Many people are questioning the situation of the armed radical militiamen taking over the National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, and some are suggesting there would be a different reaction from the police if armed African Americans occupied this federal land and made similar threats, i.e., they would kill and be killed if necessary. Well, we need not do a lot of speculation, as we had a real life test of this point 30 years ago in Philadelphia.
In 1985, a black anti-government group in Philadelphia, MOVE, had a standoff with the police that went quite differently from what we are seeing with the militiamen in Oregon. They were attacked—in their residence–in a horrific manner. Here is how in a recent article Carimah Townes of Think Progress described the attack:
“Members of the liberation group sought a natural lifestyle, free of government control, law enforcement, and technology. They lived together in a barricaded house, protested for animal rights, and ate raw foods. Similar to Bundy’s supporters, they believed the federal government violated their constitutional rights. And with a cache of weapons in their possession, they also advocated armed defense if targeted by the city’s authorities.
On May 13, 1985, officers with warrants and military-grade weapons surrounded their house. Police claimed they were there to evict the group, in response to complaints from locals about MOVE’s use of blow-horns to proselytize late into the night. They pointed [many] guns at the house and yelled at the people inside to evacuate. Tear gas was thrown into the building to smoke them out. But when someone started shooting back, the officers returned the gunfire with 10,000 rounds. Without knowing how many people were inside, they began throwing explosives at the house. And when nobody came out, they dropped a bomb from a helicopter — setting off a fire that spread to 65 homes and that firefighters were ordered not to put out.”
So we have had an example of what might happen if blacks protest by practicing armed resistance. And it played out similar to much of the current speculation.
Eleven people died in the fire and more than 250 people (MOVE neighbors) were left homeless. The dead included six adults and five children aged 7 to 13. Eventually, some justice did prevail as a federal jury ordered the city to pay a $1.5 million civil suit judgement to Ramona Africa, the widow of the MOVE leader, and relatives of two other people killed in the shooting. The jury found that the city used excessive force and violated the MOVE members’ constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.