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Ramona Africa: No Justification For MOVE Bombing

Philadelphia (CBS) - On Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, Dom Giordano spoke with Ramona Africa about the placement of a historical marker at the site where the city of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on the MOVE house in 1985. Africa, a member of radical liberation group who lived in the house at the time, still denies the charges leveled against them.

"There is no justification for what they did. I don't care what they accused MOVE of. We were not being sought for rape, robbery, murder, drug trafficking, child molestation, none of that. The warrants that Gregore Sambor, the police commissioner at the time, came out to our home on Mother's Day, May 12, May 13, that Monday, is the day that they dropped the bomb but, they came out there on Sunday, Mother's Day, May 12, to begin their attack, their assault on MOVE."

Africa says blame for the bombing and the catastrophic fire that followed, claiming 11 lives, goes all the way to the top of city government.

"Wilson Goode was the mayor. He's in charge and a lot of people want to protect Wilson Goode and say, well, he didn't know everything that they were doing, that racist police commissioner and the fire commissioner who didn't put the fire out, that's true and I don't know, none of us really know, what Wilson Goode knew or didn't know at the time, but I do know that in a national press conference on the 13th of May, he said he takes full responsibility and that he would do it again."

The ceremony to place the plaque at the site will mark the first time she's returned there since the bombing, and she praised a group of school students for collecting signatures and seeing the process to its conclusion.

"I have not been back to Osage Avenue since I was drug away from there in '85, but these students have shown such courage and commitment and dedication and they asked to come and I agreed to come out there. I will say a few words which will mainly be deal with the students. Focus on them. They're the ones that were committed to this project."

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