Princeton U. Apologizes For Handling Of Bombing Victim's Bones

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton University’s Department of Anthropology has apologized for its role in mishandling the remains of the 1985 MOVE bombing victims. The remains were never returned to the family and were used for an online anthropology course.

Retired Princeton Professor Emeritus Alan Mann possessed the remains when he was hired by the Philadelphia medical examiner to determine the identity of the victims, according to a statement from the department.

Mann "continued to study one set of the remains" after joining Princeton from the University of Pennsylvania.

“Given Prof. Mann’s affiliation with our department, coupled with what we know about the troubled history of the field of physical anthropology, we should have asked more questions about his research,” the department said.

“As anthropologists, we acknowledge that American physical anthropology began as a racist science marked by support for, and participation in, eugenics. It defended slavery, played a role in supporting restrictive immigration laws, and was used to justify segregation, oppression and violence in the USA and beyond.”

On May 13, 1985, the Philadelphia Police Department bombed a home shared by members of MOVE, a Black liberation group. The ensuing inferno claimed the lives of 11 people including five children, aged seven to 14.

A report by Billy Pen.com first revealed that for decades, the remains of two children killed in the bombing were kept at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

The victim’s remains traveled between the two universities for years and were used for teaching an online course without the consent of their family members, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

In the letter, the department acknowledged their “complicity in this history.” They said they were “committed to working against elements of the anthropological approaches that facilitate, perpetuate or reiterate the racist and harmful practices relating to human bodies, lives and experiences.”

The bones of the victims were never positively identified. But given their small size and features, MOVE members believe the remains are of 14-year-old Tree Africa and 13-year-old Delisha Africa.

Meanwhile, Princeton University students and community members are organizing a protest Wednesday evening in solidarity with family members of the MOVE bombing victims.

The protest is scheduled to take place at the same time as a demonstration at Penn Museum.

Apart from various demands, the students want the university to revoke Mann’s emeritus status.

The demonstration is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., outside Nassau Hall.

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