Join Community College of Philadelphia for a daylong symposium reflecting on and honoring the 40th anniversary of the 1985 MOVE bombing. This day will bring together scholars, journalists, artists, activists, and cultural leaders from throughout Philadelphia to engage with questions of commemoration and collective understanding: Why is it so hard to find consensus memory of MOVE and the bombing, and where do we as a city go from here? To learn more about MOVE and the bombing, please visit this library guide curated by Nikki Karam, Library assistant professor.
May 13, 2025
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Main Campus, Winnet Building
Great Hall, Room S2-19
In 2020, Philadelphia City Council declared May 13 as an annual day of reflection and recommitment. But how do we reflect on a story for which there is no common memory? In addition to a plenary session with activist and author Mike Africa, Jr. and award-winning historian Dr. Heather Thompson, the program will feature thought-provoking panel discussions exploring why it is so hard to remember the tragic event and how we think of it today.
The program will conclude with an invitation to participants to join the annual procession to 6221 Osage Avenue.
Schedule
9 a.m.
Introduction and Opening Remarks with Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier
9:30 a.m.
First Draft of Memory
Panelists: Barbara Grant, Larry Eichel, Larry Litwin, Pete KaneModerator: Ernest Owens
A discussion with the journalists who have shaped Philadelphia’s understanding of the 1985 bombing in print, online, and in broadcast news.
Barbara Grant was honored with the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. A news director at WDAS at the time of the bombing, Barbara’s accomplished career in journalism and communications included positions as a reporter at Channel 29, managing editor at Channel 3, communications director for the School District of Philadelphia and for former Mayor John Street.
Larry Eichel was a reporter and editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1974 to 2008, winning numerous awards for his work. He was the lead writer for the Inquirer’s coverage of the aftermath of the 1985 MOVE confrontation and of the investigation conducted by the MOVE Commission. A graduate of Harvard University, he has taught journalism at Temple and is the co-author of two books.
Larry Litwin is an established public relations counselor, teacher, mentor, role model and ethicist, and an award-winning public relations practitioner and broadcast journalist, who has left a lasting impression on thousands of students and professionals. He spent 42 years as an adjunct and full-time faculty member at Rowan University before retiring as associate professor to guest lecture at other universities in public relations, advertising, radio and television. Litwin has authored two books. A former KYW Newsradio journalist, Litwin was on the scene during the MOVE bombing.
Pete Kane is an Emmy- and Edward R. Murrow award-winning photojournalist who worked for 47 years at NBC's Philadelphia affiliate. He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2017, honoring his MOVE coverage among other career highlights.
Ernest Owens iis an award-winning journalist and CEO of Ernest Media Empire, LLC. He is the president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, executive producer and host of the hit podcast “Ernestly Speaking!” and host of Philadelphia City Council Live on WURD Radio. He’s the author of the book “The Case for Cancel Culture,” published by St. Martin’s Press. As an openly Black gay journalist, he has made headlines for speaking frankly about intersectional issues in society regarding race, LGBTQIA, and pop culture.
10:45 a.m.
Gatekeepers of Memory
Panelists: Dr. Heather Ann Thompson, Josué Hurtado, Dr. Krystal Strong, Brother Shomari, Jason OsderModerator: David Brown
A conversation with the chief archivists from the MOVE organization, the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission and storytellers who have made meaning from what they’ve found there.
Dr. Heather Ann Thompson, a historian at the University of Michigan, is a Pulitzer Prize and Bancroft-prize winning author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy. Thompson is also the author of Whose Detroit?: Politics, Labor, and Race in a Modern American City. Thompson served on a National Academy of Sciences blue-ribbon panel that studied the causes and consequences of mass incarceration in the U.S. She co-runs the Carceral State Project at the University of Michigan and recently was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Josué Hurtado is the coordinator of Public Services and Outreach for the Special Collections Research Center at Temple University, where he oversees all aspects of public services, including instruction, reference, and research services. Josué has more than 25 years of experience in a variety of archives, academic libraries, and museums including UC San Francisco’s Archives and Special Collections, The GLBT Historical Society, the University of California's Bancroft Library, and the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. Josué has a Master of Information Science degree from The University of Michigan's School of Information and a BA in History from Stanford University.
Dr. Krystal Strong is an assistant professor of Black Studies in Education at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and archive director at The MOVE Activist Archive. An anthropologist by training, her research and teaching use ethnographic, participatory, and multimodal methods to investigate youth and community activism, global Black social movements, and the role of education as a site of struggle in Africa and the African Diaspora. Dr. Strong is an active community organizer and her work as a core organizer with Black Lives Matter Philadelphia centers on abolition, educational justice, political prisoners, and Pan-African solidarity.
Brother Shomari, Eric K. Grimes, is an activist, organizer, author, speaker, training professional and educator focused on developing consciousness-raising and transformative learning experiences for those committed to overcoming oppression, injustice and racism. Through his community building efforts—BEING BLACK and Raising Our Villages To Power (ROV2P)—he aims to help move information to wisdom to guide coordinated action grounded in the principles of SANKOFA, and a belief that the Black Diaspora must educate, socialize and teach our own people and control our own narratives if we want true social justice. Brother Shomari hosts “GROUNDINGS with Brother Shomari” on Fridays at 1 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. on WURD.
Jason Osder is associate professor at the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. Supported in part by the Sundance Institute, Jason is the director of the award-winning documentary "Let the Fire Burn" about the MOVE bombing. Jason is a long-time media educator, producer, and instructional author with a background in documentary, social sciences, and education theory. He has a twenty-year career in professional training, consulting, and execution in the rapidly changing field of creative media technologies. Currently, Jason is working on films supported by PBS and The Sundance Institute.
David W. Brown is an associate professor and the assistant dean for Community and Communication at the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University. He is also the executive director of the Civic Coalition to Save Lives—a collection of civic, philanthropic, business and community leaders working together to reduce gun violence in Philadelphia. Brown was named a “Champion of Change” by the Obama Administration for his communications work around empowering nonprofits to make a difference in the communities they serve, and is the only living African American inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Association Hall of Fame. He is an ordained Deacon and part-time member of the ministry at the First United Methodist Church in Media, PA.
12 p.m.
Lunch and Keynote Speaker Mike Africa, Jr.
Introduction: Dr. Jason Esters, assistant professor, English
Mike Africa, Jr., is the author of On A Move and star of the HBO documentary, “40 Years a Prisoner.” Mike was born in a jail cell and freed his innocent parents from 40 years of incarceration. He pushes his revolutionary message with his dynamic stage performances mixing music with speeches. Currently, Mike travels the country as a keynote and public speaker telling his incredible story and inspiring others with his powerful message, “Never Give Up.” Mike has shared the stage with the likes of Marc Lamont Hill, Tarana Burke, Ramona Africa, Dead Prez and Danny Glover.
1:30 p.m.
Siting/Sighting Memory
Panelists: Karen Falcon, Dr. Ashley Jordan, Dr. Kerry SautnerModerator: Monica O. Montgomery
A discussion with cultural and civic leaders about how interpretive spaces engage questions of memory and meaning-making—and what their responsibilities are in shaping public understanding of the past.
Karen Falcon was the founder of Philadelphia’s Jubilee School, where she has been the principal for 47 years. The private school officially opened in the fall of 1977 and continues to provide an environment of encouragement where children can grow in the wealth of their intellectual curiosity, creative pursuits, and moral responsibilities as members of a tight-knit community. As the school continues to grow under a new director, Falcon has faith they remain faithful to the school's mission—providing comprehensive, challenging, and engaging education to all, regardless of their income.
Dr. Ashley Jordan is the president and CEO of the African American Museum in Philadelphia. Prior to serving in this role, she served as the executive director for the Evansville African American Museum in Indiana. In addition to her professional experiences in public history, she has also served as an adjunct professor for North Central State College in Ohio. Dr. Jordan graduated with her doctorate in United States History from Howard University. Dr. Jordan is also the proud recipient of numerous professional, academic and civic awards including the Pace Setter Award from the Association of African American Museums, a multiple doctoral fellowship recipient for the Filson and the Kentucky Historical Societies and the Black Excellence.
Dr. Kerry Sautner is the president and chief executive officer of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, a museum interpreting the legacy of American criminal justice reform from the site of the world’s first penitentiary. The facility pioneered the large-scale use of solitary confinement in the early 19th century and housed approximately 85,000 people during its 142 years of operation. Today, Eastern State Penitentiary attracts hundreds of thousands of guests from around the world each year to explore the site’s fascinating past and contemplate some of the most critical issues facing our nation. Its innovative public history program draws connections to contemporary justice reform through an approach that values multiple perspectives, amplifies marginalized voices, and respects a broad range of visitors’ interests and learning styles.
Monica O. Montgomery is the founder and president of DiasporaDNA Story Center, an innovative mobile cultural center, engaging people around art, archives, healing and story for cultures of the global majority. She is a renowned cultural thought leader in museums, public history, creative placemaking, and arts administration, and has produced interactive exhibits for the Formerly Incarcerated Renaissance Museum, Smithsonian Institution FUTURES, Portland Art Museum, South African Embassy, UMMA, the Brooklyn Museum, T Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, and many others.
2:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks: Where Do We Go from Here
Presented by:
Dr. Shannon McLaughlin Rooney is the vice president for Enrollment Management and Strategic Communications at Community College of Philadelphia. She leads admissions and recruitment, student tuition services, international and veterans student services, and records and registration. Additionally, she oversees the offices of institutional assessment and institutional research, as well as strategic communications, which includes special events, marketing and creative services, and communications. Before joining Community College of Philadelphia, Shannon served as an assistant dean for Strategic Communications at Temple University. Her research, which focuses on journalism and public memory, has been published in Digital Journalism, Journalism, and Journalism Studies. Her dissertation, "Memory, Margins, and Materiality: The Philadelphia MOVE Bombing," earned the Cultural and Critical Studies Division dissertation award from AEJMC.
Dr. Abigail Perkiss is a professor of History at Kean University, where her research focuses on oral history, historical memory, and the recent past. She holds a joint JD/Ph.D. from Temple University and is the author of several books, including Making Good Neighbors: Civil Rights, Liberalism, and Integration in Postwar Philadelphia and Hurricane Sandy on New Jersey’s Forgotten Shore. A lifelong Philadelphian, Perkiss has worked with cultural institutions and interpretive spaces throughout the city to explore their own past and understand how communities have used history to shape their collective identities. Her current work focuses on the role of journalists and journalism in shaping the cultural memory of the MOVE bombing.