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MOVE: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy
*Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
In the 1970s, a man who called himself John Africa founded a controversial Black separatist group in Philadelphia called MOVE. The group lived communally and espoused a lifestyle set out by Africa that involved free thinking, a raw-food diet, and profound respect for animals, among other things. As MOVE gained momentum and attracted members, it became a source of contention in West Philly, rankling neighbors and drawing the ire of law enforcement. In 1978, a shootout between the Philadelphia police and MOVE members that resulted in the death of an officer led to nine MOVE members being sentenced to decades in prison. The conflict persisted, and on May 13, 1985, the city of Philadelphia bombed the house where MOVE members lived, killing six adults and five children–the first and only time the US government bombed its own citizens on American soil.
How did these events unfurl in a nondescript residential Philly neighborhood? Why were city officials determined to disband MOVE? What became of the MOVE members? How and why is this story largely buried in US history books?
This searing audio documentary brings listeners deep inside the unforgettable story of MOVE, gaining unprecedented access to surviving MOVE members, elected officials from the era, eyewitnesses, and historians to create an indelible portrait of an American tragedy. Narrated and executive produced by Tariq Trotter, cofounder of The Roots and Philly native, MOVE: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy urges us to think about race, liberty, and whether there can ever be justice for all.
In the 1970s, a man who called himself John Africa founded a controversial Black separatist group in Philadelphia called MOVE. The group lived communally and espoused a lifestyle set out by Africa that involved free thinking, a raw-food diet, and profound respect for animals, among other things. As MOVE gained momentum and attracted members, it became a source of contention in West Philly, rankling neighbors and drawing the ire of law enforcement. In 1978, a shootout between the Philadelphia police and MOVE members that resulted in the death of an officer led to nine MOVE members being sentenced to decades in prison. The conflict persisted, and on May 13, 1985, the city of Philadelphia bombed the house where MOVE members lived, killing six adults and five children–the first and only time the US government bombed its own citizens on American soil.
How did these events unfurl in a nondescript residential Philly neighborhood? Why were city officials determined to disband MOVE? What became of the MOVE members? How and why is this story largely buried in US history books?
This searing audio documentary brings listeners deep inside the unforgettable story of MOVE, gaining unprecedented access to surviving MOVE members, elected officials from the era, eyewitnesses, and historians to create an indelible portrait of an American tragedy. Narrated and executive produced by Tariq Trotter, cofounder of The Roots and Philly native, MOVE: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy urges us to think about race, liberty, and whether there can ever be justice for all.
6 pages, Audible Audio
Published August 8, 2024
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September 16, 2024I had never heard of this tragedy - the events leading up to a literal explosion started in 1971, and the fact that I am British, are good reasons why I would not have.
I did enjoy the format, which mainly consists of interviews with surviving members of the titular organisation.
From what I could tell, MOVE came from one man's ideology - the furtherance of black people, and his love of animals. Members were not only to be vegan, but food was to be eaten in its raw state.
I do not eat meat or fish, and abhor cruelty of any kind, so I like his thinking 😉
Unfortunately, they fell foul of the system, and were pursued by a particular officer. This culminated in an incident, after which several members of MOVE were jailed for the murder of a policeman - the interviewees state a good case for their innocence.
A few years later, the movement gets complaints from their neighbours, and law enforcement attempts to evict the MOVE residents, who refuse to leave.
It was then that a BOMB was dropped on the home. Worse, the resulting inferno was left to burn.
6 adults and 5 children died.
It is the only time that a bomb has been dropped on its own citizens by the United States of America.
This is a snapshot, there is a lot more.
The worst thing is, I was horrified, but not actually surprised.
I did enjoy the format, which mainly consists of interviews with surviving members of the titular organisation.
From what I could tell, MOVE came from one man's ideology - the furtherance of black people, and his love of animals. Members were not only to be vegan, but food was to be eaten in its raw state.
I do not eat meat or fish, and abhor cruelty of any kind, so I like his thinking 😉
Unfortunately, they fell foul of the system, and were pursued by a particular officer. This culminated in an incident, after which several members of MOVE were jailed for the murder of a policeman - the interviewees state a good case for their innocence.
A few years later, the movement gets complaints from their neighbours, and law enforcement attempts to evict the MOVE residents, who refuse to leave.
It was then that a BOMB was dropped on the home. Worse, the resulting inferno was left to burn.
6 adults and 5 children died.
It is the only time that a bomb has been dropped on its own citizens by the United States of America.
This is a snapshot, there is a lot more.
The worst thing is, I was horrified, but not actually surprised.
August 29, 2024
Captivating. I loved the interviews and podcast style of the narration. I didn't know what to expect going in, except there was a bomb set off on a residential house by police while it's occupied with regular people inside. Wild.
September 27, 2024
Audiobook - interesting book of events I knew nothing about.
September 24, 2024
This audiobook, available only on Audible, is more of a blend of a book and a podcast or a news program. It is about the MOVE religion or movement or whatever, founded by John Africa, a movement with elements of animal rights activism mixed with black nationalism, I think. MOVE seems fascinating, and I wish I knew more about it.
That said the writing of this book was shitty. Above, I said that MOVE was a mix of animal activism and black nationalism, I think. The reason I said I think was because I got through 20% of the book and I still do not really have a good idea of what MOVE is all about. The writing is shitty because it does not do the basic things that an author has to do, explain what the book is about. Who is MOVE? What do they stand for? I still don’t know.
The book has other problems. It does something common amongst amateur historians, who feel that they have to explain everything, even if they have no evidence for why something happened. Early on in the book, the authors state that John Africa went to fight in Korea as an infantryman and that might have been the reason he started MOVE. They don’t know but it “was enough to mess with your head” and lots of people believed that they should not be going over to the other side of the world “just to kill other minorities.” The authors then interview Temple University journalism professor Linn Washington tells us that, “What a person does is a confluence of the influences and experiences that they have had so I imagine in some way that military experience played on him.”
Let’s count the problems with this kind of writing.
First, the authors admit they do not have any evidence for Africa’s experience in Korea effecting his founding of MOVE, but they still push that explanation, despite the fact that the two were separated by more than a decade. It is fine if a historian cannot explain why something happened. It is not acceptable to shoehorn in explanations just to have an explanation.
Second, he calls the Koreans in Korea “minorities,” but Korea is one of the most ethnically homogeneous nations on earth. The Koreans in Korea are the spitting definition of what is not a minority. I recognize the authors just used the term “minority” as a political correct term for what they really meant, which was “non-white folk,” but this still indicates a laziness and a lack of thorough thinking on the authors’ parts.
Finally, this quote that they pulled from Washington is so weird. In trying to make the reach for how Africa was pushed by his brutalizing experience as an infantryman in Korea, the authors interview Washington and pull this quote (worth repeating): “What a person does is a confluence of the influences and experiences that they have had so I imagine in some way that military experience played on him.” In other words, actions have consequences for people’s lives…what more asinine bromide could one come up with. 1 + 1 = 2, perhaps?
MOVE seems like an interesting topic worthy of a serious treatment by historians. This is not that book.
That said the writing of this book was shitty. Above, I said that MOVE was a mix of animal activism and black nationalism, I think. The reason I said I think was because I got through 20% of the book and I still do not really have a good idea of what MOVE is all about. The writing is shitty because it does not do the basic things that an author has to do, explain what the book is about. Who is MOVE? What do they stand for? I still don’t know.
The book has other problems. It does something common amongst amateur historians, who feel that they have to explain everything, even if they have no evidence for why something happened. Early on in the book, the authors state that John Africa went to fight in Korea as an infantryman and that might have been the reason he started MOVE. They don’t know but it “was enough to mess with your head” and lots of people believed that they should not be going over to the other side of the world “just to kill other minorities.” The authors then interview Temple University journalism professor Linn Washington tells us that, “What a person does is a confluence of the influences and experiences that they have had so I imagine in some way that military experience played on him.”
Let’s count the problems with this kind of writing.
First, the authors admit they do not have any evidence for Africa’s experience in Korea effecting his founding of MOVE, but they still push that explanation, despite the fact that the two were separated by more than a decade. It is fine if a historian cannot explain why something happened. It is not acceptable to shoehorn in explanations just to have an explanation.
Second, he calls the Koreans in Korea “minorities,” but Korea is one of the most ethnically homogeneous nations on earth. The Koreans in Korea are the spitting definition of what is not a minority. I recognize the authors just used the term “minority” as a political correct term for what they really meant, which was “non-white folk,” but this still indicates a laziness and a lack of thorough thinking on the authors’ parts.
Finally, this quote that they pulled from Washington is so weird. In trying to make the reach for how Africa was pushed by his brutalizing experience as an infantryman in Korea, the authors interview Washington and pull this quote (worth repeating): “What a person does is a confluence of the influences and experiences that they have had so I imagine in some way that military experience played on him.” In other words, actions have consequences for people’s lives…what more asinine bromide could one come up with. 1 + 1 = 2, perhaps?
MOVE seems like an interesting topic worthy of a serious treatment by historians. This is not that book.
October 8, 2024
MOVE: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy 92024) is anAudible Original production written by Curtis Bryant and Kevin Arbouet, narrated by Tariq Trotter. I listened to it, running less than six hours, apparently based on a podcast, as it comes to you in segments. Maybe if you are over sixty (or younger, if you live in Philadelphia) you will recall the bombing of the MOVE residence and neighborhood in 1978, the only time in recorded American history that the American government actually BOMBED American citizens (with C4!!!!, and this was in addition to their firing over TEN THOUSAND rounds and as a [not quite] final insult, deliberately burning the residence and nearby housing and their inhabitants to the ground. True story. Women and children inside! Unarmed!
Then the “authorities” jailed the surviving residents for several years for “inciting a riot,” and gave the bones of the murdered women and children to a local university to study!
I know you want to know: What did MOVE do to deserve this fate? I can’t wait to say that the small family that refused to come out of the house had FOUR (only 4) unloaded guns. They were vegan, wore dreadlocks, were guided by a guy, John Africa, who everyone assumed was a cult figure (I did, too, initially) in that he asked all of the folks who joined him (most of them black) to change their last names to Africa (not his original name, either).
MOVE annoyed neighbors, but had never been convicted of anything beyond a misdemeanor, though the PPD and Mayor Frank Rizzo were so annoyed and embarrassed by them and their refusal to leave the neighborhood that they exploded in rage. They were NEVER violent, but they had asserted their rights. At one point there was a trial where none of the group were indicted for the murder of a police officer, though it is clear now from the evidence that this officer was killed via “friendly fire.” Decades later, some apologies wwe made for all this shining moment in American history.
Lots of research went into this story, which is a kind of bare-bones introduction to much recorded history, well-documented. Though you do get actual transcripts and recordings of participants. The testimonies are chilling. Echoes of the a---whupping of hippies and yippies and war resisters by Hizzoner Mayor Richard M. Daley during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Then the “authorities” jailed the surviving residents for several years for “inciting a riot,” and gave the bones of the murdered women and children to a local university to study!
I know you want to know: What did MOVE do to deserve this fate? I can’t wait to say that the small family that refused to come out of the house had FOUR (only 4) unloaded guns. They were vegan, wore dreadlocks, were guided by a guy, John Africa, who everyone assumed was a cult figure (I did, too, initially) in that he asked all of the folks who joined him (most of them black) to change their last names to Africa (not his original name, either).
MOVE annoyed neighbors, but had never been convicted of anything beyond a misdemeanor, though the PPD and Mayor Frank Rizzo were so annoyed and embarrassed by them and their refusal to leave the neighborhood that they exploded in rage. They were NEVER violent, but they had asserted their rights. At one point there was a trial where none of the group were indicted for the murder of a police officer, though it is clear now from the evidence that this officer was killed via “friendly fire.” Decades later, some apologies wwe made for all this shining moment in American history.
Lots of research went into this story, which is a kind of bare-bones introduction to much recorded history, well-documented. Though you do get actual transcripts and recordings of participants. The testimonies are chilling. Echoes of the a---whupping of hippies and yippies and war resisters by Hizzoner Mayor Richard M. Daley during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
August 31, 2024
The only thing I knew about MOVE before the start of this story was that the mayor of Philadelphia had given the go ahead to bomb the organization as part of his effort to have them arrested. This is a detailed account of what the MOVE movement was all about—empowerment of African Americans. It is told almost completely from the perspective of surviving MOVE members and therefore it may not be balanced in its presentation. But it does show a horrifying account of police brutality and callous disregard for children that made me think of all the poor little ones who died in Waco, Texas. I must admit that I still don't really understand why the police wanted to crush MOVE. The only crimes that really get talked about are ones that the reader is convinced the group had no part in. (Such as being accused of murdering a police officer who was apparently shot in the back (probably by friendly fire) during the first attempt to arrest MOVE which the author reports involved the police shooting thousands of rounds of ammunition at a house that MOVE was in with their small children).
One of the difficulties in analyzing the book is that you never get an objective account about what happened in court when the MOVE 9 were originally arrested. They talk about how brilliantly they represented themselves and cross-examined witnesses and blame their convictions on corruption and racism. Maybe that is why they were convicted, but the lack of objectivity in the book makes it hard to have confidence that the reader is learning the full story.
In the second campaign against MOVE, the city dropped a bomb on their house—the only time the U.S. has ever done that to its own citizens. Then, even worse, the resulting fire was allowed to burn to encourage MOVE to vacate the house. When the fire got out of control, lots of people died and an entire city block burned down but no one was held accountable. It’s a very interesting history.
One of the difficulties in analyzing the book is that you never get an objective account about what happened in court when the MOVE 9 were originally arrested. They talk about how brilliantly they represented themselves and cross-examined witnesses and blame their convictions on corruption and racism. Maybe that is why they were convicted, but the lack of objectivity in the book makes it hard to have confidence that the reader is learning the full story.
In the second campaign against MOVE, the city dropped a bomb on their house—the only time the U.S. has ever done that to its own citizens. Then, even worse, the resulting fire was allowed to burn to encourage MOVE to vacate the house. When the fire got out of control, lots of people died and an entire city block burned down but no one was held accountable. It’s a very interesting history.
November 14, 2024
MOVE: The Untold Story Of An American Tragedy
By, Curtis Bryant, Kevin Arbouet And Tariq Trotter
🎙️ Audiobook Narrated By, Tariq Trotter
😖😵💫🤯 Okay. Just... WOW! I Just finished listening to the audiobook and my mind is completely blown! First, there are SO many adjective's I could use to describe this incredible story? Historical happening? Anyway, whatever you choose to call this heart wrenching work, it truly should be required reading or listening. I think listening, because the audiobook is AMAZING. YES, partly because the narrator is THAT good, but also because of the sound effects, the news interviews, there is just a lot you would miss if one were to read it in black and white (if it exists?). Another thing I wonder to myself is, why do I not remember ever hearing of John Africa and his Family? His outrageously wild and wonderful philosophical ideas and way of living~ MOVE! I found this completely worth every moment of my time. There are some pretty graphic moments and descriptions, death, dying and murder. It is not for the faint of heart, some of the deceased are children.🥺 It is basically, a true historical crime.
Terri R 🤓📚👍🏼
By, Curtis Bryant, Kevin Arbouet And Tariq Trotter
🎙️ Audiobook Narrated By, Tariq Trotter
😖😵💫🤯 Okay. Just... WOW! I Just finished listening to the audiobook and my mind is completely blown! First, there are SO many adjective's I could use to describe this incredible story? Historical happening? Anyway, whatever you choose to call this heart wrenching work, it truly should be required reading or listening. I think listening, because the audiobook is AMAZING. YES, partly because the narrator is THAT good, but also because of the sound effects, the news interviews, there is just a lot you would miss if one were to read it in black and white (if it exists?). Another thing I wonder to myself is, why do I not remember ever hearing of John Africa and his Family? His outrageously wild and wonderful philosophical ideas and way of living~ MOVE! I found this completely worth every moment of my time. There are some pretty graphic moments and descriptions, death, dying and murder. It is not for the faint of heart, some of the deceased are children.🥺 It is basically, a true historical crime.
Terri R 🤓📚👍🏼
February 7, 2025
At the end of Chapter 8, I would have given this book 4 stars, maybe 5. After the final chapter, it’s down to a 2. Why? I’ll answer that with a question: Where is Birdie? I am amazed that someone would have the gall to tell this story without telling Birdie (Michael Ward’s) side of it. There are 2 or 3 30 second clips of his testimony or maybe an interview with the police, but nothing about what happened to him, the injuries he suffered, the lawsuit filed on his behalf and what he did with his life. Nothing about how he died. Most importantly, Michael/Birdie’s description of severe abuse at the hands of the adult MOVE members, including John Africa, is completely absent. I thought the book was well balanced up until the end.
If there was a conscious choice to omit Michael/Birdie’s story because it made MOVE look less sympathetic, it was a poor choice. Being poor parents if that is true did not justify the disgusting murder of 11 people by the Wilson Goode and the police and fire commissioners.
If there was a conscious choice to omit Michael/Birdie’s story because it made MOVE look less sympathetic, it was a poor choice. Being poor parents if that is true did not justify the disgusting murder of 11 people by the Wilson Goode and the police and fire commissioners.
January 12, 2025
Listening to this you range between horror and anger at what happened and how there was no accountability for those who made the terrible decisions that killed those children and adults and put people in prison for years. I don’t remember this all happening but based on the news clips that are included in this production what you would have heard on the news was far from the reality of what actually occurred.Just heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time.
September 20, 2024
A book about a topic I knew absolutely Nothing about but definitely want to know more. Exciting tale…. It would have been better to discuss the actual theory or thought process of the leader character.
December 15, 2024
Didn't know John Africa was an Infantryman in the Korean War. I remember this incident as the Waco of Philadelphia. Another incident of abuse of power by the government. I appreciated the author's admission that the MOVE community's strongest critics were their black neighbors.
November 13, 2025
A good overview of events peppered with interviews, quotes, and court records from the people that lived it. Filled in some of the gaps in my knowledge about MOVE and rounded out some of my opinions on it.
October 1, 2024
Good start to learning more. I did not know/or maybe I didn’t recall this from school. Some was a little hard to follow but worth researching!
November 29, 2024
Sad, but there is still the same treatment today in 2024.
September 28, 2024
I had heard of the tragedy before but didn't know many details. The book was very informative and I especially loved the interviews with residents and move members. My heart goes out to those affected by the corrupt police and abhorrent mayor rizzo.
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