[Pnews] Mothers of children who died in the MOVE bombing find no comfort in city discovery that human remains were not destroyed

Prisoner News ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Sun May 16 11:10:47 EDT 2021


https://www.inquirer.com/news/move-bombing-remains-farley-mumia-abu-jamal-children-20210515.html
Mothers
of children who died in the MOVE bombing find no comfort in city discovery
that human remains were not destroyed
Alfred Lubrano - May 15, 2021
------------------------------

Three women whose children were killed in the MOVE bombing 36 years ago
said they find no solace in the city’s discovery of human remains that were
declared destroyed earlier in the week.

In fact, the women expressed varying levels of outrage, incredulity, and
bitterness in interviews at Cobbs Creek Park in West Philadelphia on
Saturday during a rally commemorating the event:

“I don’t believe anything the city says, but I know I’m insulted,” said
Janine Phillips Africa, 65, who lost a son, Phil, 11.

“Do you know what kind of trauma they’re putting us through?” asked Janet
Holloway Africa, 70, who lost a daughter, Delisha, 13.

“We resent the hell out of this situation,” said Consuewella Dotson Africa,
who describes herself as “almost 70” and who lost two daughters, Katricia,
13, and Vanetta, 11.

It’s not known whether the remains belong to any of the children.

Initially, Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration announced
<https://www.inquirer.com/news/thomas-farley-philadelphia-health-commissioner-move-bombing-20210514.html>
that, without notifying relatives, it had cremated and discarded remains
from the May 1985 bombing in West Philadelphia that led to the deaths of 11
people. But on Friday night, city officials acknowledged the remains were
never destroyed.

The revelation came after city officials learned that a subordinate
apparently disobeyed Health Commissioner Thomas Farley’s order in 2017 to
dispose of the remains, said Leon A. Williams, an attorney for the family
of the MOVE victims.

Farley, the city’s top health official since 2016, resigned Thursday after
acknowledging he had ordered the remains cremated and disposed of without
notifying the Africas.

Kenney said in a statement late Friday that he had personally informed the
family of the discovery of the remains previously believed to have been
destroyed. He described the remains as partial bone fragments, or perhaps
teeth.

But the three mothers bristled on Saturday, saying no one from the city had
told them anything.

“We get all our information from the media,” Janine Africa said. “Nobody
called us. It seems to me the city is scrambling to get themselves out of a
bad situation.

“Their story has changed three or four times in the last 48 hours. All it
does is make us relive what happened.”

On Saturday night, a spokesperson for Kenney said that while he hadn’t met
with the three mothers at the rally, he had spoken with several family
members on Thursday and Friday, including Pam Africa, Mike Africa Sr., and
Mike Africa Jr., among others.

“The mayor completely understands why the family doesn’t trust the city and
has acknowledged that he would feel the same way if he were in their
shoes,” the spokesperson said. “He informed ... [Africa family members] of
everything he learned about this situation within two hours of finding out
personally. He is more than willing to meet with any family member that is
interested in meeting with him.”
A city’s sin

The zigzagging tale of the remains, coming during the anniversary of an
internationally infamous event that’s often seen as Philadelphia’s greatest
sin, seems to have reignited ill feelings over systemic mistreatment of
Black people at the hands of police. Speaker after speaker at the Saturday
rally referenced racism and violence against African Americans.

“How treacherous, how monstrous all of this is,” Janet Africa said. “This
is a crystallized example of how people have treated us, and how they have
felt about MOVE for years.”

Along with the confusion over the remains, the women described themselves
as enraged over another scandal involving remains of a MOVE victim: The*
Penn Museum arranged last month to return*
<https://www.inquirer.com/news/penn-museum-move-remains-christopher-woods-20210428.html>
bone
fragments from one girl — believed to be 14-year-old Tree Africa — who died
in the bombing. Those remains had for decades been shuttled between
researchers and staff at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton
University.
[image: Around 50 supporters gather Saturday at Cobbs Creek Park for a
rally commemorating the 36th anniversary of the MOVE bombing.]Around 50
supporters gather Saturday at Cobbs Creek Park for a rally commemorating
the 36th anniversary of the MOVE bombing.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff
Photographer

“They have sawed and drilled into that poor girl’s bones,” Janet Africa
said.

Consuewella Africa compounded the image: “Imagine our babies in some
stagnant lab like that. Our children had life, they were not some specimen.”

Most remains *were released from the Medical Examiner’s Office in 1986 and
buried* <https://doccenter.inquirer.com/document/867507> at Eden Cemetery
in Collingdale, Delaware County.

All three women served long prison sentences related to an event that
predated the MOVE bombing by seven years. In 1978, Philadelphia Police
Officer James Ramp died in a Powelton Village shootout. Consuewella Africa
served 16 years for simple assault, while the two other women served 40
years for murder.

The women professed their innocence in the killing. They were incarcerated
at the time their children died in the bombing.
Not suing

Asked whether they plan to sue the city over the mistakes made about the
remains, the women flatly said no.

“For us to sue and then for them to have to give us money lets the city off
the hook,” Janine Africa said. “We’re not going through that.”

In a surprising revelation, Janine Africa said the mothers have just one
demand: Free writer and activist Mumia Abu-Jamal from Mahanoy State
Correctional Institution in Frackville, Schuylkill County.
[image: At a rally to remember those killed in the MOVE bombing in 1985,
many people gathered in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal, imprisoned for killing
a Philadelphia police officer.]At a rally to remember those killed in the
MOVE bombing in 1985, many people gathered in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal,
imprisoned for killing a Philadelphia police officer.Read moreTYGER
WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer

Abu-Jamal is serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted
in the 1981 killing of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.

Long supported by MOVE members, Abu-Jamal
<https://www.inquirer.com/news/mumia-abu-jamal-larry-krasner-maureen-faulkner-supreme-court-decision-20201216.html>
had in turn been a champion of MOVE, which long advocated equal treatment
for African Americans, as well as respect for nature and animals.

On Saturday at the rally, photos and writings of Abu-Jamal were
omnipresent. Fresh fruit was offered for free to any of the approximately
50 people who showed up. Orange and black T-shirts with a reproduction of a
photograph of the bomb that was dropped from a helicopter onto MOVE members
were being sold for $15 apiece.

Reflecting on the lack of precision about the remains, Eddie Africa, 71,
who described himself as “part of the MOVE family,” said he’s not sure what
to think about the reappearance of a box once thought burned.

But he unhesitatingly attributed the misunderstandings to a purposeful
attempt by city officials to keep people off-balance.

“It’s like they’re trying to make us emotionally torn, because they believe
it will weaken us,” he said. “All this does is raise emotions and create
pain.

“And there is no solution we can see.”
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