: These two postings are in honor of the revolutionary MOVE Family
: Africa, to remind and educate those unaware of who the MOVE 9 are
: and the events of August 8, 1978. The assault on the MOVE house
: that day resulted in what is now the campaign to free the MOVE 9 -
: 9 revolutionary men and women who are doing 30-100 YEARS for
: their unswerving commitment to the teachings of John Africa,
: NINE INNOCENT LIVES stolen by this system in alleged retaliation
: for the loss of ONE LIFE (which has been proven by experts to have
: been a result of "friendly fire" by fellow police officers).
: This chapter of the history of the MOVE Organization serves as one
: of this country's most blatant examples of terrorism, naked violence
: and false imprisonment. We especially remember our much loved Warrior
: Sista Merle Africa on this day, burn a candle in her memory, and
: commit ourselves to fight with renewed urgency for the UNCONDITIONAL
: release of all MOVE family members in prison, all political
: prisoners, political exiles, our people and our selves who remain
: physically shackled to this system, but mentally free and conscious.
: For more history of the MOVE Organization, including what led up to
: the events of August 8, 1978, please check the website at www.movellja.org
: or contact MOVE via the address, phone or fax at the end of this posting.
: //////////////////////////////////////////
: EXCERPTS FROM "20 YEARS ON THE MOVE"
: In the early morning hours of August 8, hundreds of police and firemen
: surrounded MOVE headquarters. Using heavy construction equipment they tore
: down the barricades and knocked out the windows. With guns drawn, over 20
: officers entered the first floor of the house, only to find that MOVE had
: taken refuge in the basement. Fire hoses and deluge guns were then turned
: on, flooding the basement with water. MOVE adults were forced to hold
: children and animals in their arms to keep them from drowning. Suddenly
: gunshots rang out and immediately bullets filled the air as police
: throughout the area opened fire. Officer James Ramp was struck and killed
: by a single bullet. Three other policemen and firemen were wounded. MOVE
: never fired any shots and no MOVE members were arrested with any weapons.
: 12 adults were arrested, all suffering physical abuse at the hands of the
: police, and 11 children had been in the house. As news cameras recorded the
: event, officers Joseph Zagame, Charles Geist, Terrance Mulvihill and
: Lawrence D'Ulisse severely beat MOVE member Delbert Africa while taking him
: into custody. Without provocation, Zagame smashed Delbert in the face with
: a police helmet as D'Ulisse connected with a blow from the butt of a
: shotgun. This knocked Delbert to the ground and he was then dragged by his
: hair across the street where the other officers set upon him, savagely
: kicking him in the head, kidneys and groin.
: An afternoon conference was held at City Hall during which Police
: Commissioner
: Joseph O'Neill said Officer Ramp was killed by a shot in the back. Moments
: later a typed police press release was distributed stating that Ramp was shot
: in the chest. Rizzo displayed a table of firearms and claimed they were taken
: from the MOVE house. Some reporters noted the seemingly new condition of the
: weapons; others wondered what these guns were doing in the mayor's office
: rather than impounded in the police crime lab as evidence. No MOVE
: fingerprints were found on any of these weapons. Although destroying
: evidence of a crime is illegal, police bulldozed and leveled the house as
: soon as MOVE members were taken away. No efforts were made to preserve the
: crime scene, inscribe chalk marks, or measure ballistic angles. MOVE told
: Judge Merna Marshall that the destruction of the house prevented them from
: proving that it was impossible for any MOVE member to have shot officer
: Ramp. The Fred Hampton case in Illinois was cited, where the preservation
: of the crime scene enabled the estates of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark to
: prove that all offensive fire came from the police. Judge Marshall denied
: MOVE's petition and held them over for trial. Three defendants were tried
: separately and those who disavowed MOVE were released. MOVE protested that
: they were being held strictly because they were MOVE members rather than on
: any evidence that they had anything to do with the death of James Ramp.
: After refusing to disavow MOVE, Consuewella Dotson was later tried and
: sentenced to 10-20 years. Even though the MOVE members were in the basement
: when the gunfire occurred and only one bullet struck Ramp, Judge Malmed
: pronounced the remaining nine defendants guilty of the murder and sentenced
: each one to 30-100 years. On a radio talk show the next day, a caller
: (Mumia Abu-Jamal) asked Malmed, "Who shot James Ramp?", he replied, "I
: have no idea."
: The police assaults and court hearings continued for several years, and one
: of the few media people to accurately report on MOVE and make a serious
: effort to understand the organization was Mumia Abu-Jamal, a highly
: regarded Philadelphia journalist and president of the Association of Black
: Journalists. Throughout the 1978 confrontation and resulting trials, Mumia
: continued to produce in-depth coverage of MOVE issues, often against the
: directives of his employers. On December 9, 1981, Mumia was found shot
: through the chest and badly wounded on a downtown Philadelphia street.
: Nearby lay a police officer, dead from gunshot wounds. During his
: subsequent arrest and treatment in a hospital, Mumia was abused and beaten
: by police. Mumia maintained his innocence and conducted his own defense
: until Judge Albert Sabo ruled he was being disruptive and ordered a
: court-appointed lawyer to take over the case. Mumia then refused to
: participate and the events at the crime scene were never fully determined.
: A jury found him guilty of first degree murder and gave him the death
: penalty. There has been an international call for the release of Mumia from
: what is regarded as an unjust sentence based on his association with MOVE.
: "AS LONG AS WE ARE ALIVE, WE WILL NEVER ABANDON OUR INNOCENT BROTHERS AND
: SISTERS IN JAIL, AND THEY KNOW WE WILL NEVER ABANDON THEM, AND THIS CITY
: GONNA ALWAYS HAVE A PROBLEM UNTIL EVERY LAST ONE OF OUR BROTHERS AND
: SISTERS IS HOME."
: -- MOVE STATEMENT
: -------------------------------------------
: "25 YEARS ON THE MOVE" is a revised, updated and expanded edition of the
: 1991 publication "20 Years on the Move". Printed May 1996. Available for
: a $6.00 donation from:
: MOVE, P.O. Box 19709, Phila., PA 19143.
: Phone: (215) 476-9405 - (215) 476-8812; Fax: (215) 476-7551
: ----------------------------------------------
: LONG LIVE JOHN AFRICA'S REVOLUTION!