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THE JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
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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...

Ruler of the Mali Empire in the 14th century

Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.

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

Servants at a Pump

Date
ca. 1840
Created by
Nicolino Calyo, Italian American, 1799 - 1884
Subject of
Unidentified Man or Men
Unidentified Woman or Women
Unidentified Child or Children
Description
This oil painting depicts seven individuals gathered around a water pump. From left to right these figures include: a young boy working the pump handle wearing brown pants and jacket with a blue shirt, a woman seated on a basket of laundry, wearing a pink dress and white head wrap, a man with his right leg propped up on the edge of the basin in a wide brimmed straw hat, a kneeling youth in a red shirt drinking from the pump's spout, a woman carrying a bucket, a man carrying a basket of peaches over his left arm and several dead fowl in his right hand, and a woman holding a baby and a green parasol. A black dog lies on the ground behind her. All individuals except the woman and baby are on a square pavement of red brick. The water pump sits in the middle of the pavement surrounded by a low walled, rectangular basin. The pump is a rectangular stone pillar topped with a small dome. A spout protrudes from halfway up the pillar, and the pump handle is a lever that protrudes from the adjacent pillar side. Water flows out the spout into the basin below. In the background is a landscape of trees on either side of a wide street with a few buildings in the distance. On the right is a white house with a green door and shutters, and a fanlight over the entrance. In the distance are two other white buildings, one on the left with a colonnade and a tall steeple, and a much smaller one across from it on the right with a cupola. There are a several indistinct figures walking and riding down the street.
Place depicted
Weeksville, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Art
Children
Communities
Free communities of color
Men
Women
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Visual Arts
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2010.5ab
Type
oil paintings
Restrictions & Rights
Public domain
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
oil paint on canvas , wood
Dimensions
H x W (unframed): 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
H x W x D (framed): 30 3/16 × 26 × 3 3/8 in. (76.6 × 66 × 8.5 cm)
Title
Title • Servants at a Pump
Record ID
nmaahc_2010.5ab
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
SERVANTS AT A PUMP
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1830s • 1850s
Name
Calyo, Nicolino
Place
New York City • United States • North and Central America • Weeksville, Brooklyn
Topic
Women • Art • Communities • Men • Children • Free communities of color
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
Locale • Weeksville, Brooklyn • City • New York City • State • New York • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
Paintings
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

Servants at a Pump

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Photographic print of a woman on a stylized background of a scroll and snowscape

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Cabinet card studio portrait of a woman posing with a striped parasol

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Photographic postcard of man and a seated woman in western wear

Date: Date

Description

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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 Black woman became the first elected to the United States Congress?

Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.