Members of the Africa family are demanding action after a revelation uncovered by the Penn Museum there are other remains associated with the 1985 MOVE bombing.
Mike Africa Jr. was joined Monday by other family members and city council member Jamie Gauthier to demand the museum return the remains of 12-year-old Delisha Africa and other victims of the MOVE bombings.
Last month, Penn Museum announced it had discovered even more remains. The remains were discovered during an inventory by the museum’s Biological Anthropology department, according to the museum.
“It’s unconscionable that the Penn Museum is still in possession of the remains of a young black child three years later, three years later, because they didn’t take this seriously,” Gauthier said.
The discovery marks a new chapter in the long-standing saga surrounding the handling of the remains of the 1985 MOVE tragedy.
The MOVE bombing took place in 1985 at its headquarters on Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia. Delisha Africa was one of five children killed in the bombing, along with six adults.
In 2021, Penn Museum officials acknowledged that they were inside possession of the remains of several MOVE victims.
Penn Museum said in a statement last month that it is in contact with the Africa family and that the human remains have been identified during “ongoing inventory efforts.”
Penn Museum also said it is committed to full transparency regarding any new evidence that may emerge.
