Taken in by an unending media and police campaign against MOVE and shocked by the scale of violence unleashed against MOVE, too many people stood by paralyzed and did not rise up in response. A "Draw the Line" statement, initiated by Carl Dix and others, was signed by more than 100 prominent Black figures and others denouncing the collusion of Black elected officials in the repression of the Black community.
Addendum: Repeat Offenders
The MOVE massacre is not the first time this system has bombed and burned out rebellious Black people.
In June 1921, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a white mob attempting to lynch a Black prisoner was stopped, partly by Black residents armed with shotguns. In response, white supremacists went on a rampage. A mob of over 1,000--and including police--stormed the Greenwood area, at that time known as the "Negro Wall Street" because of its vibrant Black-owned economy. Looting, burning, and shooting people, the mob met fierce resistance from armed Blacks. The police commandeered a half-dozen small planes, supposedly to provide surveillance for their attack, though many reported that the planes also dropped explosive and incendiary devices on the Black community.
By the time it was over, up to 100 Black people had been murdered, and perhaps two dozen of their white attackers killed. The population of Greenwood had been rounded up by police and forced into detention centers. The whole neighborhood, including 1,256 homes, had been burned to the ground; only a few buildings survived.
This article comes from the American Crime series, a regular feature of Revolution newspaper/revcom.us. Each installment of the series focuses on one of the 100 worst crimes committed by the U.S. rulers--out of countless bloody crimes they have carried out against people around the world, from the founding of the U.S. to the present day.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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