@higreg wrote:
I still remember May 13, 1985, my dad was driving me to little league when the news on KYW came out that the police bombed Osage Avenue. The troubled history and racism of Philly's police is without a doubt. However, I caution making martyrs of MOVE, they were more than just political radicals, they were a quasi-religious cult who preached a rejection of science and medicine in favor of a return to a hunter-gatherer society. They built an armed compound (despite what the comic says, they were stockpiling working guns and bombs). They were more akin to the Branch Davidians (with John Africa at their core) than they were the Black Panthers.
The shootout spurred a bunch of riots at the time, too. Philadelphia was really conflicted about MOVE. Neighbors in Powelton Village hated them (they piled garbage and human waste in the yard) but community activists rallied to them. They had a lot of support from Penn students, particularly a guy named Don Glassey, who worked with John Africa when Africa was more of a classic Left radical and not so much of a cult leader.
You can still read the Philadelphia Inquirer's MOVE archives: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/The_MOVE_Crisis_Inquirer_1978_coverage.html
There is also an amazing documentary on YouTube about 1978, that captures a lot of the spirit of the times:
So, are we drawing a link between the MOVE fire and "The Roof is on Fire," because the song predated the bombing by at least year. If you aren't drawing the link, isn't that a tad distasteful?