MOVE 9
- Janine Phillips Africa
- William Phillips Africa
- Delbert Orr Africa
- Michael Davis Africa
- Debbie Sims Africa
- Edward Goodman Africa
- Janet Holloway Africa
- Chuck Sims Africa
Photo: from 2011 article by Mumia Abu-Jamal, in ‘Kasama’: kasamaproject.org
Philadelphia Police Department raided the MOVE organization on two occasions; once in 1978 and later in 1985. The MOVE 9 have been in prison since August 8, 1978, following a massive police attack on their home in Philadelphia. They were sent to prison for life, following a siege of their commune in which one cop was killed by another cop. MOVE were a Philadelphia-based, black liberation group founded by John Africa. The members of MOVE all adopted the last name of Africa. They cultivated a communal, natural style of living, unencumbered by technology. One of the nine, Merle Africa, died in prison after being denied medical treatment. The August 8, 1978 police attack on MOVE followed years of police brutality and was a major military operation carried out by the Philadelphia police department under orders of Frank Rizzo; a mayor with a reputation for racism and brutality. During this attack, police filled the MOVE house tear gas and water from 4 fire department water cannons (for a total of 40 thousand pounds of water pressure per minute). As the basement filled with nearly six feet of water, they held their children and animals above the rising water so they wouldn’t drown. Police then began firing a barrage of bullets at the structure. Officer James Ramp, who was standing at street-level and facing the home, was killed by a single bullet that struck him on a downward angle. This makes it impossible for MOVE to have killed Ramp – they were all in the basement under water. When forced by the choking tear gas and water to come out, they were beaten and arrested. Television cameras filmed the vicious beating of Delbert Africa. Within a few hours of their arrest, the MOVE house was razed to the ground – deliberately demolished to destroy any evidence that would have proven the group’s presence in the basement, and hence; the impossibility they could have been responsible for the cop’s death. They were tried by a judge who convicted them as a family unit, sentencing them all to 30-100 years. While the nine were presumptively on trial for murder, it is clear they were actually tried for being committed MOVE members. 3 other adults that were in the house received lesser sentences. One had all charges dismissed, with the judge saying that there was no evidence that she was a committed MOVE member, when the issue was supposed to be murder.
The 1985 raid was on the row house in West Philadelphia where remaining members of MOVE had relocated to after the ’78 attack. Police, after responding on numerous occasions to complaints from neighbors about noise and activity they regarded as undesirable, decided to clear the building and arrest all the MOVE members. They flew over the house in a helicopter and bombed it with a four-pound, military-grade plastic explosive, along with an explosive similar to dynamite. 65 neighboring homes were also destroyed in the resulting inferno. MOVE founder John Africa and ten other people – five of them children, died as a result of the police department’s actions that day. An investigative commission formed by the Philadelphia Mayor issued a report denouncing the actions of the city government, stating that, “dropping a bomb on an occupied row house was unconscionable.” Philadelphia acquired the distinction of “The City that Bombed Itself.” No one from the police department was ever charged criminally.
In a 1996, civil suit in US federal court, a jury ordered the City of Philadelphia 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’ 4th Amendment, constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure. For more information see: www.onamove.com and: move9parole.blogspot.com/
Janine Phillips Africa
451 Fullerton Ave
Cambridge Springs, PA
16403-1238
Janine served as Minister of Education for the MOVE Organization. Her daugher, Life Africa, was killed at three weeks old by the Philadelphia police. Janine Africa had been trying to protect her husband Phil Africa, when she was grabbed by a cop, thrown to the ground with 3-week-old Life Africa in arms, and stomped until she was nearly unconscious. The baby’s skull was crushed. MOVE held a press conference the following day, explaining how the police had murdered Life. They displayed for the press a nightstick that had been broken in two over Robert Africa’s head and an officer’s hat that was left at the house. Because Life did not have birth certificate, the city denied the claim. All charges against the officers who murdered Life were dismissed despite neighborhood witnesses. Janine was later a victim in the police raid of the MOVE house, where she and eight others were gassed, nearly drowned, and then accused of the murder of a police officer killed by friendly fire at the scene. Janine has served over 30 years in prison. Learn more about the MOVE 9 and what you can do to help free Janine at: MOVE 9 Parole 2010.
Phil Africa
WILLIAM PHILLIPS AFRICA
#AM-4984 
SCI DALLAS
1000 Follies Road
Dallas, PA 18612
Phil is from Philadelphia and was one of 13 children. At the age of 16, Phil had his first real contact with the racism of the Philadelphia police: ”I came to the defense of my older brother who had been stopped coming out of a check cashing place by cops. He was jacked up by them and they said “What is a young nigga doin with that kinda money,” when I stepped forward from the crowd of scared adults, who’d come to “watch” victimize another young Blackman. I attempted to explain how my brother had just cashed his check from workin at the PGA Hospital. Instead of the cops listening to what I had to say, I was snatched up by the neck by this big white boot cop (I was 14 or 15 at the time), told to “face the wall nigga,” at which point the cop proceeded to kick me once in the balls so hard I couldn’t breathe or scream out in pain! I was simply told to “get my Black ass home before I got what my brother was gone get” and as I laid on the pavement they put my brother in their car and drove off.” Phil became acquainted with MOVE whenwhen in the early 1970′s, he rented an apartment that was just around the corner from their headquarters. He quickly became friends with them and was attracted to their teachings and lifestyle.
Delbert Orr Africa
DELBERT ORR AFRICA
AM4985
SCI Dallas
1000 Follies Road
Dallas, PA 18612
Delbert joined the Chicago Chapter of the Black Panther Party as a young man. In 1969 the FBI put forth false warrants on the Chicago BPP leadership, including Delbert. He and some others then fled to Canada. They struggled to survive while in exile and started carrying out bank expropriations to sustain themselves. In March of 1970 Delbert and three friends decided to go to Philadelphia because one of them was originally from there. It was there in Philadelphia that he met members of the MOVE organization. He was inspired by their uplifting approach to revolution and stayed on with them. He ended up becoming Minister of Confrontation and Security for the MOVE Organization. When the police raided the MOVE house, Delbert was videotaped being beaten by the police. He suffered a broken jaw and fractured eye socket from the attack.
Michael Africa
MICHAEL DAVIS AFRICA
#AM-4973 
SCI Graterford
P.O. Box 244
Graterford, PA 19426-0244
In his own words:
I am MOVE’s Minister of Confrontation. I was born and raised in West Philly, youngest of eight children, raised in an environment of poverty, gang war, and all the other afflictions of ghetto life. I started drinking at an early age to hang out with the crowd and eventually ventured over to drugs. I joined the Marines at age 16 to try to stem that spiral, but it definitely made things worse. I wasn’t socially conscious about many issues and didn’t really care to be. My whole life basically centered around locatin the next happening party. I was introduced to some MOVE members by my wife’s family, MOVE members had come to aid them during a neighborhood dispute. I later saw some of those same MOVE people demonstrating against the 16th Police District, a notoriously racist gang known for terrorizing the community where I grew up. The same 16th District that had members of the Black Panthers stip buck naked in front of their HQ, including pregnant women in the early 1970′s. Most people I knew hated them, we just feared them more, so while I wasn’t immediately attracted to MOVE, I was immediately amazed by their courage. I had never seen people confront the cops the way MOVE did – directly, forcefully and never taking a step back. In 1974 I attended a demonstration where MOVE was protesting the jailing of 2 or their younger members, ages 13 and 15. A judge had them thrown in jail for speaking out against them. The police arrested us all, literally, as we got off the bus, and jailed us on a whole slew of charges. It really scared the hell our of me, but it also let me see more clearly what MOVE was saying about the system.
Debbie Sims Africa
Debbie Sims Africa #OO-6307
451 Fullerton Ave
Cambridge Springs, PA 16403-1238
Debbie, with her son and granddaughter
Debbie joined the MOVE organization as a young woman. The group was driven by founder John Africa’s teachings strong beliefs which emphasized animal rights and sustainable living. They swore off drugs, some overcoming past addictions, and lived a life of hard physical work and self-discipline. MOVE members watched neighbors’ pets, helped the elderly with shoveling their sidewalks and with home repairs, worked with recently released imprisoned people to overcome addictions and meet parole requirements and other community activities. They also staged protests against the police and zoos.Debbie met Michael Africa at the MOVE house and they married and had a daughter together. As Debbie was starting her family and continuing her work with MOVE, the police had begun escalating their harassment and repression of MOVE members. At the time of the 1978 raid, Debbie was already the mother of a two year old and she was 8 and a-half months pregnant with her second child. Debbie had her son, Mike Jr., by herself in her prison cell; without the aid of doctors, nurses, or prison staff. Debbie only got to hold her son for a few hours before prison staff came and took him away. Her son and daughter are now parents themselves. She continues to struggle for a better world from inside her cell. She, along with her MOVE sisters have prevented prisoners from committing suicide, resolved racial disputes, and helped keep prisoners out of trouble so that they can get out on good behavior to reunite with their families again. Human Rights Coalition parole support letter
Edward Goodman Africa
EDWARD GOODMAN AFRICA
SCI Mahoney
#AM-4974
301 Morea Road
Frackville, PA 17932
In his own words:
On the MOVE! My name is Edward (Goodman) Africa. I was born in Philadelphia and raised in a Christian home by both parents-I’m one of six children. I grew up in the streets of Phila., began drinking at the young age of fourteen and went on to drugs (marijuana, speed, pills, and heroin). All by the age of fifteen. I went to jail for the first time in 1963 at the age of sixteen for “receiving stolen goods.” I got out of jail in 1967, but went back every summer after that. I started looking for something Black as I started to believe that all whites were evil. I supported the Black Panthers, the B.L.A. and finally joined the group known as the “Black Muslims.” I was still involved in street life: stealing, drugs, parties, women, etc…Most of my arrests were between 1967-1973 (when I joined MOVE) were based on getting stopped by cops for nothing and refusing to be searched while being slammed against a car. When I complained, I got roughed up and when I resisted I’d get beat more. Of course I’d end up getting charged with assault and resisting arrest. As I learned more about this particular Muslim group, I thought I had answers, but I still felt unsatisfied and the racism in me grew. About this time, one of my brothers and my cousin came to visit me in jail. They began telling me of the MOVE Organization, but I refused to listen because MOVE had white members. I went back and forth with them until finally I had no choice but to admit that what they said was right, I couldn’t deny their understanding. I began to work with MOVE because what they were giving me was more complete than anything I had ever known. I am now a committed MOVE member, a disciple of JOHN AFRICA, LONG LIVE JOHN AFRICA!
My last arrest was on August 8, 1978, I’m one of the MOVE 9. We were each wrongly convicted of murder, assault and conspiracy by the late Judge Edwin S. Malmed and each sentenced to 30-100 years in prison. As of August 8, 2003 we will have served 25 years of that of that outrageous sentence, despite our innocence and despite our appeals. I have four grown children that I left as babies in 1978. I have several grandchildren that I have never been with except briefly on a prison visit. This applies to other members of the MOVE 9 as well. In closing I want to say that I had not intentions of becoming a revolutionary, this system encouraged me, pushed me to become a revolutionary, JOHN AFRICA provided the direction.
Janet Holloway Africa
Janet Holloway Africa
#OO-6308
451 Fullerton Ave
Cambridge Springs, PA
16403-1238
Janet was born in New Jersey in 1951, to a single mom of twenty. Her mother and grandmother worked tirelessly to support Janet and her siblings, but eventually her mother gave Janet to one of her sisters, hoping for a better life for her. Living with her aunt, Janet was well taken care of, able to take dance lessons, play on sports teams, and all in all enjoy being a kid. When she was 11, Janet’s mother had been able to improve her own situation and was able to be in Janet’s life again. Janet spent the next few years back and forth between her aunt and mother. After graduating high school, Janet became dissatisfied with her life. She worked different jobs but never really happy with anything she was doing. She met a man, they got married and together had a daughter. She heard from a friend about a group called MOVE. They were having a rap session coming up and Janet decided to attend. She was instantly inspired by MOVE and went on to join them; becoming an outspoken activist and organizer. In 1978, Janet was sentenced to 30 years in prison for 3rd degree murder. This, despite the fact that nine people all killing one police officer with a single shot defies logic. Also, the downward direction of the bullet into the officer’s head makes it impossible for it to have come from the basement of the MOVE house. Testimony by the police, admitting there was heavy police fire coming from all directions during the raid, was completely ignored by the court.
Chuck Sims Africa
photo from: freemumianow.blogspot.com
Chuck Sims Africa
#AM4975
SCI Retreat
660 State Route 11
Hunlock Creek, PA 18621
Chuck was born in Philadelphia, in 1959 and was raised in the projects in West Philly. In 1973, when Chuck was 14, his mother invited some MOVE members over for a rap session. In his own words: “Me and a few of my gang stepped in my mother’s house, and in the middle of the floor sat numerous men and women with long un-combed hair. The things that I heard stayed with me for the rest of my life.” From then on, he started attending more rap sessions and began getting more and more involved with MOVE, eventually going to live with the group in 1974.
