Where Water Used to Flow:
The Destruction of Black Fields
is a conversation about state-sanctioned violence against marginalized and oppressed groups because of white supremacy, highlighted by the 1985 bombing of MOVE members in the Cobbs Creek section of Philadelphia.
I spent a year traveling to Philadelphia documenting the aftermath of the 1985 MOVE Bombing. During my time in Philadelphia, I lived and interviewed with the residents of Addison St, which is adjacent to Osage Ave where the bombing occurred. In my research process, I drew the connection between the Osage Tribe Murders and the Tulsa Race Massacre. I noticed the recurrence of generational trauma, and between all three were the destruction of their land and the hope contained within it.
The 1985 MOVE Bombing began on Sunday, May 12, 1985, on Mother’s Day. Around 500 police officers were deployed, setting up barriers in and around Osage Ave. On the morning of May 13, 1985, then Police Commissioner Gregore J. Sambor stated that he had an arrest warrant for four MOVE Members, who were located in a fortified bunker on the roof of 6221 Osage Ave. After more than five hours of gunfire and an exchange of words, Sambor ordered the creation of the bomb. Fully knowing that the home contained children, the bomb was dropped from a helicopter and detonated on the roof. Sambor withheld the fire department from stopping the fire. After two hours of watching the house at 6221 Osage Ave. and neighboring homes burn, an attempt was finally made by the fire department to stop the fire. Some MOVE members, children, and adults were located in the basement of 6221 Osage Ave. Sambor’s bomb killed six adults and five children, demolished 61 homes, and left 251 people displaced.
Water is a natural element that brings prosperity, hope, and freedom, but also can be used to destroy and erase. Throughout this project, water has been used as a way to manipulate and project violence. Water was poured on these lands, not to cleanse, but to push out what was there. The City of Philadelphia used water as a war tactic. They withheld it when Osage Ave was burning and pushed it out to the point where MOVE members were drowning in it. I used water as a connection to symbolize the hope of the newfound wealth of Osage, the prosperity of Tulsa, and the new beginnings of Philadelphia. Where Water Used to Flow: The Destruction of Black Fields is only touching the surface of countless acts of violence inflicted on the lands of Black and Brown people in the United States.
