Remastered Film Showcases Philly Police Assault On MOVE Organization

Sonali Kolhatkar speaks with Janine Africa and Ramona Africa about the Philadelphia police assault on MOVE organization.

As a national conversation about racist police brutality continues with the trial of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd, the sordid history of police violence against Black Americans is perhaps most shockingly symbolized by the Philadelphia police department’s relentless assault on the MOVE organization in the 1970s and 80s. To this day most Americans have likely not heard of the only aerial police bombing on US soil when Philadelphia police dropped a bomb on top of a house inhabited by members MOVE, in a predominantly black neighborhood in 1985.

Eleven people were killed, among them 5 children. The horrific bombing came after years of police targeting and violence captured in a 1978 documentary called MOVE: Confrontation in Philadelphia. The film is an astounding, award-winning account of one of many assaults on MOVE. It was shot on the ground during the August 8, 1978, siege of the MOVE home in Powelton Village by police, which first-time filmmakers Karen Pomer and Jane Mancini risked their lives to record. Footage from the film has been included in more recent documentaries about MOVE such as 40 Years a Prisoner and Let the Fire Burn. MOVE: Confrontation in Philadelphia is about to be released for the first time in its entirety online in an newly digitized format.

The film will be available starting Wednesday, March 24 at 2PM PST / 5PM EST. **Also available on Demand Mar 25-29**

Sign-up for the screening HERE. There’s a $5 charge to join Metrograph.

Rising Up with Sonali is a radio and television show that brings progressive news coverage rooted in gender and racial justice to a wide audience. Rising Up With Sonali was built on the foundation of Sonali Kolhatkar's earlier show, Uprising, which became the longest-running drive-time radio show on KPFK in Los Angeles hosted by a woman. RUS airs on Free Speech TV every weekday.

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