Penn Museum halts display of exposed human remains following MOVE bombing controversy

The Penn Museum at the University of Pennsylvania has revised its Human Remains Policy to prohibit exhibition of exposed human remains, including bones, hair, and tissue. This decision emerged from controversy surrounding the museum's handling of remains from the 1985 MOVE bombing, where police destroyed a rowhouse occupied by the radical Black separatist group. While mummies and vessels containing human body parts may still be shown, the policy shift reflects broader institutional reckoning with collections acquired through unaccountable means, often from Indigenous, enslaved, and marginalized populations. In ArtReview, Oliver Basciano examined similar ethical questions at Philadelphia's Mütter Museum, which removed some bodies from view. Basciano's article explored when human bodies cease being human and ownership questions, connecting these issues to wider museum restitution debates about ethical acquisition and future actions. The Penn Museum, formerly known as the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, faced scrutiny after remains from the MOVE bombing were taken to university forensics and remained in the museum's collection.