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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

Georgianne Thomas, Ph.D., Oral History Interview

Date
March 22, 2024
Created by
National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
Recorded by
Trudy Hutcherson, American
Candace Dane Chambers, American
Interviewed by
Phoebe Linnell
Interview of
Georgianne Thomas Ph.D., American, born 1942
Subject of
Spelman College, American, founded 1881
Atlanta Student Movement, American, founded 1960
Herschelle Sullivan Challenor, American, born 1938
Rich's Department Store, American, 1867 - 2005
Clark Atlanta University, American, founded 1988
Atlanta University Center Consortium, American, founded 1929
Description
An oral history interview and conversation with professor and activist Dr. Georgianne Thomas. It consists of three versions of digital video recording, two camera card files (2025.12.15.1.1 and 2025.12.15.1.2, .mxf files) and one edited file (2025.12.15.1.3, .mov file).
Dr. Georgianne Thomas was interviewed by College of William & Mary alumna Phoebe Linnell on March 22, 2024, as part of the Social Justice Conversations Oral History Project. The interview took place at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time of the interview, Dr. Thomas was 81 years old.
This oral history interview consists of two distinct sections: an “interview” section (part 1) and a “conversation” section (part 2, 01:00:40). In part 1, Dr. Thomas reflects on her upbringing in Gary, Indiana, discussing her family, her early understandings of race, and her educational experiences in the city. She then discusses her experience at Spelman College in Atlanta and her involvement with the Atlanta Student Movement, including another female protester who died after being jailed and beaten for marching. She also talks about her experience being burned by a member of Ku Klux Klan while marching. She goes on to talk about the legacy of the Atlanta Student Movement and the aftermath of desegregation, including a brief reflection on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. In part 2, Dr. Thomas and Linnell discuss whiteness, white privilege, and the role of white women in maintaining white supremacy. Linnell reflects on the impact racism has on the “soul” and the ban on teaching “divisive concepts” in Virginia. Dr. Thomas discusses the distortion of historical narratives to erase African people and teaching from an Afro-centric perspective. Finally, Dr. Thomas reflects on her daughter’s integration into Atlanta public schools, the higher education system in Atlanta, and her hopes for the future.
Place filmed
Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
Place captured
Gary, Lake County, Indiana, United States, North and Central America
Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Activism
African diaspora
American South
Civil Rights
Communities
Education
Families
Foodways
Gender
HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
Law
Politics
Race discrimination
Race relations
Segregation
Tulsa Race Massacre
U.S. History, 1961-1969
U.S. History, 2001-
Urban life
Violence
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title
Social Justice Conversations Oral History Project
Classification
Time-based Media - Moving Images
Movement
Civil Rights Movement
Freedom Riders
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
2025.12.15.1
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 (2025.12.15.1.3, edited): 1 hr., 38 min., 27 sec.
File size: 149 GB
Title
Title • Georgianne Thomas, Ph.D., Oral History Interview
Record ID
nmaahc_2025.12.15.1
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
GEORGIANNE THOMAS, PH.D., ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
2020s • 1940s
Name
Thomas, Georgianne • Sullivan Challenor, Herschelle • Clark Atlanta University • Linnell, Phoebe • Chambers, Candace Dane • Hutcherson, Trudy • National Museum of African American History and Culture • Rich's Department Store • Atlanta University Center Consortium • Spelman College • Atlanta Student Movement
Place
Gary • Lake County • Indiana • Atlanta • United States • North and Central America • Fulton County • Georgia
Topic
Activism • Law • Communities • Segregation • Violence • HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) • Civil Rights • U.S. History, 1961-1969 • Tulsa Race Massacre • Freedom rides • African diaspora • American South • Discrimination • Education • Race • Family • Civil rights • Politics • Urban life • U.S. History, 2001- • Race relations • Gender issues
Culture
African Americans • Africans
Geo Location
City • Atlanta • County • Fulton County • State • Georgia • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America • City • Gary • County • Lake County • State • Indiana
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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NMAAHC

Georgianne Thomas, Ph.D., Oral History Interview

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Broadside for the auction of 10 enslaved families in New Orleans

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Manumission receipt for Vister Campbell for his enlistment in the Union army

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Broadside for an auction of enslaved persons at the Charleston courthouse

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

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

Madam C.J. Walker