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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...

The Violence That Helped Spark the NAACP

In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.

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

Hy Thurman Oral History Interview

Date
December 28, 2017
Created by
National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
Interview of
Hy Thurman, American, born 1950
Interviewed by
Marc B. Steiner, American, born 1946
Recorded by
Kim Moir, American
Subject of
Poor People's Campaign, American, 1967 - 1968
Fred Hampton, American, 1948 - 1969
Black Panther Party, American, 1966 - 1982
Description
An oral history consisting of a single digital video recording (2018.78.7.1). It was collected as part of the Poor People’s Campaign Interviews.
In this interview, Hy Thurman, one of the founding members of the Young Patriots, discusses his upbringing in Dayton, Tennessee; the work of the Young Patriots and the Original Rainbow Coalition in Chicago; his experience of the Poor People’s Campaign; and the relevance of the Campaign to contemporary organizers.
Thurman begins the interview by discussing his early life in Dayton, TN, and reflecting on the racial and class dynamics of his upbringing. He then talks about how he moved to the Uptown neighborhood in Chicago at age 17 (1967), and he describes the police brutality and political corruption that plagued the community. Thurman then talks about how the Young Patriots were formed and discusses the formation of the Original Rainbow Coalition with the Young Lords and Black Panthers.
Thurman then turns to a discussion of the Young Patriots’ involvement with the Poor People’s Campaign and his experience at Resurrection City in Washington, DC. He also reflects on the legacy of the Campaign and speaks about its relevance to contemporary activists and social movements. Thurman and the interviewer, Marc Steiner, then have a more open discussion about their involvement in the Young Patriots, and Thurman concludes the interview by discussing his work with the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program and by reading the poem, “Hillbilly Harlem” by William “Preacherman” Fesperman.
Place collected
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Activism
Civil Rights
Humanitarianism
Justice
Labor
Politics
Poverty
Race relations
U.S. History, 1961-1969
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title
Poor People’s Campaign Oral Histories
Classification
Time-based Media - Moving Images
Movement
Civil Rights Movement
African American - Latinx Solidarity
Poor People's Campaign
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
2018.78.7.1
Type
video recordings
oral histories
digital media - born digital
Restrictions & Rights
© Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
digital
Dimensions
Duration: 01:43:26
25.71 GB
Title
Title • Hy Thurman Oral History Interview
Record ID
nmaahc_2018.78.7.1
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
HY THURMAN ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
2010s • 1950s
Name
Hampton, Fred • Poor People's Campaign • Thurman, Hy • Steiner, Marc B. • Black Panther Party • National Museum of African American History and Culture • Moir, Kim
Place
District of Columbia • United States • North and Central America • Washington
Topic
Justice • African American - Latinx Solidarity • Activism • Poor People's Campaign • Poverty • Humanitarianism • Labor unions • Civil Rights • U.S. History, 1961-1969 • Civil rights • Politics • Race relations
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Washington • State • District of Columbia • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America
Type
Video recordings • digital media - born digital • Oral histories (document genres) • Interviews
Online Media Type
Video recordings
Online Media Rights
Copyright Owned

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

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Howard Thurman, Portrait of a Practical Dreamer

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Hy Thurman Oral History Interview

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Pennant for Howard University

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Photograph of Run-DMC-JMJ with Howard Stern and Robin Quivers

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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

Who was the first African-American woman millionaire in the United States?

Madam C.J. Walker