The group's name, MOVE, is not an acronym. Its founder,
John Africa, chose this name to say what they intended to do. Members intend to be active because they say, "Everything that's alive moves. If it didn't, it would be stagnant, dead." When members greet each other they say "on the MOVE". He dictated his thoughts to Donald Glassey, a
social worker from the
University of Pennsylvania, and created what he called "The Guidelines" as the basis for his
communal group. Members of MOVE identify as deeply religious and advocate for life. They believe that as all living beings are dependent, their lives should be treated as equally important. They advocate for justice that is not always based within institutions. MOVE members believe that for something to be just, it must be just for all living creatures. In a 2018 article about the group, Ed Pilkington of
The Guardian described their political views as "a strange fusion of
black power and
flower power. The group that formed in the early 1970s melded the revolutionary ideology of the
Black Panthers with the nature- and animal-loving communalism of 1960s
hippies. You might characterise them as black liberationists-cum-eco warriors." John Africa and his followers lived in a commune in a house owned by Glassey in the
Powelton Village section of
West Philadelphia. As activists, they staged demonstrations against institutions that they opposed, such as zoos, and speakers whose views they opposed. MOVE activities were scrutinized by law enforcement authorities, particularly under the administration of
Mayor Frank Rizzo, a former
police commissioner known for his hard line against
activist groups. When police attempted to enter the house, a shootout ensued. PPD Officer James J. Ramp of the Stakeout Unit (now known as the S.W.A.T. Unit), was killed by a gunshot to the neck. 16 police officers and firefighters were also injured in the firefight. MOVE representatives claimed that Ramp was facing the house at the time and denied that the group was responsible for his death, insisting that he was killed by
fire from fellow police officers. Prosecutors alleged that MOVE members fired the fatal shot and charged Debbie Sims Africa and eight other MOVE members with collective responsibility for his death. According to a 2018 article in
The Guardian, "Eyewitnesses, however, gave accounts suggesting that the shot may have come from the opposite direction to the basement, raising the possibility that Ramp was accidentally felled by police fire. MOVE members continue to insist that they had no workable guns in their house at the time of the siege. Several months earlier, in May 1978, several guns – most of them inoperative – had been handed over to police at the MOVE house; however, prosecutors at the trial of the MOVE Nine told the jury that at the time of the August siege there had been functioning firearms in the house."
The MOVE 9 The nine members of MOVE charged with
third-degree murder for Ramp's death became known as the MOVE 9. Each was sentenced to a maximum of 100 years in prison. They were Chuck, Delbert, Eddie, Janet, Janine, Merle, Michael, Phil, and Debbie Sims Africa. In 1998, at age 47, Merle Africa died in prison. Seven of the surviving eight members first became eligible for
parole in the spring of 2008, but they were denied. Parole hearings for each of these prisoners were to be held yearly from that time. In 2015, at age 59, Phil Africa died in prison. The first of the MOVE 9 to be released was Debbie Sims Africa on June 16, 2018. On October 23, 2018, Michael Davis Africa, the husband of Debbie Sims Africa, was released on parole. In May 2019, Janine and Janet Africa were released on parole after 41 years of imprisonment. On June 21, 2019, Eddie Goodman Africa was released on parole. Delbert Orr Africa was granted parole on December 20, 2019, and released January 18, 2020. The last of the MOVE 9 either to be paroled or to die behind bars was Chuck Sims Africa, who was released on parole on February 7, 2020, after 41 years of imprisonment. Both Delbert and Chuck died of cancer in 2020 and 2021, respectively. == 1985 bombing ==