Let the fire burn
This documentary is called “Let the fire burn”. It was created in 2013 and is produced by Jason Osder. The MOVE organization was an outcast group founded by John Africa. This was an organization of colored people that operated mainly in West Philadelphia. They were a sort of religion; they did not conform to the rules of society. They oppressed the essentially the “normal” ways to do things. This group related to Edelman chapter 8, where he talks about groups in society that are oppressed (Edelman). They exclaimed that society was based on division, upon entering school, children were classified based on race, social status etc. The main purpose was to essentially fight for the rights of colored people, and fight for justice. Like our race timeline article about minorities fights for their rights to living wages and healthcare in 1985 (Race Timeline). To stop them from being beaten, jailed and imprisoned. The MOVE group and the Philadelphia police got into many scuffles in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. One incident was the killing of officer ramp, when a citizen called a noise complaint against MOVE. Three members were sentenced with 30-100 years in prison. Four officers were charged with assault, but all were acquitted.
These events would build to a fatal end. On May 13th, 1985 Philadelphia police attempted to evict the MOVE from the neighborhood. They refused and barricaded themselves into their townhouse. After tear gas and a power hose were implemented, they did not work. A police chief authorized to drop a bomb on the house. The bomb was meant to destroy the bunker on the top of the house. It failed, and a fire started that spread to the rest of the house. The mayor testified that the decision was made to leave the house burn to get the MOVE members to come out. This was not the case, as eleven people and five children died in the fire. This included the founder, John Africa. Two people survived the fire. 60 residential houses were burned in the process. Many issues such as police brutality and inequality are displayed throughout the documentary. Such as the incidence mentioned earlier, when people called complaints on them, relating to violence and death. A related incident can go back the Black panthers in 1969, when a demonstration turned ugly and a member was killed in Chicago. The topics of race and crime that we have discussed in class strongly relate to this story. Many of the protests that occur because of police brutality can relate. Today we have protests for mainly the same reasons, and it is fortunate that we do not have these types of incidents today. This perspective seems to be a new perspective, as groups back then like fought for right, much like people are fighting today. They were not suggestions for improving the system. But I think we need to take charge of our police stations and change procedures and protocols. I should mention that these policy changes may prove to be ineffective, as they have many times before. A countrywide acceptance of what has happened, what is happening now, and what could happen should possibly have an impact. I agree with the process the city of Philadelphia took. The went through different proceedings to find out what really happened. In the end of course, the commission found the police department negligent. Then proceeded to not charge or convict anyone that had been involved. Although it is sad that people are still fighting for the same rights they were then, like nothing has changed. The documentary presents not many solutions to fix the problem, as these officers involved in the tragedy were again charged with negligence. No criminal charges were ever filed. This seems to be a reoccurring theme that nothing every gets solved with these tragedies. No matter how often they happen, or how many times history proceeds to repeat itself. I liked how the city took the initiative to rebuild the neighborhood after all the houses were destroyed. Although it was condemned in 2000 for sloppy building. It is also sad that most citizens have no knowledge of what occurred in 1985. It is important for us to accept that these things happened in the past, and there is nothing we can do to change them. But we can learn from it and move forward, so these things do not happen again in the future. I like to always that the past can hurt, but you can either run form it or learn from it.
Osder, J. (2013). Let the Fire Burn. Retrieved December 10, 2020, from https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/letthefireburn
- (2020). Race Timeline. Retrieved December 10, 2020, from https://d2l.iup.edu/d2l/le/content/2963644/viewContent/22955061/View
Edelman, P. B. (2019). Not a crime to be poor: The criminalization of poverty in America. New York, PA: The New Press. Chapter 8