MOVE Bombing in Philadelphia
It was about 30 years ago that police forces proved just how brutal they could be when it came to dealing with the Black community. Philadelphia officers successfully carried out a massive mission to bomb the headquarters of a group called MOVE, a 1996 report by CNN explains. The 1985 bombing targeted MOVE because the organization consisted of mostly Black members who adopted the last name “Africa.” They supported simplistic lifestyles that shunned technology and advocated for a return to nature. The deadly bombing came during an intense police stand-off with the MOVE members after officers had already slammed many members with what were considered to be bogus charges of parole violation, contempt of court and making terroristic threats, according to a report titled “It Looks Just Like a War Zone.” More than 60 homes were destroyed in the resulting blaze. A total of 11 Black people, including five children, were killed.
Tulsa Race Riot
Race riots were much too common throughout the 1900s, but the Tulsa race riots were unique in the fact that it targeted the wealthiest Black community in the U.S. at the time — Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was also known as the Black Wall Street. In 1921, a group of white people attacked the community in an assault that lasted roughly 16 hours. According to “Riot and Remembrance: The Tulsa Race War and Its Legacy,” more than 800 people were taken to the hospital, roughly 10,000 Black people were left homeless, more than 6,000 Black residents in the district were arrested and detained after they tried to defend themselves against the white mobs and about 35 city blocks were destroyed by fires. While the official death tolls varied greatly, a report titled “A Black Holocaust in America” estimated more than 800 people were killed simply because the white landowners felt threatened by this Black community’s financial success.
