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Reimagining MOVE: Revolutionary Black Humanism and the 1985 Bombing

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Reimagining MOVE: Revolutionary Black Humanism and the 1985 Bombing Rowan University Rowan Digital Works Theses and Dissertations 2-17-2021 Reimagining MOVE: Revolutionary Black humanism and the 1985 bombing Joseph E. Cranston Rowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Cranston, Joseph E., "Reimagining MOVE: Revolutionary Black humanism and the 1985 bombing" (2021). Theses and Dissertations. 2873. https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/2873 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Rowan Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Rowan Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REIMAGINING MOVE: REVOLUTIONARY BLACK HUMANISM AND THE 1985 BOMBING by Joseph E. Cranston A Thesis Submitted to the Department of History College of Humanities and Social Sciences In partial fulfillment of the requirement For the degree of Master of Arts in History at Rowan University January 5, 2021 Thesis Advisor: Chanelle Rose Ph.D. Committee Members: Emily Blank, Ph.D. Sandra Joy, Ph.D. © 2020 Joseph E. Cranston Dedication To the unwilling and innocent: Tomaso, Katricia “Tree” Dotson, Zenetta Dotson, Delicia Phillips, Phil Phillips, and Michael Moses Ward “Birdie” Acknowledgements Much gratitude to Dr. Chanelle Nyree Rose who has overseen this project since its inception. Thank you, Doc for your thoroughgoing critique and vigorous support! Additionally, many thanks to Dr. Emily Blank and Professor Sandra Joy for their enthusiasm and willingness to be a part of my committee. Last, but not least, all the best to the fantastic professors at Rowan University who have fostered my lifelong passion for history iv Abstract Joseph E. Cranston REIMAGINING MOVE: REVOLUTIONARY HUMANISM AND THE 1985 BOMBING 2019-2020 Chanelle Nyree Rose, Ph.D. Master of Arts in History This thesis examines the extremist group, MOVE and its founder Vincent Leaphart (a.k.a John Africa) in the context of Revolutionary Black Humanism, rather than simply a footnote to the tragic events of May 13, 1985. It explores MOVE’s predecessors in the Black Power movement including The Black Panther Party and how these organizations and individuals might have influenced MOVE and their aims. In addition, ample examination is given to the role that systemic police brutality and racism, specifically within the Philadelphia Police Department and city government played in the decisions that MOVE made as they attempted to create a community in the ultimately unwelcoming urban settings of two Philadelphia neighborhoods; but also in the methods employed by police and city officials as they effected the removal and attempted extermination of the group. v Table of Contents Abstract .........................................................................................................................v Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................1 Scholarly Review/Historiography ...........................................................................5 Methodology and Scope .........................................................................................11 Chapter 2: John Africa and the Powelton Village Community Action Movement (aka MOVE) .........................................................................................................................12 Chapter 3: The Decline of the Local Black Panther Party and the Advent of MOVE ...........................................................................................................................29 COINTELPRO and the Philadelphia BPP ..............................................................30 Rejection of Modern Technology and Lifestyle .....................................................46 MOVE Counters Rizzo’s Treachery and Policing in Philadelphia .........................54 Chapter 4: MOVE 9 On Trial .......................................................................................68 Neighborhood Advocates........................................................................................75 The Trial..................................................................................................................93 Chapter 5: Revolution is Forever, 6221 Osage Avenue ...............................................101 Ramona Africa ........................................................................................................105 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................124 References .....................................................................................................................127 vi Chapter 1 Introduction For many Philadelphians of a particular generation, the event that transpired on May 13, 1985 was equivocal to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and most certainly represents yet another “day that will live in infamy.” On this particular date, the treacherous actions of the Philadelphia police force in concert with the inept and ineffectual in- action by the city government metastasized into a decision to drop a military grade incendiary device onto an occupied row-home in Philadelphia’s west end. A decision, that resulted in the deaths of eleven persons, five of whom were children.1 Before the bomb was dropped, a full frontal assault commenced with a barrage of almost ten-thousand rounds of ammunition directly fired at the residence that served as head- quarters for the radical group that collectively called itself MOVE. For over a decade, MOVE remained figuratively as well as literally in the cross hairs of the Philadelphia police forces’ gun sights. Complaints of MOVE’S ill-kept property and loud-speaker aided verbal harangues aimed toward the denizens of this West Philly district went largely ignored until the members of this revolutionary collective erected a make-shift bunker on the roof of their row-home and purportedly brandished firearms in plain view. The laundry list of conflicts between MOVE and the police was lengthy indeed, and this latest engagement at 6221 Osage Avenue seemed like the final showdown. The explosion resulted in the MOVE residence being set ablaze. A crude and cruel decision to let the fire burn was decided upon. The rationale behind this decision to dislodge 1 Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission, “The Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations of the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission, March 6, 1986.” Temple University Urban Archives, Philadelphia, Pa., Box 989, Folder 1883. 1 MOVE or effectively destroy them still remains controversial. Nevertheless, the resulting conflagration inevitably swept through the periphery and decimated sixty-one homes. Miraculously, two persons narrowly escaped the flash point at 6221 Osage, an adult woman and an adolescent boy.2 After the embers cooled and the city officials combed the rubble of the MOVE house for human remains, the residents of this predominately black neighborhood, many of whom had originally filed formal complaints against MOVE, wondered aloud if such a slovenly and ill-conceived police action could transpire in an all-white community. Many activists such as Alice Walker and the esteemed Cornell West argue stridently that such an action could only happen in a black locality.3 According to the still incarcerated activist, Mumia Abu-Jamal, the MOVE fire was no accident. Abu-Jamal insists, “May 13, 1985, was the most premeditated police raid and destroy mission in U.S. history, and was an un-holy aim to destroy the MOVE organization.”4 In May of 2015, National Public Radio published a news feature by journalist and Philadelphia native, Gene Demby. Demby’s article, entitled “I’m From Philly. 30 years Later, I’m Still Trying To Make Sense Of The MOVE Bombing,” serves as a summation of the unceasing confusion about what MOVE actually was about and how their altercation with city government accelerated toward ruination. 5 The MOVE fire forever stands as a part of my own historical memory and ironically, the anniversary of the 2 Ibid. 3 Dr. Cornel West remembers MOVE, May 2015 hate5six.com (accessed May 24, 2016) 4 Quoted in J.M. Floyd-Thomas, The Burning of Rebellious Thoughts: MOVE as Revolutionary Black Humanism, The Black Scholar Vol. 32, No. 1 (Spring 2002) 11. 5 Gene Demby, “I’m From Philly. 30 years Later, I’m Still Trying To Make Sense Of The MOVE Bombing,” NPR Morning Edition, May 15, 2015, https:// ww.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/13 (accessed May 25, 2016) 2 MOVE tragedy comes at a time when violence continues to rage against black America, most prominently witnessed in the Ferguson and Baltimore travesties. In this racially hostile climate, I felt compelled to dissect the origin of this tribulation as well as the counterculture organization known as MOVE. The story of MOVE is largely delinquent of examination within a historical context and does not fit neatly inside the bounds of the traditional narrative of the Black Power or Counterculture movements. In order to generate a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the organization, I began by asking several key questions. Was MOVE a legitimate part of the black freedom struggle? What are the origins and founding principles of MOVE? How was this collective similar and/or different from other counter culture groups? To answer these questions, this study examines the origins, developments, practices and protest strategies
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