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The organization was set into motion when Leaphart befriended Donald Glassey, a white college professor who was living in Powelton Village in Philadelphia. Glassey was searching for meaning in his life as well as society. He was fascinated by Leaphart, who he described as "the first man [he] had met who was living in complete harmony with what he believed in" (Assefa, 10).
The two men were drawn together by their deep interest in philosophy and natural law. When Leaphart was evicted from his own apartment because of his refusal to exterminate roaches which he felt "were the same as people," Glassey gladly allowed his friend and mentor to move into his own Victorian mansion (Anderson, 4). It was here that they began calling their philosophy "The American Christian Movement for Life, or simply "The Christian Movement for Life" (Anderson, 4). This name was eventually shortened to just the word "MOVE."
John Africa was a very charismatic and persuasive leader, as most leaders of new religious movements tend to be. He and the rest of his followers, many of which were former drug and alchol abusers, viewed the institution of government as an innately evil and corrupt system. He and his followers all took on the surname Africa. All members of the group took on the same name in order to signify that they were part of a common family. The name Africa was not chosen because most of the group's members were African-American, but because of the continent's natural simplicity which symbolizes the group's natural lifestyle and the fact that it is "the continent where all life began," as put by John Africa (Anderson, 4).
There are also a number of other important books which have been authored by members and people who associate with the group. Mumia Abu-Jamal authored the most noted of these texts. Jamal, a former Black Panther and member of MOVE, was convicted along with eight other members of the group of murdering a police officer on August 8, 1978. He wrote his first book entitled Live from Death Row while in prison in which he criticizes the American prison system, which he accuses of corrupting human beings rather than correcting them. He followed this book up with his most recent book entitled Death Blossoms in which he talks about his experience as a Black Panther and his involvement with MOVE. The book also contains pictures, artwork, and information about groups that support Jamal. While these books are not "sacred" in the normal sense of that concept, they are important statements of the beliefs of the group. There are also additional readings which strongly pertain to the group and their beliefs.
The MOVE organization spoke out vehemently against all forms of government, including that of the United States, technology, and professed equality with animals and insects. It is important to note that the name MOVE is not an acronym, but a reminder to the group's members that they are to continue moving in the direction of natural law and rather than conforming to the way of living as dictated by society (Nelson 1996). The MOVE statement goes as follows:
MOVE's work is to stop industry from poisoning the air,
the water, the soil, and to put an end to the enslavement
of life -- people, animals, any form of life. The purpose
of John Africa's revolution is to show people through John
Africa's teaching, the truth, that this system is the cause
of all their problems (alcoholism, drug addiction, unemployment,
wife abuse, child pornography, every problem in the world) and
set the example of revolution for people to follow when they
realize how they've been oppressed, repressed, duped, tricked
by this system, this government and see the need to rid
themselves of this cancerous system as MOVE does.
Members of the group view the teachings of John Africa as "the truth."
According to John Africa, "the presence of truth is the presence of God."
The group aims to move in a direction
towards God and not man. To live in accordance with the system is to live in
man's which they believe is opposed to God's way. They believe that life
should be lived according to natural law, which is God's law
(Assefa, 10). They believe that people simply use religion to interpret and
define things in their lives. They believe that religion should be lived and
not used as a tool of debate.
John Africa serves as a religious figure to the members of MOVE as Jesus does to members of the Christian faith. This is evident when reading about the life of MOVE member Merle Africa. She talks about her life of drug addiction, alcoholism, depression, and suicidal tendencies. She sought help for her problems through "the system" in group therapy sessions and by seeing a psychiatrist. Her life only began to turn around when she became a part of MOVE. She and the other members of the group viewed the teachings of John Africa as "the gospel", just as Christians view the teachings of Jesus as the gospel. She also talks about how she believes that John Africa miraculously cured a tumor in her stomach that even doctors were not able to see nor treat. Members of the group believed so fervently in John Africa that they even believe that he had the power to heal. Many of MOVE's members had lives similar to that of Merle Africa and were former drug addicts and alcoholics who proclaimed that John Africa had straightened out their lives. Jeanne Africa, a young, white, female member of the group claims that John Africa "gave [them] a lot of solutions to problems [they] had in The Lifestyle. [They] had people who were on drugs, he got them off drugs. He was like a messiah" (Anderson, 7).
Members of MOVE believe in living in a state of nature and stand strongly against technology. The group aimed to "stop man's system from imposing on life" (Assefa,11). The group lived very primitively in their headquarters in Philadelphia, without the luxuries that technology has to offer. The group tried to decrease their dependency on modern technology by doing without heat, running water, or electricity (Nelson, 1996). They never ate any cooked or processed foods and their diet consisted mainly of raw fruits and vegetables (Anderson, 10). They even ate raw meat at times. They did not seek medical treatment for illness or disease but instead chewed garlic to ward off disease. They burned candles for light and used what was basically junk for furniture (Nelson 1996). The members bathed very infrequently since bathing with soap was forbidden (Anderson, 10). They let their hair grow out to its fullest, natural length and wore it in the form of dreadlocks. The group members dressed alike in heavily soiled, torn clothing and children sometimes wore no clothing at all. Members living in the head-quarters had no plumbing system, but rather buried their human waste in outhouses on their property (Assefa, 15). The also threw food remains out in their backyard so that it could be "cycled" back to nature (Assefa, 15). The group also allowed stray animals to come in and out of the headquarters as they so desired and did not kill or exterminate insects since they believed that animals and insects share complete equality with human beings (Nelson 1996). The groups radical living situation, which stood in line with their belief to live in a natural state without the use of technology, caused them to come into conflict with their neighbors and the surrounding community.
The lifestyle of the group kept in line with their radical beliefs and their radical living conditions. The order of the day at MOVE headquarters was called progeniture (Anderson, 9). Men, women, and children had roles which they were expected to fulfill. Men were expected to be sexually potent, and women were expected to bear many children. The encouragement to fulfill these sexual roles was called "the natural order of life," or the "Wisdom of Mama" (Anderson, 9). John Africa did not have any children of his own, but he was viewed by the members as the figurative father of the MOVE family (Anderson, 9).
Women were taught that their main role was that of conceiving and giving birth to children. John Africa taught them to "DO AS, be like the principle of life," the principle of life being procreation (Anderson, 9). Women were not allowed to use any forms of contraception such as birth control, and abortions were forbidden. They were also not allowed any medical attention such as visits to the gynecologist or the obstetrician. They were expected to give birth completely naturally, without any medical care. Upon giving birth, women were expected to lick their babies clean and sever the umbilical cord by biting it with their teeth. After biting the umbilical cord, they had to eat it (Anderson, 9).
Children growing up in MOVE's headquarters had particularly difficult lives. The children were especially important in upholding and perpetuating the beliefs of the group because they could grow up without ever knowing what life is like in the "system" (Anderson, 9). Children were allowed to wear very little clothing, if any at all. The usually were naked during the summer and wore light clothing during the winter. The diet of the children was only that of raw fruits and vegetables and their bodies would never be "contaminated" by meat or fish (Anderson, 9). Children were not allowed to take part in the "Distortion Days," or "D-Days," days in which their parents were allowed to indulge in all of the meat and junk food they could eat (Anderson 10). There was no need for days like these for the children since they would never know these "addictions" of society which their parents craved. The idea was to keep the children as pure as possible and free of the "taste of perversion" (Anderson, 10). Children were not taught in the public schools because this form of schooling was, of course, part of the "system." They were taught instead at the headquarters from The Guidelines (Assefa, 15).
The daily activities of MOVE members included going to frequent meetings at which they were taught the "Wisdom of Africa" by John Africa. People in the group were assigned titles such as "Minister of Defense," "Full Naturalist Minister," "Minister of Communications," "Minister of Information," etc. (Anderson, 10). John Africa was known as "The Co-Ordinator" of the group. He would hand out assignments to be done by everyone for the day. One person may be assigned to go grocery shopping while another person may be assigned to exercise the children or picket at one of the frequent demonstrations the group held (Anderson, 10). The group also had a very rigorous exercise regimen to ensure that they would stay healthy and strong. Members would wake up as early as 4:30 in the morning to go to a nearby park to run and do calisthenics (Assefa, 15). Men were reported to have run 10 to 15 miles during these exercise periods while wearing knapsacks with telephone books or even bricks inside of them (Assefa, 10). Children, as well as the stray dogs in their care were expected to take part in this exercise regimen also. Another part of the group's day involved working to earn money. In order to do this, the group ran a car wash which they did for donations (Assefa, 10). They also shoveled snow for neighbors who sympathized with them and sold fruits and vegetables to people on the street (Assefa, 10).
The living arrangements of MOVE at their headquarters in Philadelphia lead neighbors to complain about the garbage, the human and animal wastes, as well as other health hazards to the community (Nelson 1996). The tension between the group and the rest of the community lead the city to demand an inspection of MOVE's property in Powelton Village. The group refused, and further fortified their headquarters by building an eight foot blockade around their property. When city officials came to the group's headquarters with a court order to search the property, six members of the group stood on top of the blockade they had built brandishing weapons at city officials and holding signs which said "Long Live the House that John Africa Built" (Anderson, 30). This lead to a confrontation on August 8, 1978, in which the police moved in against the compound, and officer James J. Ramp was shot dead, allegedly by MOVE members. Following this incident, nine members of the group, including Mumia Abu-Jamal, were convicted of third degree murder and sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison (Wagner-Pacifici, 32).
Following this incident, the group relocated to a row house which they fortified like a bunker and became even more vocal with their anti-government teachings in an effort to free the nine members they felt were wrongly convicted (Anderson, 55). Neighbors soon began to complain about the groups unsanitary conditions and about the noise from the group blasting their profane messages over loud speakers set outside of the row house (Brin 1996). The group also had in its possession firearms which made them a potentially dangerous group.
After months of complaining to Mayor W. Wilson Goode, the police planned a siege on the rowhouse in an attempt to serve arrest warrants against four members of the group. When the group refused to surrender to police, a violent outbreak of gunfire broke out and lasted for 90 minutes (McCroy 1996). Mayor Goode approved of the use of an explosive, and police put into effect their plan to drop a bomb onto the bunker, creating a hole for tear gas. The bomb failed to destroy the bunker, but it did start a fire on the roof which began to blaze out of control (McCroy 1996). By the time the tragedy was over, the fire had destroyed the MOVE house as well as 61 other homes, leaving 260 people homeless (Bowser, 31). The bodies of six adults, including the body of John Africa, as well as the bodies of five children were pulled from the burned house. The only survivors of the blaze were Ramona Africa, 41, and a thirteen year old boy named Birdie Africa (Goldberg 1996). The two escaped by crawling through a window in the basement. Ramona Africa was convicted of riot charges and conspiracy and served seven years in prison (Brin 1996).
The city received criticism for its handling of the MOVE situation, but a very long period went by before the city had to take responsibility for what happened. While in prison, Ramona Africa filed suit against the city, Mayor Goode, and the former Police Commissioner Gregore J. Sambor, as well as other officials. Her actions lead to the filing of two other suits by families of relatives killed in the fire (Goldberg 1996). A federal judge, however, granted Mayor Goode immunity from the lawsuits, ruling that the judgement to use an explosive was reasonable at the time. Other city officials, however, were fair game as defendants (McCroy 1996). The city settled the claims of the families of the five dead children out of court in a sum totaling $2.5 million. The city also agreed to pay Birdie Africa $1.7 million (Brin 1996). It was eleven years before a jury finally found the city liable for what happened on May 13, 1985. A jury found the city guilty of using excessive force and of violating MOVE's constitutional right to protection against unreasonble siezure and searching (Goldberg 1996). Ramona Africa was awarded the amount of $400,000 for pain and suffering, plus an additional $100,000 for the disfiguring burns she received in the fire (Brin 1996). The two other co-plaintiffs who were relatives of John Africa and Frank Africa, both of whom were killed in the fire, received a total of $1 million for pain and suffering. The city of Philadelphia ended up spending about $33 million repairing damaged houses, settling claims to dead MOVE members, as well as other costs generated by the tragedy (Brin 1996). This incident foreshadowed other confrontations between the government and cults, the most famous stand-off being that which occurred between the FBI and the Branch Davidians in 1993 at Waco, Texas (Goldberg 1996).
The History of John Africa's MOVE
The Hartford Web Publishing creates pro bono web pages to (a) promote global social progress, (b)
serve the people of Hartford, and (c) support working-class education. This page connects to eight
documents that tell the history of MOVE through the eyes and hearts of members and friends who experienced
it over the past twenty years.
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/index-bb.html
The Move Organization Web Site
We we last examined this page it consisted of a single page with contact information.
http://www.moveorg.net/home.html
Created by Jennifer P. Clark
For Soc 257: New Religious Movements
Spring Term, 1998
Last modified: 07/20/01