updated 2025 On May 13th, 1985, the Philadelphia government used military explosives to bomb the headquarters of MOVE, a radical Black environmentalist group, in the neighborhood of Cobbs Creek in West Philadelphia. As a result of this horrifying act of police violence, the bomb and resulting fire killed 11 MOVE members, including five children, andContinue reading “Remembering the MOVE Bombing”
Tag Archives: black bottom
Lynching victims in the dissecting room: Penn’s record of desecrating Black human remains
Clipping from the Inquirer (1894) by Anonymous, 2025 The University of Pennsylvania’s history is a story of scientific racism and dehumanizing practices. In 2021, facing pressure from racial justice community organizers, the Penn Museum and the University issued long overdue apologies for displaying the skulls of enslaved Africans in a eugenist collection and for stealingContinue reading “Lynching victims in the dissecting room: Penn’s record of desecrating Black human remains”
Save the People’s Townhomes: A Fight for Affordable Housing in Philadelphia
A couple blocks from campus, at 40th and Market, the Coalition to Save the University City (UC) Townhomes has been leading a fight for affordable housing and Black autonomy for the past two years. The goal: prevent 70 families from losing their homes and preserving low-income housing on the site.
Penn and the Climate Crisis: A System of Destruction for Profit
Penn is a business first, and an educational institution distantly second. That means, however, that as a researcher, an investor, a pipeline of money and talent, and a power player in Philadelphia politics, Penn’s environmental impact is massive, and is more than just the carbon it burns.
A History of Displacement: Penn’s Broken Promises to the Black Residents of “University City”
As Penn’s endowment grows to over $20 billion and develops real estate across the city, tens of thousands of Philadelphians are struggling to find housing, turning to friends for shelter or living on the street. Penn is not just complicit in this violent inequity; it is one of its foremost perpetrators.
A Brief History of Penn-trification
This article will explain the history of this so-called “Penn-trification,” and how the university’s relentless accumulation of property and wealth has damaged the surrounding Philadelphia community.
Penn and the Climate Crisis: A System of Destruction for Profit
Penn is a business first, and an educational institution distantly second. That means, however, that as a researcher, an investor, a pipeline of money and talent, and a power player in Philadelphia politics, Penn’s environmental impact is massive, and is more than just the carbon it burns.
Save the People’s Townhomes: A Fight for Affordable Housing in Philadelphia
On Dec. 14, 2021, the Coalition to Save UC Townhomes, comprised of residents, housing justice organizers, the Black Bottom Tribe, West Philadelphia community members, and Penn faculty and students, held their first action: a demonstration on campus calling on Penn to honor the Trustees’ 1969 commitment to a policy of accountability.
A History of Displacement: Penn’s Broken Promises to the Black Residents of “University City”
As Penn’s endowment grows to over $20 billion and develops real estate across the city, tens of thousands of Philadelphians are struggling to find housing, turning to friends for shelter or living on the street. Penn is not just complicit in this violent inequity; it is one of its foremost perpetrators.
A Recent History of Organizing at Penn
Over the past few years, the Penn community has rallied in response to injustice on and off campus. Every movement deserves to be discussed, but here are some of the most notable examples.
Penn Disorientation Guide 