MOVE or the MOVE Organization is a Philadelphia-based black liberation group founded by John Africa. 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." The group lives communally and frequently engages in public demonstrations related to several issues.
Since their founding in 1972, their actions have attracted attention of the Philadelphia Police Department. A major incident occurred in 1978, when the police raided their Powelton Village home. This raid resulted in the death of one police officer and the imprisonment of nine group members, now known as "The MOVE 9." After this, the group relocated further west to a house at 6221 Osage Ave.
In 1985, the group made national news when police dropped a bomb on the Osage house from a helicopter in an attempt to end an armed standoff. The explosion ignited a fire in which 11 people died, including five children and the group's leader, John Africa. Only two occupants survived, Ramona, an adult and Birdie, a child. In addition, 65 homes were destroyed as the entire block burned.
Read more about MOVE: Origins, 1978 Shoot-out, 1985 Bombing, 2002 Murder of John Gilbride, Current Activities, References in Music
Famous quotes containing the word move:
“If I cannot prevail upon heaven, I shall move hell.”
—Virgil [Publius Vergilius Maro] (70–19 B.C.)
“Life seems to be an experience in ascending and descending. You think you’re beginning to live for a single aim—for self-development, or the discovery of cosmic truths—when all you’re really doing is to move from place to place as if devoted primarily to real estate.”
—Margaret Anderson (1886–1973)
“Short of a wholesale reform of college athletics—a complete breakdown of the whole system that is now focused on money and power—the women’s programs are just as doomed as the men’s are to move further and further away from the academic mission of their colleges.... We have to decide if that’s the kind of success for women’s sports that we want.”
—Christine H. B. Grant, U.S. university athletic director. As quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A42 (May 12, 1993)