Bones of Children Killed in MOVE Bombing Used in College Classrooms
The Claim
Ivy League colleges have stored the bones of murdered black children without the permission of the relatives, and the children were murdered by the US police .
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Emerging story
On Wednesday, April 21st, 2021, the NPR and PBS affiliate Billy Penn Published an article that claimed that the remains of children who had been killed in a 1985 Philadelphia bombing conducted by the police had sat in a University of Pennsylvania owned museum for decades. The article elaborated that the bones had since been transferred to Princeton University, where they presumably still are (although the news source claims to have contacted the college and been told that they do not know their current location.) Additionally, this source revealed that the bones were used in a Princeton University online course without the permission of the mothers of the children
This initial story saw outraged reactions on social media.
On April 23rd, the news website The Guardian published a report that reiterated the claims of the Billy Penn article. This led to wider reactions across the web.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation confirmed that the bones belonged to deceased children who died in a police bombing in 1985. It is also confirmed that the bones have been used as part of a Princeton University online video course since 2019, which occurred without the surviving relatives’ permission.
Both the Guardian and Billy Penn sources stated that the bones of the children were being used in the online course without the permission of the children’s surviving relatives, who are the dead children’s mothers.
It is also accurate to state that the police killed the children whose remains are being displayed without permission in the video. In 2020, the governing council of Philadelphia formally apologized for ordering a police helicopter to drop plastic explosives onto a house. This bombing resulted in the deaths of 11 people, five of whom were children.
Both The Guardian and Billy Penn state that the remains were acquired by Alan Mann, a University of Pennsylvania professor, who identified that the bones belonged to children who died in the bombing. The sources state that Mann then retained the bones for decades and took them with him when he transferred to Princeton University. They could not find any evidence of Mann requesting permission from the relatives to retain the bones during this time.
This story has been making headlines to highlight a historic and often overlooked instance of police brutality in America. The bombing occurred on May 13, 1985. It began when police officers arrived at the Philadelphia residence of MOVE, a political and religious group, to fulfil arrest warrants. When the members of MOVE refused to leave the building, the police told them they had 15 minutes to emerge. A member of MOVE began shooting at the police, who shot back. After many hours of shooting, the Philadelphia mayor approved for the police to drop a bomb on the building. The resulting explosion killed the MOVE members and destroyed 61 houses.
