| John Africa | |
|---|---|
| Born | Vincent Leaphart July 26, 1931 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | May 13, 1985 (aged 53) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Known for | founder of MOVE |
John Africa (born Vincent Leaphart, July 26, 1931 – May 13, 1985), was a founder of MOVE, a Philadelphia-based black liberation group prominent in the United States in the early 1970s. He died while involved in an armed standoff with the Philadelphia Police Department.
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Africa was born Vincent Leaphart on July 26, 1931 in the Mantua neighborhood of West Philadelphia. Leaphart's mother died when he was young and he blamed the hospital where she was being treated for her death. Leaphart served in the Korean War, from which he derived an early hatred of the American class system and what he perceived as its ties to race. He adopted the name "John Africa" because of his ethnic origin as an African-American, and because he believed Africa to be the place where life originated.
Africa later met Donald Glassey, a social worker from the University of Pennsylvania, with whom he began to collaborate. Africa was functionally illiterate, so Glassey wrote down Africa's ideas. Glassey's notes would eventually become a document called The Guideline.[1]
Glassey later implicated Africa and other MOVE member in various crimes, to include parole violation, contempt of court, illegal possession of firearms, and making terroristic threats. Law enforcement obtained indictments on the implicated members of MOVE and attempted to arrest them, which led to an armed stand off by MOVE and subsequent raid by the Philadelphia Police Department. During the raid, Africa died along with five other adults and five children when the Philadelphia Police Department dropped an explosive device on the MOVE headquarters. The actual cause of death of the MOVE members involved is disputed as there were numerous flammable and explosive compounds in the building at the time of the raid.[2]
Mumia Abu-Jamal follows the teachings of John Africa,[3] and was a supporter of the MOVE organization.[4] During Abu-Jamal's 1982 murder trial, Abu-Jamal made repeated requests to be represented by Africa, which were denied by the presiding judge since Africa was not an attorney.[5]