Nine, l’histoire de la communauté Move

Chapter 1

The Move organization

The MOVE Organization surfaced in Philadelphia during the early 1970's. Characterized by dreadlock hair, the adopted surname "Africa," a principled unity, and an uncompromising commitment to their belief, members practiced the teachings of MOVE founder JOHN AFRICA.
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Chapter 2

The Context

Throughout the 1970's, Frank Rizzo was the premier figure in Philadelphia government. He started as a street cop and rose through the ranks, eventually serving as Police Commissioner from 1967-71.

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Chapter 3

August 8, 1978

On Tuesday, August 8th, hundreds of cops in flak jackets and riot helmets surrounded the 33rd Street location at dawn and ordered MOVE to surrender.

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Chapter 4

Mumia Abu Jamal

One of the few media people to accurately report on MOVE and make a serious effort to understand the organization was Mumia Abu-Jamal, a highly regarded Philadelphia journalist and president of the local chapter of the Association of Black Journalists.
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Chapter 5

May 13, 1985

Between 6:00 and 7:30 am, police flooded the area with tear gas and fired over 10,000 rounds of ammunition at the house knowing there were women and children inside.
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Chapter 6

On A Move !

As several MOVE members became eligible for parole, the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole issued a special stipulation that any potential MOVE parolee agree not to associate with other MOVE members as a condition of being released.
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Chapitre-5-13-mai-1985

- The City Turns A Deaf Ear -

By the end of 1983, government officials on all levels had proved ineffective and unwilling to take any action against the unjust imprisonment of innocent MOVE members.

The media ignored the issue altogether. On December 25, 1983 MOVE by-passed the news blackout in a direct appeal to the public by using loudspeakers on their house to inform people of the injustices and the city's conspiracy against them. When some Osage Avenue residents complained about the noise, MOVE told them they should put pressure on the city to do something about the inno-cent people in jail, because allowing such an injustice to go unchallenged meant anyone, including the neighbors themselves, could be set-up, framed and locked away. The neighbors instead put their trust in the government and sought a way to get MOVE out of the neighborhood.

A few weeks later Wilson Goode took office as mayor. While many Philadelphians were glowing with pride at the installment of the city's first Black mayor, behind the scenes Goode reneged on his earlier promise to MOVE (page 41) and took no action regarding the MOVE 9 as another confrontation took shape. Anticipating how far the city would go to silence them, MOVE began fortifying their Osage Avenue home. Meanwhile, the police made preparations for a murderous assault by secretly obtaining from the FBI over 37 pounds of the powerful military explosive "C-4," in violation of police regulations, FBI policies, and federal laws regarding the transfer of explosives.

As months wore on, news stories began covering MOVE once again but focused on the Osage Avenue neighbors' disagreements with MOVE rather than MOVE's long standing legal dispute with the city. After MOVE held a meeting with Osage residents in May of 1984 to explain their position, police stepped up their intimi-dation and harassment campaign. Between June and October, Alfonso Africa was arrested and beaten bloody several times by police, and shot (non-fatally) during one arrest. On August 8, 1984, hundreds of police and firemen spent the day surrounding the Osage block in what came to be viewed as a dry run for the later disaster, but MOVE would not be provoked. Frustrated with city officials' inability to resolve the conflict, the Osage neighbors asked Governor Dick Thornburgh to intervene but he refused to get involved. (And when he later headed the U.S. Justice Department, Thornburgh declined to investigate the very May 13, 1985 catastrophe he could have averted.)