Unit 3: Research

 Repatriation, MOVE Bombing Victims

Hey everybody,

    On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia officials made the decision to bomb the headquarters of a back-to-nature organization, MOVE, after a standoff with the police. 11 people were killed in the initial bombing, 5 of them were children. The resulting fire burned down 61 homes. Two forensic anthropologists, Alan Mann and Janet Monge, were asked to identify two of the bodies, later identified as Tree and Delisha Africa. Instead of returning the bodies to the coroner, they claimed to have lost the bodies. The bodies remained in the possession of Mann at Penn State and were used in classes as recently as 2021.

    Mann and Monge shouldn't have kept the bodies in their possession. They should have been returned to the coroner after identification, then turned over to the remaining family members. At no time would it have been appropriate to keep or donate the bodies to Penn State, or for Princeton to use them in a class of any type. According to the family, they thought the bodies were buried.

    Unsurprisingly, the city also disposed of bodies related to the bombing quietly, without consulting the remaining family. It led to the resignation of the city's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, who cremated the remains sometime in 2017. 

    Philadelphia purposely botched the procedures for handling human remains. They let improper handling of the incident perpetuate for decades, allowing Monge to play a horrifying shell game with the remains of Delisha Africa. As of 2022, the remains were returned to the family.

    It's horrifying and insulting that the Africa family had to wait 37 years to bury one of their own. Even more horrifying is the fact other families are waiting on the return of their family members' remains from other collections.   

Signing off,

Andrew Horiuchi


Collective Statement Concerning the Possession and Unethical Use of Remains, April 28, 2021, https://aba.americananthro.org/collective-statement-concerning-the-possession-and-unethical-use-of-remains/

Chang, David, “Philly Health Commish Ousted After MOVE Victims' Remains Cremated and Discarded,” NBC 10 Philadelphia, May 13, 2021, https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philly-health-commissioner-dr-thomas-farley-resigns-over-handling-of-remains-of-move-bombing-victims/2813602/

Muhammad, Abdul-Aliy A., “Decades After Philadelphia’s MOVE Bombing, Penn Museum Still Keeps Secrets on the Remains of 12-Year-Old Girl,” Hyperallergic, April 20, 2022, https://hyperallergic.com/725976/philadelphia-move-bombing-penn-museum-still-keeps-secrets-on-the-remains/

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