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MOVE
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MOVE is an organization formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1972 by John Africa and Donald Glassey. MOVE was described by CNN as "a loose-knit, mostly black group whose members all adopted the surname Africa, advocated a 'back-to-nature' lifestyle and preached against technology."[1] After a deadly standoff with police in 1978, nine MOVE members were sentenced to prison for third degree murder. The group came to international attention in 1985 after an attempt by the Philadelphia Police Department to enforce arrest warrants escalated dramatically. The police dropped a bomb from a helicopter onto the rooftop of the MOVE residence and the resulting fire was allowed to burn. This resulted in the deaths of seven adults and four children.[2]
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[edit] 1978 incident
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007) |
The MOVE members lived collectively in a house owned by Donald Glassey in the Powelton Village section of West Philadelphia. Their actions brought close scrutiny from the Philadelphia police.[citation needed] In 1978, an end was negotiated to an almost year-long standoff with police, but MOVE failed to relocate as required by the court order.[3] When the police later attempted entry, Philadelphia Police Officer James J. Ramp was killed and several people, including six other Philadelphia police officers and six Philadelphia firefighters were injured.[4]
As a result, nine MOVE members were found guilty of third-degree murder in the shooting death of a police officer. Seven of the nine were due for parole hearings in April 2008.[5]
[edit] 1985 incident
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007) |
Subsequently, MOVE relocated to a row house at 6221 Osage Avenue in 1985.[citation needed] On May 13, 1985, the Philadelphia Police Department attempted to clear a building in which the MOVE members lived. The police tried to remove two wood-and-steel rooftop bunkers by dropping a four-pound bomb made of C-4 plastic explosive and Tovex, a dynamite substitute, onto the roof.[6] The resulting explosion caused the house to catch fire, igniting a massive blaze which eventually consumed almost an entire city block. Eleven people, including John Africa, six other adults and four children, died in the resulting fire.[7]
Mayor Wilson Goode soon appointed an investigative commission, the PSIC or MOVE commission, which issued its report on March 6, 1986. The report denounced the actions of the city government, stating that "Dropping a bomb on an occupied row house was unconscionable."[8]
In a 1996 civil suit in U.S. federal court, a jury ordered the City of Philadelphia and two former city officials to pay $1.5 million to a survivor and relatives of two people killed in the incident. The jury found that the city used excessive force and violated the members' constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure.[9]
[edit] References in music
Songs that mention the MOVE Organization include:
- Be Careful Tonight by Beru Revue
- "City of Soul" by Australia's Eurogliders
- Operation M.O.V.E. by Leftöver Crack
- M.O.V.E. by Fifth Column
- "M.O.V.E." by The Micranots
- Mumia's Song by Anti-Flag
- No Justice, No Peace by Aus Rotten
- "Philadelphia" by Atom and his Package
- Proper Propaganda by Dilated Peoples
- Save a City... by Mischief Brew
- Stonez of Christ (featuring Jus Allah) by Jedi Mind Tricks
- Sunset on 32nd by Strike Anywhere
- Watermelon City by Elizabeth Alexander on the DJ /rupture album Special Gunpowder
- My Skin is My Sin by Ice Cube
- Old Guards, New Methods by VERSE
- Rain of Terror by The Last Poets
- The Human Element by Talib Kweli
- The Unbound Project by The Unbound Allstars
The Roof is on Fire, by Rock Master Scott and the Dynamic Three, is commonly assumed to have been inspired by this incident, but the single predated the MOVE bombing by a year. The song's chorus eerily predicted the site of the MOVE house, its roof on fire and billowing smoke, and was used as a rally during the ensuing protests near the site of the bombing.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Philadelphia, city officials ordered to pay $1.5 million in MOVE case; June 24, 1996; CNN
- ^ Account of 1985 incident from USA Today
- ^ "Nose to Nose: Philadelphia confronts a cult", TIME magazine (August 14, 1978). Retrieved on 20 May 2007.
- ^ ""Surrender Immediately"", TIME magazine Nine members of the organization were sentenced to a minimum of thirty years for third degree murder. (August 21, 1978). Retrieved on 20 May 2007.
- ^ Emilie Lounsberry (February 28, 2008). ""MOVE members due for parole hearing"", The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved on 5 March 2008.
- ^ Brian Jenkins (April 2, 1996). "MOVE siege returns to haunt city", CNN.com. Retrieved on 1 August 2008.
- ^ Frank Trippett (May 27, 1985). "It Looks Just Like a War Zone", TIME magazine. Retrieved on 20 May 2007.
- ^ "Philadelphia Special Investigation (MOVE) Commission Manuscript Collection". Retrieved on 2008-04-12.
- ^ Newsbank.com
[edit] Further reading
- Discourse and Destruction: The City of Philadelphia versus MOVE, Robin Wagner-Pacifici, University of Chicago Press, 1994
- Move: Sites of Trauma (Pamphlet Architecture 23); Johanna Saleh Dickson; Princeton Architectural Press, 2002
- The Bombing of Osage Avenue, Toni Cade Bambara
- Attention Move! This is America, Margot Harry, Banner Press, ISBN 0916650324
- Let it Burn!, Michael Boyette & Randi Boyette, Contemporary Press, 1989
[edit] External links
[edit] Pro-MOVE
- Official MOVE website
- "John Africa's MOVE Organization"
- MOVE on a political support website
- Alice Walker's Thoughts about MOVE and the bombing
[edit] Anti-MOVE
- Blog of MOVE critic and former member Tony Allen
- MoveOrganization.com, "Dedicated To Educating The Public About the Cult Known as the MOVE Organization"
[edit] News media
- Mindfully.org's scan of a 1985 New York Times story on the bombing
- A 1996 New York Times article recounting the story of the bombing and the ensuing trial
- MOVE news media archive on anti-cult site RickRoss.com
