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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

Light blue knit dress and jacket with piano brooch

Date
1960s
Manufactured by
Jelleff's, American, 1910 - 1979
Subject of
Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007
Description
A light blue knit dress (a), jacket (b), and metal piano brooch (c). The light blue knit dress features a rounded neckline, and an A-line, sleeveless silhouette. There is one panel for the front and two panels for the back, sewn together at the side seams. There is a dark gray decorative beaded trim around the neckline, forming a series of upside-down crescent moon shapes that creating a subtle sweetheart shape. Gray glass bugle beads form the outline of the beaded trim, which is filled with gray glass seed beads, and small groups of blue plastic beads. The front panel of the dress has two horizontal bust darts and two shaping darts. The dress has a light lavender synthetic knit base with a powder blue machine knit overlay made from synthetic yarn (acrylic yarn and monofilament thread) that covers the entirety of the dress. The dress hem is turned under machine sewn to a synthetic satin blue ribbon which was then hand stitched to the inside of the dress hem. Two panels of lavender synthetic knit with a blue knit overlay make up the back of the dress, bisected by a 16” metal zipper with a metal zipper pull. Above the zipper is a metal hook and thread eye closure. Three panels of light gray synthetic faille line the inside of the dress near the upper neckline. A white woven fabric label sewn to the interior proper right reads [FRANK R. JELLEF INC. / WASHINGTON, D.C.] in blue script.
A light blue cropped knit jacket (b) with three-quarter length sleeves. A lavender synthetic knit covered with a light blue machine knit forms the jacket fabric. There are two panels for the jacket front that features two 6” shaping darts (one on either side). The center front of the jacket closes with a metal hook and thread eye. The bottom hem curves at the waistline and features the same decorative beading featured on the dress neckline. Gray glass bugle beads create a beaded outline that is filled in with gray seed beads and small groups of plastic blue beads. Each sleeve is one panel seamed at the inner arm at the top of each sleeve is one 3” shoulder seam dart.
There is one panel for the back of the jacket, which features two 8” shaping darts (one on each side) starting at the waistline and ending at the mid back. The inside is self-faced along the opening and neckline (roughly 3”) and is sewn to three panels of lavender synthetic faille lining (one for the back and two for the front). Each sleeve is also lined with one panel of lavender synthetic faille. All the lining is machine sewn along the top and sides of the interior and handsewn along the bottom with a slip stitch. There is slight metal rust at the proper left opening of the jacket, where the metal piano brooch used to be.
A metal grand piano brooch (c). The piano is at 3/4 view with an open lid and the surface is covered with silver glass rhinestones. There is bar pinback closure with a safety catch. The letters [DRA] are engraved on the back of the pin.
Cataloging Notes
This project received Federal support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.
Topic
African American
Clothing and dress
Design
Fashion
Fashion design
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title
Black Fashion Museum Collection
Classification
Clothing - Fashion and Historical
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2007.3.333abc
Type
brooches
dresses
suits
jackets
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
synthetic yarn (acrylic and monofilament) syntehtic faille lining, plastic and Glass bead, and metal
Dimensions
a: dress
Length (a: shoulder to hem): 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm)
Width (a: shoulder to shoulder): 18 1/2 in. (47 cm)
Waist (a: flat): 15 3/4 in. (40 cm)
b: jacket
Length (b: collar to hem): 19 1/2 in. (49.5 cm)
Width (b: shoulder to shoulder): 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm)
Waist (b: flat): 18 3/4 in. (47.6 cm)
Length (b: sleeve - shoulder to cuff): 15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm)
c: brooch
Heighth (c: brooch): 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)
Width (c: brooch): 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm)
Depth (c: brooch): 1/4 in. (0.6 cm)
Title
Object Name • Light blue knit dress and jacket with piano brooch
Record ID
nmaahc_2007.3.333abc
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
LIGHT BLUE KNIT DRESS AND JACKET WITH PIANO BROOCH
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1960s
Name
Jelleff's • Black Fashion Museum
Topic
Design • Clothing and dress • Fashion
Culture
African Americans
Type
Suits (main garments) • Dresses (garments) • jackets • Brooches
Online Media Type
Images
Online Media Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions

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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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