racial justice – Penn Disorientation Guide

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”

The Enduring Connection Between Penn and Slavery

Two community members protest Penn's possession of the Morton Collection of skeletons from enslaved people. A white man with dark hair and a Black woman hold signs that read "RETURN THEM ALL."

Penn and slavery had an undeniably intertwined relationship, in which both parties benefitted from the other.

Cultural Resource Centers: A Decades-long Battle

Over time, marginalized students and staff formed their own communities on campus and advocated for formal recognition from the University of Pennsylvania. These are their stories.

How Penn is Cheating Philly’s Public Schools

Protesters march on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania demanding the school and Drexel University pay PILOTS to support Philadelphia schools on March 30, 2021. A black student in a blue coat holds up a sign that says, "Pay your fair share PILOTs now!!" Another protestor in the background holds a sign that reads, "Fund our schools not police."

In Philadelphia, the poorest large city in the U.S., Penn is both the largest employer and largest private landowner. However, due to its federal status as a nonprofit institution, it does not pay property taxes.

Why Can’t Penn Talk About Palestine?

We believe that it is time to start talking about Penn’s complicity in the colonization of Palestine. Here’s what you should know about divestment from Israel, a popular movement in the fight for decolonization.

Save the People’s Townhomes: A Fight for Affordable Housing in Philadelphia

Students and community members gather in front of the Ben Franklin statue at College Hall to demand that Penn take action to stop the sale of the UC Townhomes. At the center of the image, two organizers hold a white banner with black text that reads: "SAVE THE UC TOWNHOMES!"

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.

Remembering the MOVE Bombing

In 1985, in what should be considered one of the greatest national tragedies in recent history, the Philadelphia government used military explosives over MOVE’s headquarters in the neighborhood of Cobbs Creek in West Philadelphia. Understanding both Philadelphia’s and Penn’s role in terrorizing the Black activists who were impacted by the bombing is crucial for any student who attends the University.

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”

A mosaic of a map of West Philadelphia's Black Bottom neighborhood.

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.