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Students Campaign For Historical Marker Commemorating MOVE Bombing

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The site of the 1985 "MOVE" bombing in Cobbs Creek will soon get a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker.

It was May 13, 1985 when police bombed the Osage Avenue row home of a group of radical black activists known as MOVE.

The resulting fire destroyed 61 homes and killed 11 people, including five children.

"Children younger and older than us were killed by a bomb that was dropped by police and stuff, and they didn't even know why," said Jubilee School 6th grader Ella Adams.

Meet Ella, Hannah, Ishtar, Nigel and David.

"I don't understand how Philadelphia could do that," said David Bannister, a 7th grader.

These current and former students at the Jubilee School make up "Songs of the Children," an anti-violence group.

After learning about MOVE last May, teacher Karen Falcon took the group to Osage Avenue.

"The houses look really worn down, it wasn't rebuilt well," said Ishtar El, a 6th grader.

What stood out was what was missing: a memorial telling what happened.

"We were like, 'how about we make a historical marker?'" said Hannah Romer, a 6th grader.

They got 200 signatures and filled out an application for a historical marker; the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission gave approval in March.

The MOVE Bombing marker will be placed at the corner of Osage and Cobbs Creek Parkway. It will summarize the tragedy, including participation by the city, state police, and FBI.

"It's really empowering, and it makes me feel happy that we could do something like this," said Ishtar.

They launched a GoFundMe for the June 24th dedication, and a documentary for their campaign.

"I really want to show that this is out there, and this happened, and we cannot avoid it," said Hannah.

And that kids, no matter their age, "we can do something about it, and we can make a difference," said 7th grader Nigel Carter

By taking action, that makes change.

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