MOVE

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This article is about the organization MOVE. For other uses, see 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] The group came to international attention after an attempt in 1985 by the Philadelphia Police Department to enforce outstanding arrest warrants for four members resulted in the police dropping a bomb containing C-4 and Tovex from a helicopter onto MOVE's residence.

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[edit] MOVE organization

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Africa and his primarily African-American followers adopted the surname "Africa". They 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.[2] 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.[3] Subsequently, MOVE moved to a new location, a row of tenements on Osage Avenue, in 1985.[citation needed] Again, they were viewed as a public nuisance.[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 tactical bunkers constructed by MOVE on the roof by dropping a bomb made of C-4 and Tovex. 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.[4] 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."[5]

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.[6]

Seven of the nine MOVE members who were found guilty of third-degree murder in the shooting death of a police officer in 1978 were due for parole hearings in April 2008.[7]

[edit] References in music

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The MOVE Organization is referenced in many songs including:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Philadelphia, city officials ordered to pay $1.5 million in MOVE case; June 24, 1996; CNN
  2. ^ "Nose to Nose: Philadelphia confronts a cult", TIME magazine, August 14, 1978. Retrieved on 2007-05-20. 
  3. ^ ""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 2007-05-20. 
  4. ^ Frank Trippett. ""It Looks Just Like a War Zone"", TIME magazine, May 27, 1985. Retrieved on 2007-05-20. 
  5. ^ Philadelphia Special Investigation (MOVE) Commission Manuscript Collection. Retrieved on 2008-04-12.
  6. ^ Newsbank.com
  7. ^ Emilie Lounsberry. ""MOVE members due for parole hearing"", The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 28, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-05. 

[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

[edit] External links

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