MOVE family – John Africa
Link to the Ultraculture website about MOVE and to the extraordinary documentary film, ‘Let the Fire Burn’ which shows footage about the ‘back to the land’ Black commune led by John Africa in West Philadelphia, USA, which ended in the government backed police onslaught in 1985 in which eleven died, including five children, and 61 houses were destroyed.
John Africa, “All living beings, things that move, are equally important, whether they are human beings, dogs, birds, fish, trees, ants, weeds, rivers, wind or rain. To stay healthy and strong, life must have clean air, clear water and pure food. If deprived of these things, life will cycle to the next level, or as the system says, ‘die’.” The MOVE family may be splintered but their vision of the land, forests, rivers and all wild things flourishing stays “Ona Move.”
Controversial, and a largely forgotten chapter in urban commune history.