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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

Last Will and Testament of Stephen G. Wells

Date
1849
Written by
Stephen G. Wells, American, 1781 - 1849
Description
The original last will and testament of Stephen G. Wells, written in iron gall ink on both sides of four sheets of off-white paper to make eight pages total. The will begins “In the name of God Amen, I Stephen G Wells being in my perfect mind and memory do make and ordain this as my last will + testament.” The will is thus divided into sixteen provisions for Wells’ property, three of which mention enslaved persons.
In the second provision, Wells emancipates three enslaved persons: Bob, Kitty and her daughter Sally, asking that they be allowed to remain in Virginia and providing them with pieces of land carved out of Wells’ land and provided them with houses on their portion of the land. He also states they be paid out $50 annually, or “such amounts as they may think their / necessities require.” If they leave the state, voluntarily or involuntarily, they are to be given $500 and their house and lot to be taken back by the executors. In the in the seventh provision, Wells leaves “my neg[ro] / man London & his wife Sally & their three children Merritt, / Susan & Sally, or such of them as I may own at my death” to Eliza Ann Archer. There appears to be another mention of an enslaved person in the sixteenth provision, though a large loss of the document prohibits a full transcription.
The sixth provision pertains to property Wells expects to purchase in North Carolina, near Chapel Hill, and the seventh lists several advances on his estate made to his sisters and their families, dated from 1835 to 1848. On the final page, there are several witnesses listed and an addendum dated September 20, 1849 in Petersburg, Virginia, that the will was “proved in open Court / by the oaths of Joseph E Cox and John Murdaugh / two of the subscribing witnesses…” and signed by a John Maun: [Jno Maun DC]. There are minor tears along the folds and edges of the first two sheets, with the last two sheets previously split into fragments and considerable loss to the final sheet.
Place made
Petersburg, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted
Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
Nash County, North Carolina, United States, North and Central America
Topic
African American
Emancipation
Finance
Law
Slavery
U.S. History, 1815-1861
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Slavery and Freedom Objects
Documents and Manuscripts
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pamela Britton White
Data Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2023.110a-d
Type
wills
Restrictions & Rights
Public domain
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Medium
iron gall ink on paper
Dimensions
H x W (each page): 12 1/2 × 7 7/8 in. (31.8 × 20 cm)
Title
Object Name • Last Will and Testament of Stephen G. Wells
Record ID
nmaahc_2023.110a-d
Museum
NMAAHC
Title Sort
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF STEPHEN G. WELLS
Source
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Metadata Usage
CC0
Date
1840s
Name
Wells, Stephen G.
Place
Chesterfield County • North Carolina • Petersburg • United States • North and Central America • Nash County • Virginia
Topic
Slavery • Law • Finance • Emancipation • U.S. History, 1815-1861
Culture
African Americans
Geo Location
City • Petersburg • State • Virginia • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America • County • Chesterfield County • County • Nash County • State • North Carolina
Type
Wills
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.

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NMAAHC

A Residence for Mr. And Mrs. James E. Moore Petersburg, VA

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Wedding portrait of Benjamin Boozé and Magdalene Hendricks Boozé

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Last Will and Testament of Stephen G. Wells

Date: Date

Description

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NMAAHC

Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine: Recipes and Reminiscences of a Family.

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 became the first Black woman to travel into space?

Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.