FRONTLINE WITH JUDY WOODRUFF: THE BOMBING OF WEST PHILLY (TV)
Summary
One in this documentary series hosted by Judy Woodruff. In this edition, the confrontation between Philadelphia police and the radical group MOVE, which subsequently ended in the bombing of the MOVE house in 1985, is examined. This program includes interviews with city officials, former MOVE members, and residents of Philadelphia. Topics covered include: how and when the feud between the police and MOVE began; what MOVE stood for and how the members conducted themselves as a group; the first confrontation with the police in 1978 in which one police officer was killed and the leader of MOVE, Delbert Africa, was severely beaten after surrendering; how the courts declared the police officers responsible for the beating innocent and found Africa guilty of murder; how MOVE slowly left Philadelphia and moved to Rochester, New York; why MOVE returned to Philadelphia in 1983; how they confronted and annoyed residents of Osage Avenue for two years; the promise city officials made to the residents that the problem would be taken care of somehow; how the police used force against MOVE when they refused to give up peacefully; the gunfight that lasted hours and the police commissioner's decision to drop a bomb on the house; how the police decided to use the fire as a tactical weapon and flush out the MOVE members; why the fire wasn't controlled and how it quickly spread to the surrounding houses; the number of victims who died in the fire; whether Mayor Wilson Goode gave the order to put the fire out before it spread; why the police commissioner changed his story at a press conference; and the subsequeji agtiruwtnwgnhw bm irrsleaid ni ed-eelnguage and material.)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WGBH Boston, MA
- DATE: May 5, 1987 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:44761
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/Documentaries; Philadelphia - History; Bombings
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series 1983-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- David Fanning … Executive Producer
- Martin Smith … Producer, Director, Writer
- Sue Williams … Associate Producer
- Judy Woodruff … Host
- Lary Lewman … Narrator
- Leon Dash … Reporter
- Delbert Africa
- Jerry Ford Africa
- Ramona Africa
- Lucien Blackwell
- William Goode
- Robert Hurst
- Vincent Leaphart
- Charles Patton
- William Richmond
- Frank Rizzo
- Gregore Samber
- John White
- Novella Williams