Book offers first-hand account of 1985 bombing on Black Philadelphia neighborhood

Speaker, writer and activist Mike Africa Jr. takes readers back to 1985 in his new book, "On a Move: Philadelphia's Notorious Bombing and a Native Son's Lifelong Battle for Justice."

The book reveals the untold stories of the bombing of Philadelphia's residential Cobbs Creek neighborhood, which housed Black-led civil liberties organization MOVE.

The incident claimed lives of 11 people, including five children. Africa Jr. shares his first-hand account of the historic story during and after the catastrophic event.

ABC News' Phil Lipof sat down with Africa Jr., who discussed what happened that day, how well it's remembered and his role in keeping the story alive.

ABC NEWS: On May 13, 1985, the city of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on a residential neighborhood that housed a Black-led civil liberties organization called MOVE -- 11 people were killed and that included five children. In his new book "On a Move: Philadelphia's Notorious Bombing and a Native Son's Lifelong Battle for Justice," Mike Afrika Jr, who spent time in that neighborhood with family as a child, shares his first-hand insider's account of the historic story, during and after that catastrophic event. Mike joins us now here in studio. Mike, thanks so much for taking the time. For those who don't know the history, what happened on that day?

AFRICA: The city of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on MOVE. You know, it was a lead up, it was the culmination of a fight that had started seven years earlier. My mother and my father and other members of the MOVE organization were arrested for a crime that they did not commit. They were accused of killing a police officer. And the other MOVE members were protesting for their release, and their release was answered with, their protest was answered with a bomb being flew in a helicopter over the house and dropped on the house and detonating.

ABC NEWS: By the city of Philadelphia?

AFRICA: By the Philadelphia Police Department.

ABC NEWS: Explain to us what MOVE is for those who don't know the organization.

AFRICA: The MOVE organization was created by my great uncle John Africa. He started the organization much like what, the reason Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale started the Black Panther Party. You know, Dr. King, Malcolm X, they just wanted to do something about the injustices they were experiencing. And, you know, they met, they came face-to-face with law enforcement. And just like those other leaders in the past, they clashed. And MOVE's mission was to protect life, people, animals and the environment. And, you know, they felt that they were endangered living the way society was, and they wanted to do something about it.

ABC NEWS: You were 6 years old. You're about 6 years old, living with your grandmother in 1985 when the MOVE bombing happened. What do you remember vividly about that day in the immediate aftermath?

AFRICA: I remember the smoke. I remember the smoke, and I remember being confused about what was actually happening. You know, 6-year-old, how can you really understand that? Right? And I remember wondering who was in the house. All of the children that were in that house that were killed, I was in the orphanage with, I lived with. And, you know, I just, my mind was just wondering, who, did anyone survive, you know, what happened? And so, and it wasn't until many years later that I found out who actually was.

ABC NEWS: You write in the book, "I think most people don't know what MOVE is and never knew what it is about." Why do you think the MOVE bombing is often overlooked outside of Philadelphia?

AFRICA:  I think it's overlooked even in Philadelphia.

ABC NEWS: Really?

AFRICA: You know, there's a, there are people on Osage Avenue [where the incident took place] right now, the newer residents, that probably never heard of it.

ABC NEWS: How do you think that happened?

AFRICA: In 1985, two months, literally two months after the bombing, there was this thing called Live Aid. We raising money for Africa around AIDS [acquired immunodeficiency syndrome]. And the producers of that event were trying to figure out, where are we going to do this concert -- Los Angeles, New York? And somebody named Wilson Goode [then-Mayor of Philadelphia] said, let's do it in Philadelphia. because this bomb that we dropped. And so, Live Aid raised a lot of money. It got a lot of attention. But never one time did they mention that two months earlier, a bomb was dropped.

ABC NEWS: Last year, legal ownership of MOVE was transferred to you, right? I'm wondering what is the future of it?

AFRICA: I am the legacy director of the MOVE organization and at this point, my job is to tell the story. And right now, my primary mission is to encourage people to keep your head up. You know, we all go through a lot of things. There's a lot of things that happen to us. But I believe that happiness is a choice. And even though I've been through all the things that I've gone through, I worked, you know, so hard for my parents to come home. There's a lot of work that we all need to do, but and throughout it all, just keep your head up and keep moving.

ABC NEWS: Well this book is a good start. It's history, and it will clue people in to something that they might not have already known about. Mike, thank you so much. Thank you for joining us.

AFRICA: Thank you for having me.

ABC NEWS: And "On a Move: Philadelphia's Notorious Bombing and a Native Son's Lifelong Battle for Justice" is now available to purchase.