Let the Fire Burn
Directed by Jason Osder (2013)
Film Review
Let the Fire Burn is a documentary about the decision by the Philadelphia police to drop a bomb on the home of a radical African American group called MOVE. The resulting fire (which the police chose not to extinguish) killed eleven people (including five children) and destroyed 61 homes.
The film is drawn entirely from archival footage. About half is TV footage of the day-long police effort to forcibly evict the group and half testimony from the Special Philadelphia Investigation Commission. The latter found city officials and Philadelphia police guilty of “negligence,” though no criminal charges were filed.
Formed in 1972 as a Christian “back to nature” commune by John Africa, MOVE members took the same surname in honor of their ancestral homeland, wore their hair in dreadlocks, shunned technology, and promoted a diet of raw food.
Living together in a home in West Philadelphia, MOVE’s unorthodox lifestyle lead to conflicts with neighbors and clashes with the police. After a 1978 police raid resulted in the death of a MOVE infant, group members armed themselves as protection against further police violence. Later that year, officer James Ramp was killed in a shootout between police and MOVE members. Nine MOVE members were later convicted for this murder, although group members maintain Ramp was actually killed by friendly police fire.
In 1984, MOVE members set up in a new home on Osage Street in West Philadelphia. The following year after many complaints about loudspeaker broadcasts, as well as worries over health hazards, the city took action to evict the group by force.
After a daylong battle in which the police used teargas, water cannons and ultimately 10,000 rounds of ammunition in their efforts to evict MOVE members, authorities ordered military-grade explosives to be dropped on the house from a helicopter.
The most compelling scenes consist of testimony given by 13-year-old Birdie Africa, one of only two people to escape from the fire.
In the two days since I watched it, Let It Burn has been taken down from YouTube, but it can be rented from Amazon (for $3.99) or Netflix. See Zeitgeist Films for details.
I saw this a few months back. But the rest of the country tool little notice at the time, because, of course, this was a poor black community.
I do not remember this event, and I was working on my master’s degree that year. Shows how little coverage this atrocity got at the time!
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I wasn’t aware of it until the early 1990s when I became involved in the campaign to save Mumia abu Jamal (he was framed by Philadelphia police) and other Black Panthers who were framed on phony charges.
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I was living in the Philadelphia area when this happened and reading your blog brings it all back to me vividly.
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It’s really scary, isn’t it, when the truth comes out about city cops we’re trained to believe are there to serve and protect us.
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It’s always horrible to know that things are not as they appear to be! and there certainly seems to have been a lot of that over the years…..have a lovely weekend. Janet. 🙂
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What a difference race means in US contrasting todays circus of armed to teeth whites trespassing too Blacks defending their home and religion.
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http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/01/14/girl-j14.html sorry I read this after I posted first comment it looks like Pennsylvania is still on shoot first and ask questions when you pick up the bodies.
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Wow, shooting a 12 year old during an eviction. That’s pretty demonic.
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Tubularsock remembers his rage at the time and the hypocrisy of the power structure that is an American tradition!
“Philadelphia police guilty of “negligence,” though no criminal charges were filed.” Could it have been any other way in AmeriKKKa?
FUCK THE POOLICE!
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I admit to sharing the same sentiments, Tube. In my case, it was a choice between living in a constant state of rage or emigrating. I’m happy to report the rage has quietened to more manageable levels.
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