Another set of human remains believed to be those of a victim from the 1985 MOVE bombing were recently discovered.
Announced by Penn Museum, the remains were reportedly discovered through a sweep of the museum’s Biological Anthropology Section. The museum went on to confirm that they are believed to be those of 12-year-old Delisha Africa. Africa is one of the five children who were murdered when the MOVE compound was bombed by the Philadelphia Police in 1985.
The Africa family has reportedly been informed of the new discovery. Penn Museum announced that it will return the remains to them as it did in 2021 when the first remains were found in the museum’s possession.
Following their first discovery, Penn Museum also issued an apology to the community and promised to conduct a review and reevaluate their practices. One of the new practices included a full review of their inventory, leading to the latest discovery announced late last week.
Human remains believed to belong to 12-yo Delisha Africa, killed in the 1985 MOVE bombing, were found at the University of Pennsylvania's museum. This disturbing discovery highlights ongoing failures by institutions to respect the victims & their families!
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) November 17, 2024
🎥: NBC 10 Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/PsbSYdGMbP
“As we promised the Africa Family and our community in 2021, we have acted with speed and transparency in returning the remains, and we will continue to do so with all human remains in our care,” said the representatives of Penn Museum. “We are committed to full transparency with respect to any new evidence that may emerge.”
Africa was one of 11 people who passed away as a result of the MOVE bombing. Alongside the five children, 6 adults also died, leaving behind only one adult and one child as survivors.
On May 13, 1985, the home of several members of the Black liberation activist group MOVE was attacked by the Philadelphia Police Department. The entire city block was leveled. As a result, leaving 250 people without a home.
The escalation of the situation stemmed from an earlier conflict in which several MOVE members were innocently convicted of murder after an eviction attempt. The city maintained that they had acted on account of complaints filed by neighbors when they went to their home on May 13.
Approximately 11 years later, in a civil lawsuit, the city agreed to award $1.5 million to the two remaining survivors of the event.
Relatives of victims of the event are still currently awaiting justice for their family members. A man whose sister was killed announced that he sued the city, particularly for how they handled the remains they’ve found.
“For nearly 40 years, the City of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania and the Penn Museum have refused to treat the MOVE Bombing victims or their families with the even most basic level of respect and decency and this latest revelation is just the most recent in a long line of atrocities Black folks in America have had to live with,” said lawyers Bakari Sellers and Daniel Hartstein in a statement. “We are disgusted and disappointed but, unfortunately, we are not surprised.”
