(Content Warning: contains discussion of human remains.)
The Penn Museum and the University of Pennsylvania apologize to the Africa family and the members of our community for allowing human remains recovered from the MOVE house to be used for research and teaching, and for retaining the remains for far too long.
The Africa family and our community have experienced profound emotional distress as a result of the news that human remains from the horrific 1985 bombing of the MOVE house were at the Penn Museum and this fact has urgently raised serious questions: Why were the remains at the Museum in the first place? Why were they used for teaching purposes? And, most importantly, what are we going to do to resolve this situation?
In 1985, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office asked Penn physical anthropologists to assist with the efforts to identify some of the remains from the MOVE house. It is common for physical anthropologists to assist in forensic cases where individual identity is uncertain, and over the years our experts revisited this question, driven by new science and technology. But despite these efforts, we, unfortunately, are still unable to provide conclusive confirmation of identity.
Chris Woods personally learned on April 16 that these remains were in our Museum and that they had been used in a forensic anthropology class, having assumed his role as director on April 1. The important topic of returning human remains to descendants was very much on the minds of Museum staff as there had just been a public announcement of plans regarding the Morton Cranial Collection, and the issue of the MOVE victim’s remains was raised in this context. In theApril 12 announcement of the plans for the Morton Collection, we vowed to work with local communities to learn their wishes and to return individuals to their ancestors, wherever possible, as a step toward atonement and repair for the racist and colonial practices that were integral to the formation of these collections.
While the remains recovered from the MOVE house were not part of the Museumcollection, it could not be clearer that this same standard should be applied here as well—these remains should be returned to the Africa family as soon as possible. The research of our physical anthropologists was done in the interests of serving our community, but by any measure 36 years is far too long to have waited.
We understand the importance of reuniting these remains with the family. This is our goal. And we are committed to a respectful, consultative resolution.
For many, one of the most traumatic parts of this narrative is that some of these remains were used in a forensic anthropology class that was offered by Princeton University and taught by a member of the Penn Museum staff. This course has now been suspended.
Classes in forensic science require human remains to teach the next generation of forensic specialists. However, it is an ethical imperative to show the utmost respect to family survivors. Informed consent must be given by the person before death or by the family afterwards. Regretfully, this did not happen in this case—and it was a serious error in judgment to use these remains in a class of any kind, especially given the extreme emotional distress in our community surrounding the 1985 bombing of the MOVE house. Unquestionably, the decision to use the remains in this way has torn at old wounds that our city and community have long sought to heal.
The Museum has promised to reassess our practices of collecting, stewarding, displaying, and researching human remains, and we are committed to this promise. It is now obvious, however, that this reassessment must also include how human remains are used in teaching as well as a comprehensive review of the holdings and collection practices of our Physical Anthropology section.
As part of this review, the University of Pennsylvania has hired attorneys Joe Tucker and Carl Singley of the Tucker Law Group to investigate how the remains came into the possession of the Museum and what transpired with them for nearly four decades. This report will be shared with the community and its findings used to help us ensure that nothing of this nature is repeated in the future.
We must constantly bear in mind the fact that human remains were once living people, and we must always strive to treat them with the dignity and respect that they deserve.
(Uonyaji wa maudhui: ina majadiliano ya mabaki ya binadamu.) """Jumba la Makumbusho la Penn na Chuo Kikuu cha Pennsylvania vinatoa msamaha kwa familia ya Afrika na wanachama wa jamii yetu kwa kuruhusu mabaki ya binadamu yaliyopatikana kutoka kwa nyumba ya MOVE kutumiwa kwa utafiti na kufundisha, na kwa kuhifadhi mabaki kwa muda mrefu sana." Familia ya Afrika na jamii yetu wamepatwa na msiba mkubwa wa kihisia kutokana na habari kwamba mabaki ya binadamu kutoka kwa bomu la kutisha la 1985 la nyumba ya MOVE yalikuwa katika Jumba la Makumbusho la Penn na ukweli huu umezua maswali makubwa: Kwa nini mabaki yalikuwa katika Jumba la Makumbusho? Kwa nini zilitumiwa kwa ajili ya kufundisha? Na muhimu zaidi, tutafanya nini kutatua hali hii? Mwaka 1985 ofisi ya Philadelphia Medical Examiner ilimuomba Penn, mtaalamu wa anthropolojia ya kimwili, kusaidia katika juhudi za kutambua baadhi ya mabaki kutoka nyumba ya Move. Ni kawaida kwa wananthropolojia wa kimwili kusaidia katika kesi za forensic ambapo utambulisho wa mtu binafsi haujulikani, na kwa miaka kadhaa wataalam wetu walirudia swali hili, wakiongozwa na sayansi mpya na teknolojia. Lakini licha ya juhudi hizi, sisi, kwa bahati mbaya, bado hatuwezi kutoa uthibitisho wa kudumu wa utambulisho. Chris Woods mwenyewe alijifunza Aprili 16 kwamba mabaki hayo yalikuwa katika Jumba letu la Makumbusho na kwamba yalikuwa yametumiwa katika darasa la anthropolojia ya kisheria, baada ya kuchukua jukumu lake kama mkurugenzi Aprili 1. "Sehemu ya ""kuchukua nafasi ya kuwakaribisha watu"" ilikuwa muhimu sana kwa wafanyakazi wa Makumbusho, kwa kuwa kulikuwa na tangazo la umma la mipango kuhusu Morton Cranial Collection, na suala la mabaki ya waathirika wa MOVE lilizinduliwa katika muktadha huu." Katika tangazo la Aprili 12 la mipango ya Mkusanyiko wa Morton, tuliapa kufanya kazi na jamii za mitaa kujifunza matakwa yao na kurudisha watu kwa mababu zao, popote iwezekanavyo, kama hatua kuelekea upatanisho na ukarabati kwa mazoea ya ubaguzi wa rangi na ukoloni ambayo yalikuwa sehemu muhimu ya kuundwa kwa makusanyo haya. Ingawa mabaki yaliyopatikana katika nyumba ya MOVE hayakuwa sehemu ya mkusanyiko wa Makumbusho, haikuweza kuwa wazi zaidi kwamba kiwango hicho hicho kinapaswa kutumika hapa pia - mabaki haya yanapaswa kurudishwa kwa familia ya Afrika haraka iwezekanavyo. """Utafiti wa wananthropolojia wetu wa kimwili ulifanywa kwa maslahi ya kuwahudumia jamii yetu, lakini kwa kipimo chochote, miaka 36 ni muda mrefu sana kusubiri." Tunaelewa umuhimu wa kuunganisha mabaki haya na familia. Huo ndio mradi wetu. Na tumejitolea kwa azimio la kuheshimu, la ushauri. "Kwa wengi, moja ya sehemu zenye kuumiza zaidi za hadithi hii ni kwamba baadhi ya mabaki haya yalitumiwa katika darasa la anthropolojia ya forensic iliyotolewa na Chuo Kikuu cha Princeton na kufundishwa na mwanachama wa wafanyakazi wa Jumba la Makumbusho la Penn.""" Kozi hii sasa imesimamishwa. Madarasa ya sayansi ya forensiki huhitaji mabaki ya kibinadamu ili kufundisha kizazi kifuatacho cha wataalamu wa forensiki. Hata hivyo, ni lazima ya kiadili kuonyesha heshima kubwa zaidi kwa familia zilizookoka. Ridhaa ya ufahamu lazima itolewe na mtu kabla ya kifo au na familia baada ya kifo. "Kwa bahati mbaya, hii haikutokea katika kesi hii, na ilikuwa kosa kubwa katika uamuzi kutumia mabaki haya katika darasa la aina yoyote, hasa kutokana na shida kubwa ya kihisia katika jamii yetu kuzunguka mabomu ya 1985 ya nyumba ya MOVE. """ "Hakuna shaka kwamba uamuzi wa kutumia mabaki kwa njia hii umevunja majeraha ya zamani ambayo mji wetu na jamii yetu wamekuwa wakijaribu kuponya kwa muda mrefu.""" """Jumba la Makumbusho limeahidi kuchunguza tena mazoea yetu ya kukusanya, kusimamia, kuonyesha, na kuchunguza mabaki ya binadamu, na tumejitolea kutimiza ahadi hii." Hata hivyo, sasa ni dhahiri kwamba tathmini hii lazima pia ni pamoja na jinsi mabaki ya binadamu ni kutumika katika kufundisha kama vile ukaguzi wa kina wa hifadhi na mkusanyiko mazoea ya sehemu yetu ya fizikia Anthropology. Chuo Kikuu cha Pennsylvania kimewaajiri wanasheria Joe Tucker na Carl Singley wa Tucker Law Group kuchunguza jinsi mabaki hayo yalivyopatikana katika Jumba la Makumbusho na nini kilichotokea kwao kwa karibu miongo minne. Ripoti hii itashirikiwa na jamii na matokeo yake yatatumiwa kutusaidia kuhakikisha kwamba hakuna kitu cha asili hii kinarudiwa katika siku zijazo. Ni lazima tukumbuke daima kwamba mabaki ya binadamu yalikuwa watu walio hai wakati mmoja, na lazima tujitahidi daima kuwatendea kwa heshima na heshima wanayostahili.