This is Sundiata Acoli from FCI Cumberland, Maryland, speaking on the May 13th MOVE commemoration activity. May 13th. Eleven MOVE family members, five of them children, the rest, women and men, who were savagely murdered, slaughtered, and massacred by the Philadelphia Police Department.
As I recall, MOVE had been waging constant demonstrations calling for the release of the MOVE nine, their political prisoners, who had been railroaded to prison in 1978 on a trumped up murder charge. In an attempt to stop or curtail MOVE’s demonstrations, the police attacked them by helicopter, which dropped a C-4 plastic explosive bomb on their house, setting it a fire. When MOVE tried to escape the flames, police gunfire drove them back into the house where they all, children, women, and men, burned to death; except Ramona Africa and a young boy, Birdie Africa. Firefighters stood by as the MOVE house and surrounding neighborhood burned to the ground, turning two of its residents into instant refugees.. Ramona was hospitalized for a month with very severe burns, and because she miraculously survived the fire, she was charged and convicted of inciting the riot and sentenced to seven years in prison. She completed the sentence and remains today one of the fiercest fighters for the freedom of MOVE political prisoners, all political prisoners, all oppressed people, and for all life in general.
The MOVE 9 political prisoners originated from an earlier police attempt to curtail MOVE’s lifestyle by serving them with an arrest warrant or an eviction notice on August 8, 1978. That day, masses of Philadelphia police, armed to the teeth, laid siege on MOVE’s residence, opened fire, and poured 1000s of rounds into the house. MOVE’s children took cover in the basement, which the police then flooded with water, and during the barrage of gunfire, a policeman was hit and killed by a single bullet. A reporter at the scene said the shot came from across the street and not from MOVE. When the police ceased fire, Delbert Africa emerged from MOVE’s house and was immediately swarmed by the police and viciously beaten into semi-consciousness on live, nationwide TV. All nine MOVE members were convicted of third degree murder of a policeman who was killed by a single shot.
When Mumia Abu-Jamal, known as the voice of the voiceless, who was in the street at the time in his professional capacity as a news reporter, called Presiding Judge Malmed, and asked, “Who shot the policeman?” The judge replied, “I haven’t the faintest idea. They were tried as a family, so I convicted them as a family.” All were sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison, where they remained to date, thirty-six years later, except Merle Africa, who died in prison under suspicious circumstances.
So, we have one policeman killed by a single shot and nine MOVE defendants, none of whom were convicted of conspiracy, nor were any of the women convicted of weapon possession, yet all nine MOVE members were convicted of the same murder. In other words, nine murderers for one murder victim. Such multiple murderer convictions are disproportionately applied to people of color and other selected poor people. It artificially inflates U.S. violent crime statistics for people of color and greatly increases their numbers among those serving long sentences for the most violent crimes, when in reality, most such murderers have killed no one, not even considering that the policeman was shot from across the street and not from MOVE.
And so, we gather to commemorate MOVE, which I’m honored to do, particularly so because I’ve been fortunate enough to have met and bonded with one of the MOVE 9, Phil Africa, at USP Leavenworth, Kansas, during the 80s or so. I could not have met a better comrade–very personable, highest integrity, very intelligent, good politics and courage, yet easy going and not puffed up with his own self importance. Or, in other words, a “comrade’s comrade,” who was too soon transferred to ports unknown, but left an indelibly favorable impression on me, and why I’d like to use this occasion to commemorate both MOVE 11 and MOVE 9, of both MOVE’s living and dead.
We commemorate the dead by remembering them, by honoring them. For, as long as one person remembers their name, they yet live among us. We commemorate the living by remembering and honoring them also, and by coming together with them, working together with them for common causes. MOVE political prisoners want freedom. All political prisoners want freedom, and it’s time we brought our political prisoners home. So, let’s step up our work together to make it happen. Let’s bring ’em home; MOVE political prisoners and all political prisoners. Free them all, bring ’em home. I thank you.
These commentaries are recorded by Noel Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
