicted from the waist up, facing the viewer, with their heads turned in profile to the left. Both are holding their rifles with both hands with the barrels resting on their proper left shoulders. Behind the soldiers is a palm tree and three damaged palm tree trunks. In the background are three naval ships floating offshore and two small planes above the ships. Along the top edge of the medal is embossed text that reads [ASIATIC PACIFIC CAMPAIGN]. On the reverse is an embossed American eagle, shown in profile, facing the left edge of the medal. At the left center is the text [1941 / 1945] and in the top left corner is the text [UNITED / STATES OF / AMERICA]. The medallion is suspended from a bronze jump ring threaded through the bail at the top center. The jump ring is also threaded though the triangular folded point at the bottom of the short ribbon. The ribbon is a field of golden yellow with a set of thin blue, white and red stripes at the center and two sets of white, red, and white stripes on the left and right edges. Attached to the top back of the ribbon is the medal’s brooch bar with a safety pin clasp. The bar is missing its pin. Stamped on the solid bar is a diamond shaped stamp next to stamped text that reads [G1] at the center.
2024.46.12b: An Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon bar awarded to Ck2c George Francis Bland. The ribbon bar is small and rectangular in shape. The ribbon is a field of golden yellow with a set of thin blue, white and red stripes at the center and two sets of white, red, and white stripes on the left and right edges. On the back of the ribbon bar is a bronze, rectangular bar with standard size posts on the left and right sides. Stamped on the bar is a diamond shaped stamp next to stamped text that reads [G1] at the center.
Place used
United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Military
World War II
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Awards, Medals, and Insignia
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Frank Bland in memory of George Francis Bland
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2024.46.12ab
Type
ribbon bars
medals
Restrictions & Rights
No known copyright restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
ribbon and metal
Dimensions
H x W x D (2024.46.12a): 3 × 1 7/16 × 3/16 in. (7.6 × 3.7 × 0.4 cm)
H x W x D (2024.46.12b): 3/8 × 1 7/16 × 9/16 in. (1 × 3.7 × 1.4 cm)
Title
Object Name • Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and ribbon bar awarded to George Francis Bland
Record ID
nmaahc_2024.46.12ab
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
ASIATIC-PACIFIC CAMPAIGN MEDAL AND RIBBON BAR AWARDED TO GEORGE FRANCIS BLAND
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1940s • 1939-1945
Name
United States Navy • Naval Station Pearl Harbor • Weinman, Adolph Alexander • Bland, George Francis • Jones, Thomas Hudson
Place
United States • North and Central America
Topic
WW II • Military • World War, 1939-1945
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
Costume accessories • Medals
Online Media Type
Images
Online Media Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions

Media

Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Rights and restrictions shown above are supplied by the Smithsonian record.

NMAAHC

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and ribbon bar awarded to George Francis Bland

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Music stand for Panama Francis and the Savoy Sultans

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Printing plate of Willie Francis

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TOPIC OF THE DAY

Greenwood / Black Wall Street

Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.

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TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY

Which Supreme Court case ruled state-sponsored public-school segregation unconstitutional?

Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.