[BLACK POWER]. Photo Archive of Philadelphia's MOVE Organization. Philadelphia, ca. 1970s-90s. Large file of photographs covering the most significant moments in the organization's history, including police confrontations and incidents in 1977 and 1978, and the 1985 house bombing. Lot includes:

(110) 8 x 5" black and white photographs, Stayfast metal binder clips, dated on reverse (May 20-31, 1977) and coinciding with health inspectors approaching the MOVE house; officials were met by MOVE members dressed in jumpsuits and green berets, brandishing military grade rifles.

(110) 8 x 5" black and white photographs, Stayfast metal binder clips, May 4-8, 1978, coinciding with a court-approved order for MOVE to surrender weapons, allow inspections, and vacate the house. This escalated to a deadly battle between police and MOVE resulting in the death of a police offer and the arrest of 12 MOVE members who would become the MOVE 9 imprisoned for the murder.

350+ black and white, 8 x 5" photographs in Stayfast binder clips, and 123 black and white loose 8 x 10" photographs, from May 13, 1985, when nearly 500 officers were sent to the MOVE house to clear the building and execute arrest warrants for members inside. After a shoot-out between police and MOVE in which over 10,000 rounds were fired, the police commissioner decided to bomb the compound. A Philadelphia State Police helicopter dropped a Tovex bomb, which killed 11 people including five children. Officials feared that MOVE would shoot at firefighters, so they allowed the building to burn, destroying approximately 65 nearby houses on Osage Ave. These photos show what took place from multiple perspectives including images from the air, street, and aftermath. 

Included is a 72-page MOVE zine dated November 1997, "25 Years on the MOVE." This coincided with a resurgence of support of 1960s-70s radical political prisoners and organizations.

An important collection well worthy of additional study and preservation.