MOVE

MOVE meaning The Movement was a Black militant organization formed in 1972 by Vincent Leaphart who changed his name to "John Africa". The group was a spin-off from the Black Panthers. MOVE is primarily known for the 1985 stand-off with the Philadelphia police which ended on May 13 when a police helicopter droped incendiaries onto the roof of their building, killing six MOVE members and five children. John Africa was one of those killed.

Perviously seven members of the group had been convicted of the murder of a police officer in 1978.

Back-to-nature philosophy

John Africa urged his followers to change their last names to "Africa" and encouraged the growing of dreadlocks. He kept several dogs on the property and had his followers to defecate in holes outside in the yard. Neighbors complained about the rats and stench coming from the house. MOVE members saw the rats as just animals who were trying to survive.

The children were kept in a near naked state even in winter; John Africa’s "back-to-nature" philosophy saw clothes as too restrictive.

The MOVE group believed in the "law of nature" over any human or man-made laws.

Connection to Mumia Abu-Jamal

A young Philadelphia black-radical by the name of Mumia Abu-Jamal became a follower of MOVE in the late 1970s, though never in the inner-group. Mumia, imprisoned since 1980, has become a central cause-celebre among the extremist Marxists in the USA and abroad.

Today

The group still exists, as a shadow of its former self, but with better ties to the original spirit of group than the so-called New Black Panther Party.

Its main activity today seems to be lobbying on behalf of once-follower Mumia Abu-Jamal, especially via MOVE member Pam Africa.

Bibliography

• The MOVE Crisis in Philadelphia: Extremist Groups and Conflict Resolution, by Hizkias Assefa (1990) pro-MOVE propaganda
• Discourse and Destruction: The City of Philadelphia Versus MOVE, by Robin Wagner-Pacifici (1994)

External links

• The Anti-MOVE/Mumia Blog by Tony Allen