Intro: 11:05
In this episode, I speak with Mike Africa Jr., second generation member of the MOVE Organization and founder of The Seeds of Wisdom, a sister chapter of the MOVE Organization.
We begin this discussion with Mike providing background information on the philosophy and aims of the MOVE Organization since its formation in the 1970s, and the role he and his parents have played in the organization up to the present day. From there, he provides a background to the most dramatic confrontations between the members of MOVE and the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD): the 1978 confrontation between MOVE and Philadelphia police officers (leading to the death of one officer, the brutal public police beating of Delbert Africa, and the wrongful conviction of nine members of MOVE), and the 1985 bombing of the MOVE headquarters on Osage Avenue, Philadelphia by the PPD — the fires of which killed eleven members of MOVE (including five children) and decimated 65 houses in that neighborhood. (https://youtu.be/6RFW9KuL-nk)
I also ask Mike about case of world-famous political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal — including how the police framed him in 1981 for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer, to which he is still serving time for. (https://bit.ly/3e0xqsY) Mike explains how the tactics he and his legal team have employed in the cases of the MOVE 9 continue to apply in the ongoing legal battle to release Abu-Jamal from his decades-long imprisonment. And finally, I ask Mike to connect the decades-long struggle of MOVE and the Black Liberation movement at large with the unprecedented uprisings currently being waged in dozens of cities around the United States and around the world since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th.
Mike Africa, Jr. is the son of Debbie Africa and Michael Africa, Sr. of the MOVE 9, released from prison nearly two years ago after they were wrongfully convicted for the death of a Philadelphia police officer in 1978 during an armed confrontation between MOVE and the PPD. “[Mike Africa,Jr.] was born to a mother accused and later convicted of third-degree murder in one of the most dramatic confrontations with law enforcement of the 1970s black liberation struggle. Not only was Debbie Africa sentenced to 30 years to life for the death of a police officer, so too was her husband, Mike Africa Sr, father to Mike Jr, who was caught up in the same confrontation and given the same punishment.” (https://bit.ly/2XONNUc)
Episode Note:
- Learn more about Mike Africa, Jr. and his work: https://mikeafricajr.com / https://www.instagram.com/mikeafricajr / https://twitter.com/MikeAfricaJr1
- Learn more about MOVE: http://onamove.com
- The audio sources featured in the introduction: https://bit.ly/2UriOLA / https://bit.ly/3fclogD / https://bit.ly/37dOPvY
- The song featured in this episode is “Deliver the Word” by Mike Africa, Jr.: https://youtu.be/fdtD_htG-vY
