history – Penn Disorientation Guide

Organizing at Penn; the Sixties, the Eighties, the Nineties, and Now.

Penn’s historical complicity in state violence, the military industrial complex, and human rights violations is nothing if not steadfast. Two moments in this long history—as well as how students mobilized in them—are critical to understanding the role of activism at Penn: the antiwar, anti-Penntrification organizing of the sixties and the anti-apartheid activism of the eightiesContinue reading “Organizing at Penn; the Sixties, the Eighties, the Nineties, and Now.”

A Recent History of Campus Organizing

All change is historically placed. Therefore, all organizing must be historically informed. Throughout the rest of the guide, we try to give in depth looks at various issues with Penn and in Philadelphia. In this, we try to give a broad overview and timeline of what organizing and agitation efforts have taken place over theContinue reading “A Recent History of Campus Organizing”

Remembering the MOVE Bombing

The MOVE bombing killed 11 people, including 5 children, and leveled two blocks containing over 60 homes. This image shows the massive destruction in the following days.

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”

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”

How Penn Gentrifies

Mel Hairston, resident at the UC Townhomes, protests with Fossil Free Penn to save UC Townhomes on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Photo by Siena Christopherson by Anonymous, 2025 Following a period of relatively cordial relations established by William Penn himself and ended by his death, his sons engaged in a legalistic swindle of the Lenape’sContinue reading “How Penn Gentrifies”