Featured Event

Honor Consuewella — Rally & March for Mumia.

Sat., July 3, 2021,
2 pm,
Municipal Services Building,
1401 JFK Blvd, Philadelphia, PA

One block from Philadelphia City Hall,
Six blocks from Greyhound Bus Station.

Watch video of event.

A Philadelphia rally on Saturday, July 3, 2021, starting at 2pm promises to be loud, energetic, colorful.

Entitled In the Spirit of Consuewella Africa, We Must All MOVE to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and All Political Prisoners, the event will begin on the east side of the Municipal Services Building (1401 JFK Blvd). The march eventually ends at the Liberty Bell (6th & Market), after stops at Gov. Wolf’s office (8th & Arch) and WHYY (6th and Race).

Community leaders will begin the rally in front of the Crown – Freedom mural honoring Black women activists (centering Ramona Africa), in the same plaza where the hated Frank Rizzo statue was finally removed one year ago after massive protests following the police murder of George Floyd. One or two of the women in the mural will be speaking.

A 14-foot-tall puppet depicting Mumia Abu-Jamal will be making its first public appearance.

Mumia is an innocent man, a victim of racist police brutality, unjustly incarcerated by Pennsylvania for over 39 years. His case is still under appeal. It represents the injustice of a system that has wrongly imprisoned millions of our family members and revolutionaries. He recently underwent open-heart surgery. He must receive a better diet and more exercise in order to recuperate.

Consuewella Africa passed on June 16, 2021. Her health greatly suffered as she grieved the recently revealed evil mistreatment of the remains of her daughters Tree and Netta Africa, bombed, shot, and murdered by this government on May 13, 1985. The Minister of Confrontation of the MOVE Organization, Consuewella was a survivor of the Aug. 8, 1978 police attack on Powelton Ave and served 16 years in prison, all the while refusing to renounce MOVE.

Mothers of children who died in the MOVE bombing find no comfort in city discovery that human remains were not destroyed

May 15, 2021,
By Alfred Lubrano,
Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer, (original link).

“Do you know what kind of trauma they’re putting us through?” asked Janet Holloway Africa, 70, who lost her daughter, Delisha, 13.

Consuewella Dotson Africa of MOVE, (center), during a rally at Cobbs Creek Park for the 36th anniversary of the MOVE bombing. She’s flanked by Eddie Africa (left) and Janine Phillips Africa (right). Consuewella lost her two daughters, Katricia (Tree), 13, and Vanetta (Netta), 11, in the police bombing while she was still in prison. Janine lost her son, Phil Africa, 11.
Photo by Tyger Williams, Inquirer Staff Photographer.

Three women whose children were killed in the MOVE bombing 36 years ago said they find no solace in the city’s discovery of human remains that were declared destroyed earlier in the week.

In fact, the women expressed varying levels of outrage, incredulity, and bitterness in interviews at Cobbs Creek Park in West Philadelphia on Saturday during a rally commemorating the event:

“I don’t believe anything the city says, but I know I’m insulted,” said Janine Phillips Africa, 65, who lost a son, Phil, 11.

“Do you know what kind of trauma they’re putting us through?” asked Janet Holloway Africa, 70, who lost a daughter, Delisha, 13.

“We resent the hell out of this situation,” said Consuewella Dotson Africa, who describes herself as “almost 70” and who lost two daughters, Katricia, 13, and Vanetta, 11.

It’s not known whether the remains belong to any of the children.

Initially, Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration announced that, without notifying relatives, it had cremated and discarded remains from the May 1985 bombing in West Philadelphia that led to the deaths of 11 people. But on Friday night, city officials acknowledged the remains were never destroyed.

The revelation came after city officials learned that a subordinate apparently disobeyed Health Commissioner Thomas Farley’s order in 2017 to dispose of the remains, said Leon A. Williams, an attorney for the family of the MOVE victims.

Farley, the city’s top health official since 2016, resigned Thursday after acknowledging he had ordered the remains cremated and disposed of without notifying the Africas.

Kenney said in a statement late Friday that he had personally informed the family of the discovery of the remains previously believed to have been destroyed. He described the remains as partial bone fragments, or perhaps teeth.

But the three mothers bristled on Saturday, saying no one from the city had told them anything.

“We get all our information from the media,” Janine Africa said. “Nobody called us. It seems to me the city is scrambling to get themselves out of a bad situation.

“Their story has changed three or four times in the last 48 hours. All it does is make us relive what happened.”

On Saturday night, a spokesperson for Kenney said that while he hadn’t met with the three mothers at the rally, he had spoken with several family members on Thursday and Friday, including Pam Africa, Mike Africa Sr., and Mike Africa Jr., among others.

“The mayor completely understands why the family doesn’t trust the city and has acknowledged that he would feel the same way if he were in their shoes,” the spokesperson said. “He informed … [Africa family members] of everything he learned about this situation within two hours of finding out personally. He is more than willing to meet with any family member that is interested in meeting with him.”

A city’s sin

The zigzagging tale of the remains, coming during the anniversary of an internationally infamous event that’s often seen as Philadelphia’s greatest sin, seems to have reignited ill feelings over systemic mistreatment of Black people at the hands of police. Speaker after speaker at the Saturday rally referenced racism and violence against African Americans.

“How treacherous, how monstrous all of this is,” Janet Africa said. “This is a crystallized example of how people have treated us, and how they have felt about MOVE for years.”

Along with the confusion over the remains, the women described themselves as enraged over another scandal involving remains of a MOVE victim: The Penn Museum arranged last month to return bone fragments from one girl — believed to be 14-year-old Tree Africa — who died in the bombing. Those remains had for decades been shuttled between researchers and staff at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University.

Around 50 supporters gather Saturday at Cobbs Creek Park for a rally commemorating the 36th anniversary of the MOVE bombing. Photo by Tyger Williams, Inquirer Staff Photographer.

“They have sawed and drilled into that poor girl’s bones,” Janet Africa said.

Consuewella Africa compounded the image: “Imagine our babies in some stagnant lab like that. Our children had life, they were not some specimen.”

Most remains were released from the Medical Examiner’s Office in 1986 and buriedat Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Delaware County.

All three women served long prison sentences related to an event that predated the MOVE bombing by seven years. In 1978, Philadelphia Police Officer James Ramp died in a Powelton Village shootout. Consuewella Africa served 16 years for simple assault, while the two other women served 40 years for murder.

The women professed their innocence in the killing. They were incarcerated at the time their children died in the bombing.

Not suing

Asked whether they plan to sue the city over the mistakes made about the remains, the women flatly said no.

“For us to sue and then for them to have to give us money lets the city off the hook,” Janine Africa said. “We’re not going through that.”

In a surprising revelation, Janine Africa said the mothers have just one demand: Free writer and activist Mumia Abu-Jamal from Mahanoy State Correctional Institution in Frackville, Schuylkill County.

At a rally to remember those killed in the MOVE bombing in 1985, many people gathered in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal, imprisoned for killing a Philadelphia police officer. Photo by Tyger Williams, Inquirer Staff Photographer.

Abu-Jamal is serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted in the 1981 killing of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.

Long supported by MOVE members, Abu-Jamal had in turn been a champion of MOVE, which long advocated equal treatment for African Americans, as well as respect for nature and animals.

On Saturday at the rally, photos and writings of Abu-Jamal were omnipresent. Fresh fruit was offered for free to any of the approximately 50 people who showed up. Orange and black T-shirts with a reproduction of a photograph of the bomb that was dropped from a helicopter onto MOVE members were being sold for $15 apiece.

Reflecting on the lack of precision about the remains, Eddie Africa, 71, who described himself as “part of the MOVE family,” said he’s not sure what to think about the reappearance of a box once thought burned.

But he unhesitatingly attributed the misunderstandings to a purposeful attempt by city officials to keep people off-balance.

“It’s like they’re trying to make us emotionally torn, because they believe it will weaken us,” he said. “All this does is raise emotions and create pain.

“And there is no solution we can see.”

Thurs., May 13, 2021, Event to Honor MOVE Lives Lost, Black Neighborhood Torched

YouTube video of event (3 hr. 39 min.) by hate5six

May 13, 2021,
5 pm
Osage Ave. & Cobbs Creek Pkwy,
Philadelphia, PA (map/directions)

Featuring MOVE Speakers.
March to Malcolm X Park
Community Altar
Oral History Station

Say their names. The bombing of the MOVE compound killed six adults and five children and destroyed more than sixty homes, leaving more than 250 Philadelphians homeless. Only 13-year-old Birdie Africa (1971-2013), who later took back his given name of Michael Ward, and Ramona Africa (b. c.1955) survived the confrontation. Those killed included children Katricia Dotson (Tree), Netta, Delitia, Phil, and Tomasa Africa and adults Rhonda, Teresa, Frank, CP, Conrad, and John Africa (1931-85).

Photos of the event by Joe Piette at https://www.flickr.com/photos/109799466@N06/albums/72157719227692165.

Murals honoring Black activists now wrap the Municipal Services Building, include Ramona, Pam & YahNe.

May 11, 2021,
By Peter Crimmins,
Reprinted from WHYY.org (orig. link).

Dedication ceremony: https://www.facebook.com/events/1646265798905086?ref=newsfeed

Pam Africa (center) with her sisters Jeanine (right) and Janet (left), at the dedication of the Crown mural by artist Russell Craig on Philadelphia’s Municipal Services building. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

The two murals, Crown: Freedom and Crown: Medusa, are by artist Russell Craig.

On the east side of the building is “Crown: Freedom,” a lineup of Black women activists shown in profile, some of whom have been fighting for Black liberation for many years – like Ramona and Pam Africa of MOVE. Others depicted have come to prominence only in the last year, like Dr. Ala Stanford, who founded the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium in order to get Philadelphia’s Black communities tested and vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stanford feels honored to be included in the mural, but also sad. She wept when she saw the mural for the first time, with its background of names of murdered Black people.

Mural artist Russell Craig cuts the ribbon on the West side of Philadelphia’s Municipal Services Building at the dedication of the Crown mural on May 11, 2021. In the center is Sudan Green. The other figures in “Crown: Medusa” are Max Ho, Debora Charmelus, Christina Jackson, Aaliyah Michelle, and Gregory Coachman. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

Two new murals flank the sides of the Municipal Services Building, across from Philadelphia’s City Hall. They honor Black activists of the past year, as well as the past several decades.

Both murals – “Crown: Medusa” and “Crown: Freedom,” by Mural Arts Philadelphia artist Russell Craig – are continuations of the mural he created for the front of the MSB building, “Crown,” unveiled last summer. All three images are based on photographs of contemporary people, and make references to 19th and early 20th century classical paintings.

The mural on the west side, “Crown: Medusa” is a group portrait of several younger activists set against a backdrop of names of unarmed Black people killed by police.

In the center is Sudan Green, the founder of Spirits Up!, who advocates healing and wellness for Black people through yoga and meditation. Craig put an image of Théodore Géricault’s “The Raft of the Medusa” (1818) on Green’s t-shirt in the mural. It’s a chaotic and tragic painting depicting shipwrecked sailors struggling on a makeshift raft. The other figures in “Crown: Medusa” are Max Ho, Debora Charmelus, Christina Jackson, Aaliyah Michelle, and Gregory Coachman.

Green had not been familiar with the painting. When he saw it on his chest in the mural, he read it as a struggle for survival: the inspiration for Green to advocate for Black wellness came last May, when he participated in a demonstration following the murder of George Floyd by police last summer. That demonstration escalated into clashes with police. That scene of unrest was at the exact spot where the mural is now.

“It was the first time I was in a protest witnessing people being harmed, harmed by police right here on these stairs, right where we’re standing now,” said Green. “I knew I wanted to start Spirits Up, because I knew I couldn’t do that every day.”

*Crown © 2020 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Russell Craig, Municipal Services Building, 1401 JFK Boulevard.*
*Photo by Steve Weinik.*

The murals build on Craig’s inspiration, drawing from classical painting to comment on modern contexts, highlighting Black women activists and BIPOC health and well-being. The dedication will feature a brief speaking program, entertainment, and ribbon-cutting.

Mural artist Russell Craig embraces Pam Africa, a social justice activist and a featured face in his mural on Philadelphia’s Municipal Services Building on May 11, 2021. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

Stanford feels honored to be included in the mural, but also sad. She wept when she saw the mural for the first time, with its background of names of murdered Black people.

Dr. Ala Stanford, founder of the Black Doctors Consortium, in front of the Crown mural by artist Russell Craig that pays homage to her and other Black women. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

“Every time I see Sandra Bland’s name, I see myself,” said Stanford. “I remember where I was with Walter Wallace Jr. … when that happened. And Eric Garner in New York. I remember that. So as much as it’s jubilant, it’s different for me. I can’t explain it.”

From left: Dr. Ala Stanford, Ajeenah Amir, Sajda “Purple” Blackwell, artist Russell Craig, Pam Africa, Krystal Strong, YahNé Ndgo and Kezia Ridgeway, in front of the East side of the Crown mural that pays homage to their social justice work at Philadelphia’s Municipal Services building. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

“Crown: Freedom” is based on the Howard Pyle painting, “The Nation Makers” (1901), showing a line of Revolutionary War soldiers, in profile, walking into battle. The figures in the mural also include YahNé Ndgo, Keziah Ridgeway, Krystal Strong, Ajeenah Amir, and Sajda “Purple Queen” Blackwell, who is also a partner of WHYY’s News & Information Community Exchange (N.I.C.E.).

Artist Craig Russell’s Medusa mural on the front of Philadelphia’s Municipal Services Building. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

Stanford saw the mural, showing that lineage of women activists, as a depiction of how far we have come, but it also made her think about how far we still must go. All of the women in the mural were at its unveiling, and posed together for a photo. Stanford wanted them all to smile for the camera, but was dismayed when she discovered that some of them had to keep their masks one because they have not yet been vaccinated. That hit home for the doctor whose number one priority for over a year has been to protect Black Philadelphians from the virus.

Join the MOVE Family on the 36th Anniversary of the MOVE Bombing

Join original MOVE members, African Dance and Drum Ensemble, and many others this Sat., May 15, 2021.

2021-05-15-MOVE-program Download

Sat., May 15, 2021,
12 noon – 4 pm,
Cobbs Creek Recreation Center,
280 Cobbs Creek Pkwy,
Philly, PA 19139 – See map/directions

• Free food giveaway
• Panel discussion with NBA Star Stephen Jackson

Sponsored by:
@TEZ_THEWRITER – @ONTHEMOVEVENTURES – @THEPRODUCESPOT

Dr. Ali Hameli, World-renowned MOVE Commission Forensic Pathologist Identifies Remains of Tree Africa in 1985. Hack Philadelphia Medical Examiner Consultant Dr. Alan Mann steals Tree Africa’s remains anyways.

Abdul-Aliy Muhammad, West Philly organizer and writer, explains how the MOVE Commission officially established the remains of Tree Africa in 1985, but the Philly Medical Examiner’s office gave the remains to Univ. of Penn hack anthropologist Dr. Alan Mann anyways.

Speech by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad,
Weds., April 28, 2021,
Rally and March at Univ. of Penn Museum.

Ona move. Say the names: Tree Africa and Delisha Africa. Let’s take a moment of silence. This is heavy, right? Heavy.

It was beyond enough when we found out that Penn had the remains of 53 people, believe to have been enslaved, 51 of them from Cuba, from a plantation […] and 2 of them from Black people from the U.S. And they had some of these encrania from enslaved people, indigenous people, in a glass display case in an anthropology course at the museum.

At that moment when I heard that information I was so upset.

… transcription coming soon …

Dr. Alan Mann worked with the Philadelphia’s Medical Examiner’s office (his assistant was PhD. student Janet Monge). He worked one and a half days for a total of $300. That work was supposed to end and his official engagement with these remains be over.

Mayor Goode establishes a MOVE Commission that hires another forensic pathologist from Delaware, Dr. Hameli. Dr. Hameli took the remains from the MOVE bombing and identified all five children and six adults [all the victims]. [However,] Dr. Mann thought Tree’s remains were those of a young adult, not a 14-year-old, and he couldn’t identify Delisha’s remains either. [Tree and Delisha were the daughters of imprisoned MOVE member Consuewella Africa.]

Mann contradicts Hameli’s claims in the press thus stopping the giving of these sacred remains to family.

Then, Dr. Hameli re-examines the remains and re-affirms his initial report, and that the bones Dr. Mann could not identify were definately those of Delisha and Tree Africa. The MOVE Commission tells the Philadelphia medical examiner’s office to “release these bons according to your regular procedures.”

The mom’s of the children were in prison, so non-MOVE outside families were given remains–except for Tree’s family, which had a symbolic ceremony in November 1985, because the City of Philadelphia had yet to give them the remains.

Tree’s remains were finally released in December 1985. The Medical Examiner’s office was supposed to hand over all the remains.

The funderal for Tree, and her sister Netta, was a joint funeral held on Dec. 14, 1985, by outside family [the mother, Consuewella Africa, was in prison]. The family believed they buried Tree on December 14, 1985.

No one claimed the remains of Delisha Africa because family were incarcerated [said the City], so the City of gave the remains of Delisha Africa to a politician who owned a funeral home. He buried these remains in 1986.

Why is it @ 35 years after Tree’s murder by the State that Dr. Janet Monge is holding up the remainns of Tree in a Coursera class on anthropology (in 2019)?

Parts of their [Delisha and Tree’s] sacred bodies were held n a lab in a box! And Drs. Mann and Morge carried their remains like a game of academic hot potato [to different universities they worked at].

This is disgusting. This is gross. This is not normal. This is not right. This is not okay. [pause]

Monge has to be fired. I stand firm in the demands of MOVE. Free Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Additionally, like Mike Africa Jr. said, some type of restitution has to happen. There must be payment. There must be accountability. There will be accountability. Because Tree Africa and Delisha Africa deserve sacred rest.

We’re talking about people. Children who were closely held and loved.

Protesters demonstrated this week outside Penn Museum over the handling of the recently revealed MOVE remains.
(Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

Our beloved sister Consuewella Africa passed away June 16, 2021

June 16, 2021,
The MOVE Organization.

The MOVE ORGANIZATION just wants to take the time to inform people that our beloved sister Consuewella Africa passed away today. Consuewella had been hospitalized these past couple of weeks due to health complications behind the stress of this situation with The University Of Pennsylvania and the remains of her Daughter Tree Africa.

Consuewella was a minister of confrontation for The MOVE ORGANIZATION, and a survivor of the August 8, 1978 Confrontation who spent 16 years in prison for refusing to renounce MOVE. Her Daughters Tree and Netta Africa were murdered by this Government on May 13, 1985.

We were advised by the University of Pennsylvania’s Anthropology Dept. that Tree Africa’s Remains were sent to Terry’s Funeral Home and are ready to be picked up. We hope that we can put Tree and Consuewella together.
We will keep people posted on a memorial service.

Rest Easy Consuewella
Our Dear Sister, We Love you And Will Hold You In Our Hearts Forever
YOUR, MOVE Family

Consuewella Dotson Africa, longtime MOVE member, dies at 67

Weds. June 16, 2021,
By Oona Goodin-Smith and Mensah M. Dean,
Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer (original link)

Consuewella Dotson Africa, an outspoken longtime member of the MOVE family whose daughters were killed when the city bombed the group’s West Philadelphia compound in 1985 and who served 16 years in prison following the group’s 1978 clash with police in Powelton Village, died Wednesday, MOVE members confirmed. She was 67.

Ms. Dotson died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with her husband, Frank Edwards; her biological brother and sister — Zelma and Isaac Dotson — by her side; and her remaining child, Lionel “Lobo” Dotson on the phone, according to MOVE family members.

Ms. Dotson — a spirited fixture for years at protest events hosted by MOVE and other organizations — was hospitalized for about two weeks with breathing problems prior to her death, though her cause of death is not yet clear, said Janine Africa. Janine said the two met in 1973 at the Powelton Village compound and were like sisters.

“She was exposed to COVID, but she had gotten over COVID, and the doctors were saying she started having lung problems, and they were saying it was because of stress. That’s understandable,” said Janine Africa.

After a life punctuated by grief, last month’s anniversary of the city’s bombing of the compound that killed two of Ms. Dotson’s children, Katricia “Tree” Africa, 14, and Vanetta “Netta” 12, and the recent revelation that remains believed to be from Tree had been used by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Princeton University as study aids, had troubled and weighed heavily on her, Janine Africa said.

MOVE Family member, Consuwella Africa, shares tears, during a press conference to denounce how the Univ. of Penn museum and Princeton Univ. have handled the remains of her 14-year-old daughter, Tree, who died in the 1985 city bombing of their West Philly home. Monday, April 26, 2021.

Days after former Health Commissioner Thomas Farley resigned after admitting to ordering remains of MOVE victims cremated and discarded without notifying their relatives, news surfaced that those plans were never carried out, and that the remains were not destroyed.

“The situation just put so much on her that it tore her down and she couldn’t come out of it,” Janine Africa said.

At a news conference in April about the universities’ mishandling of the remains, Ms. Dotson broke into tears and stormed out.

“I mean, it’s just continuous, nonstop, vicious, violent, sadistic, ongoing abuse of the MOVE organization,” she told reporters. “Why? Because we stand up and tell the truth about this rotten reformed world system.”

A family member of MOVE, Consuewella Africa, raises her hands as she speaks during a press conference to denounce how two museums have handled the remains of a group member who died in the 1985 city bombing of their West Philly compound. JOSE F. MORENO, Staff Photographer. [Editor’s Note to the Fucking *Inquirer*: The remains belong to her 14-year-old daughter, Tree.]

In 1978, she was among MOVE members charged in the death of Police Officer James J. Ramp during a standoff at the group’s Powelton Village house. MOVE members have said that Ramp was accidentally killed by another officer. Ms. Dotson spent 16 years in state prison.

It was during a prison visit to the MOVE women that Mike Africa Jr., whose parents also served prison time, first remembered meeting Ms. Dotson, whose “personality fit her look: very fierce.”

“Consuewella was no-nonsense. She didn’t play games. She was fun, and she laughed a lot when she was was happy,” Africa Jr. said. “But if she felt like somebody was trying to pull the wool over her eyes, or pull the wool over somebody else’s eyes in her presence, she … didn’t bite her tongue. She would tell you what she felt.”

Born Aug. 11, 1953, Consuewella Dotson was raised in South Philadelphia and graduated from a Catholic school, Janine Africa said, and started following the teachings of MOVE founder John Africa in the early 1970s. She lived with her husband of more than 20 years, Frank Edwards, a non-MOVE member, in Southwest Philly, MOVE members said.

Consuewella Africa and baby son Lobo. — MOVE member Consuewella Africa and child Lobo are out for fresh air in May 1977.

“It’s a tough one,” said Mike Africa Jr. of the death. “I think probably mostly because, you know, after so many years of working to get to some place of peace. You work so hard to get people home from prison, then it finally happened that you barely have enough time to enjoy it before you find out that the family was murdered and their bones are being played with.”

Sue Africa, who met Ms. Dotson in 1972, remembered her as “very vibrant, very alive, a very strong runner, very strong period, very vocal and assertive.”

Sue also spent time in prison following the 1978 MOVE standoff with police. While she was behind bars, Sue’s son Tomaso died in the same 1985 bombing that claimed two of Ms. Dotson’s children. In total, the bombing killed 11 people — including five children — and razed two city blocks.

”This thing with the bones really stirred up some serious stuff with her. I personally, and so does my family, believe this had a big part in why she died so suddenly,” she said.

Months before her death, at the April news conference, Ms. Dotson passionately spoke about her MOVE family — a group whose ideology centered on Black revolutionary ideas and back-to-nature philosophies.

“The MOVE organization is not just a bunch of people you see here,” she said. “We are a family, a unit. We stand together. This is my family. The family of John Africa. Our belief is life. Our children is life. Animals are life. Therefore, we stand together and fight for one life.”

The Philadelphia Police are Guilty of Mass Homicide.

The Fire Department, City Medical Examiner’s Office, Mayor Goode, and D.A. Rendell are Guilty of Conspiracy to Cover Up Mass Homicide. What will the City of Philadelphia and D.A. Krasner do about it?

“The deaths of the five children were the consequences of the measured and deliberate acts of … the officials of the City of Philadelphia…Therefore, the classification of homicide applies.”
– Expert Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Ali Z. Hameli, read more

And Dr. Ali Hameli didn’t know about the police fusillade at the back door preventing the escape of MOVE members from the inferno … the buckshot in Delisha Africa’s arm …

Ramona remembers... — **The Philadelphia Police are Guilty of Mass Homicide.**
**The **Fire Dept, City Medical Examiner, Mayor, & D.A. Rendell** are guilty of Conspiracy to Cover Up Mass Homicide.**

“People treat their pets better than [MOVE] folks have been treated in death.”
– Mayor jim kenney in reference to the murdered move 11. read more.

Why aren’t these unindicted conspirators of homicide indicted, much less convicted, yet?

Mayor W. Wilson Goode, Managing Director Leo Brooks, Fire Commissioner William Richmond and Police Commissioner Gregore Sambor

Philadelphia Police and Fire Department coordination on May 13, 1985

TIMELINE

1970’s- the City of Philadelphia begins to routinely beat, jail, and assassinate MOVE members, including Life Africa, the child of Janine Africa. 4 MOVE members are killed by Philly police in separate incidents.
August 8, 1978– The City of Philadelphia fires 10,000 rounds of ammunition on unarmed MOVE members in an attempt to assassinate them. Nine innocent survivors were imprisoned for @ 40 years (Merle Africa (1998) and Phil Africa (2015) died suddenly and suspiciously in prison). A participating police officer dies in friendly fire.
May 13, 1985– MOVE Bombing; Coordinated City-State-Federal homicide of 11 MOVE members by Philadelphia police (ordered fire department hoses off; bombed the residential home of the 11 MOVE victims; kept MOVE members from escaping the burning home by a fusillade of bullets at the back door); Pennsylvania State (provided helicopter to drop bomb and logistics); and the Federal government (FBI provided 2 military-grade bombs, ATF loaned automatic rifles and logistics).
1985 World-famous forensic pathologist, Dr. Ali Hameli, hired by the MOVE Commission and officially identifies the human remains as those of 14-year-old Tree “Katricia Dotson” Africa and 4 other children and 5 adults, including John Africa. Dr. Hameli also identified buckshot in the arm of Delisha Africa.
1986– The City of Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office gives remains of Tree Africa to newbie UPenn anthropologist, Dr. Alan Mann who conveniently declares the remains of Tree Africa were not her, but instead those of an unknown older woman, after only a day and a half work. He never contacts Tree’s mother, Consuewella Africa or the MOVE organization, to return her remains.
Feb. 1, 1986, “A mockery of a trial to justify the Philadelphia massacre: Down with the persecution of Ramona Africa!” Reprinted from The Worker’s Advocate (original link), Vol. 16, No. 2. Read more (stay on-site).
Feb. 20, 1986, “The police were out for murder. Last May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police carried out a murderous assault on the black group MOVE.” Reprinted from The Workers’ Advocate (original link), Vol. 2, #2, Read more (stay on-site).
Nov. 5, 1985, “Pathologist: MOVE Children’s Deaths Homicide,” by Lee Linder, Associated Press News (original link). Deaths preventable AND police bullets in Read more (stay on-site).
Nov. 6, 1985, Expert Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Ali Z. Hameli, Disputes Decision on Bomb. Says “The deaths of the five children were the consequences of the measured and deliberate acts of … the officials of the City of Philadelphia…Therefore, the classification of homicide applies.” Read more.
Weds., April 21, 2021– The Philadelphia Inquirer publishes a bombshell editorial by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad exposing Drs. Alan Mann and Janet Monge’s body-snatching of the remains of Tree “Katricia Dotson” Africa since 1985-6! This is the first time mother Consuewella Africa and the MOVE family learn of the barbaric, heart-ripping disrespect of their loved one’s remains.
May 13, 2021, “Philadelphia incinerated remains of police bombing victims without telling families,” The Guardian, U.S. Edition, Read more.
May 15, 2021, “Philly says it found the remains of the MOVE bombing victims it thought it had cremated and discarded,” By Sean Collins Walsh and Laura McCrystal, Philadelphia Inquirer (original link).
May 17, 2021, Heather Ann Thompson finds an autopsy report of Delisha Africa–with buckshot in her arm. Only specific Philly police were in the back alley with discharged automatic rifles behind the MOVE home shooting MOVE members trying to escape the inferno. Former D.A. Ed Rendell protected these barbaric, white supremacist, children-killing Philadelphia police and their 1985 mass homicides. Will D.A. Krasner?
June 16, 2021, Consuewella Africa dies.

“The MOVE organization is not just a bunch of people you see here,” she said. “We are a family, a unit. We stand together. This is my family. The family of John Africa. Our belief is life. Our children is life. Animals are life. Therefore, we stand together and fight for one life.”
Consuewella Africa, May 15, 2021

NEWS

May 24, 2021, “Communities traumatized by MOVE bombing still need help to fully heal | Opinion
Beyond the apologies and investigation, the City of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton University should also hold town meetings with the communities harmed by the MOVE bombing.” by Clara Whaley Perkins, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

May 20, 2021, “Mayor Kenney is responsible for making new MOVE investigation the last one Philly needs | Editorial,” by The Editorial Board, The Philadelphia Inquirer (original link). Read more (stay on-site).

Onamove.com analysis:
We repeat, it’s not rocket science the Medical Examiner’s Office acted the way it did. The experienced forensic pathologist the MOVE Commission used declared the MOVE deaths homicides. He also found buckshot fragments in Delisha Africa’s arm (from the automatic rifle-wielding, police kill squad in the back alley), Tree Africa and identified the remains with all the victims. The Medical Examiner’s Office didn’t rule this way, preferring ignorance, lies, and “gosh, it was an accident” coverup. The issue isn’t WHY the chain of command “failed” at the Medical Examiner’s Office, all City agencies were just protecting politicians and the police ‘kill squad’ in the back alley behind the MOVE home. It’s that continued protection that is the real problem. The officers in the back alley ‘kill squad’ on the side Delisha and Tree escaped to were well-documented in the MOVE Commission reports; all those officers that discharged their weapons need to go to jail for homicide; those who didn’t discharge their weapons should go to jail for conspiracy to cover up the homicide. No plea deals, except for for ‘kill squad’ cops that did not discharge their weapons AND who agree to testify on behalf of the MOVE victims (one of whom, Ramona Africa, is still alive and seeking justice for her dead family members). Additionally, the heads of the Fire Department, Police Department, and Mayor should be criminally re-indicted and charged with homicide. No reasonable manager could expect to bomb a suburban home (and “let the fire burn,”) with known gas cans on the roof (police informants informed police & drew maps), and expect to not kill the occupants of the home. The MOVE bombing was an extermination operation, and until this truth is criminally prosecuted, there is no justice. And innocent Black people in Philadelphia will continue getting murdered by the City if we allow corrupt, killer employees and structures to stand.

May 18, 2021, “Investigation into MOVE remains will go ‘as deep as we can,’ Kenney says, vowing to reform Medical Examiner’s Office,” by Laura McCrystal, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Onamove.com analysis: It’s not rocket science the Medical Examiner’s Office acted the way it did. The experienced forensic pathologist the MOVE Commission used declared the MOVE deaths homicides. He also found buckshot fragments in Delisha Africa’s arm (from the automatic rifle-wielding, police kill squad in the back alley), Tree Africa, and identified the remains with all the victims. The Medical Examiner’s Office didn’t rule this way, preferring ignorance, lies and “gosh, it was an accident” homicide coverups.

May 17, 2021, Breaking News! Heather Ann Thompson Reports That Delisha Africa Had Police Buckshot in Her Arm, Echoing Ramona and Birdie’s Claims. Yet, a Grand Jury supposedly declined to hear charges of homicide against Philly police in the back alley? Hmm, why did Ed Rendell squash an investigation of the police murder of children (by fire and gunshot in the back alley)? Did he care about the Mayor and Police Commissioner and a lotta cops not being charged with homicide more than he did justice? (answer: “yes”).

May 16, 2021, “Saying Her Name,” by Heather Ann Thompson, reprinted from The New Yorker (original link), read more (stay on-site).
Onamove comment: Read this article! It is one of only a few articles written about Tree Africa that tells the truth. Tree Africa remains were already identified by a world-renowned, expert pathologist in 1985. This same pathologist already ruled Tree’s death a homicide in 1985–and, additionally, Delisha had a police rifle buckshot in her arm and Tree Africa! MOVE members have been crying out since 1985 for justice. Indict the back-alley killer cops, their fire department enablers, and the Medical Examiner’s Office, and other governmental agencies who maintained the cover-up. Life requires justice.

May 16, 2021, “Philly Mayor Jim Kenney issues ‘next steps’ in MOVE bombing redress and mishandling of victims’ remains,” by Catherine Dunn, The Philadelphia Inquirer, (original link).

May 15, 2021: Onamove analysis:
Expert Pathologist, Dr. Ali Z. Hameli ruled in 1985 that AT LEAST 3 MOVE BODIES HAD BULLET FRAGMENTS AND/OR BUCKSHOT FRAGMENTS. Where are the remains of MOVE and their bullet and buckshot fragments proving additional charges of premeditated homicide and cover-up by Philadelphia officials? D.A. Krasner, there are no time limits on premeditated murder by Philadelphia police offices–all police in the back alley with discharged weapons are clearly listed in the MOVE Commission records. D.A. Rendell covered up police homicide…will D.A. Krasner? Will the City of Philadelphia finally prosecute the back-alley police homicides of MOVE and their co-conspirators in the Fire Department and Medical Examiner’s Office?

May 15, 2021, “Mothers of children who died in the MOVE bombing find no comfort in city discovery that human remains were not destroyed,” by Alfred Lubrano, reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer, (original link). Read more (stay on-site).

May 15, 2021, MOVE members and supporters met in Cobbs Creek Park on May 15, 2021, to remember and honor the 6 adults and 5 children murdered by Philadelphia–and demand indictments squashed in 1985 be reinstated.” See Photos by Joe Piette (below).

MOVE gathering 36 years after city bombing — Photo Slideshow by Joe Piette documenting the 36th Anniversary of the MOVE Bombing & Mass Homicide

May 15, 2021, “Philly says it found the remains of the MOVE bombing victims it thought it had cremated and discarded,” By Sean Collins Walsh and Laura McCrystal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, (original link). BREAKING NEWS!

May 14, 2021, Onamove analysis:

Expert Pathologist, Dr. Ali Z. Hameli	Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, Dr. Alan Mann, Newbie Pathologist
Ascertained identity of all 11 MOVE victims from their remains in 1985.	Could not match all MOVE victims to their remains. Ever.
Ruled some bullet fragments and/or shotgun pellets in bodies. In particular, buckshot from an ATF-supplied automatic rifle in the arm of 12-year-old Delisha Africa.	Could not find any bullet and/or shotgun pellets in any bodies. Could not identify Delisha’s remains.
MOVE members had no working guns.	Philly police obtained Federally AFT-supplied automatic rifles/buckshot and stationed police in the back alley behind the MOVE house with them to force MOVE members back into the inferno. These ultra-powerful rifles are meant to be used to stop rogue big game, like lions on the loose, not slender vegan protestors. These rifles were meant to exterminate MOVE. Indict!
	Kidnapped remains of Tree Africa for 35 years.
	Incinerated remains of an unknown number of MOVE members in 2019?
	City bulldozed the crime scene immediately after the murders to attempt to cover up evidence of mass Government homicide.
D.A. Krasner fights gun violence — except when the culprit is a Philadelphia police officer…	D.A. Rendell covers up police homicide in the back alley behind the MOVE house–and endorses Carlos Vega in hopes to keep MOVE silenced.
Conclusion: Deaths are Homicides due to consequences of the measured and deliberate acts of … the officials of the City of Philadelphia.	Conclusion: All deaths accidental. No police indictments–we know how to convene white grand juries in Philadelphia, gosh darnit (thanks, Ed Rendell).

Expert Versus Newbie Forensic Pathologists — Who Do You Believe? Read more.

May 14, 2021, “MOVE ‘Day of Remembrance’ [on May 13th] honors lives lost,” by Betsey Piette. Workers World (original link).

**Pam Africa (left) and Mike Africa, Jr, lead march through West Philadelphia holding signs with names of those killed May 13, 1985. *Workers World*. Photo: Joe Piette**

May 14, 2021, “The latest mishandling of MOVE remains is an outrage — and an opportunity,” by Helen Ubiñas. Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer (original link), Read more (stay on-site).

May 13, 2021, “On the anniversary of MOVE bombing, fresh pain and calls for accountability on Osage Avenue,” Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer (original link), Read more (stay on-site).

May 13, 2021, “The shocking MOVE bombing was part of a broader pattern of anti-Black racism,” Reprinted from The Washington Post (original link), Read more (stay on-site).

May 13, 2021, “Philadelphia Owes the MOVE Survivors Reparations, Not Just An Apology,” By Ernest Owens. Reprinted from Philadelphia Magazine (original link).

Onamove.com analysis:
The MOVE Organization is a deeply spiritual family that worships Mama Earth and highly values Life. How will reparations (as defined by the mere paying out of taxpayer money) stop the continued execution and disrespect of Life–esp Black life–by the Philadelphia police department? Much less obtain Homicide Charges and Convictions against the back-alley police murderers that the First MOVE Commission ruled as Homicide? Much less freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal whose only crime was to listen, and print, MOVE ideas about life? Not to mention the other 1,400 other souls languishing for years on Philly’s Conviction Review waiting list and young Black folks fighting frame-up charges often due to illegally white juries? But, hell yeah, for making the first MOVE Commission records easier to access–especially (1) the names of the cops on the back-alley kill squad, (2) murderers whose buckshot and bullet fragments ended up in MOVE bodies, like Delisha Africa, and (3) FINALLY prosecuting the findings of homicide the Expert Forensic Pathologist determined in 1985 (including their Fire Department and Medical Examiner’s Office enablers)! Philadelphia, do what you knew what right in 1985: Love Life.

May 13, 2021, “Philly health commissioner resigns over cremating MOVE victims without telling family; Kenney apologizes,” The Philadelphia Inquirer (original link), Read more (stay on-site).

May 13, 2021, “Philadelphia incinerated remains of police bombing victims without telling families,” The Guardian, U.S. Edition, (original link), Read more (stay on-site).

May 13, 2021: MOVE Day of Remembrance to Honor the Lives Lost

May 12, 2021, “MOVE Demands Justice for Children and The Return of Stolen Remains,” Making Contact radio show (original link), Read more (stay on-site).

May 12, 2021, “Moms of MOVE Bombing Victims Reflect on Anniversary, Controversy Over Remains,” By Rosemary Connors and David Chang, Channel 10 NBC-Philadelphia. “I’ve got family members who told me that they buried my children,” Consuewella Africa, mother of Katricia and Zanetta, told NBC10. “Now, 36 years later they’re talking about, they’ve got bones.” “This is something that you would never imagine,” Consuewella Africa said. “I mean, dropping a bomb in a city!” “I don’t appreciate and we don’t like the fact that these people did what they did and then dictated to us what they’re going to do with them,” Janet Africa, the mother of Delicia, said. Attorneys Joe Tucker and Carl Singley of the Tucker Law Group have been hired by Penn to investigate what happened, and the university said it would release their findings once the review is complete.

May 8, 2021, “The MOVE bombing was a Philadelphia tragedy — and an American one | Opinion. If we take on a personal commitment to the truth, we could make Philadelphia the last American city that has to mark the day it destroyed a Black community,” by Mistinguette Smith, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

May 7, 2021, Reprinted from “Losing Conviction,” about the backlog of 1,400 people in prison, possibly due to evidence from corrupt cops, who are waiting for a review of their cases…for years. Special Report led by Samantha Melamed for The Philadelphia Inquirer (original link). Read more (stay on-site).

May 7, 2021, “Philadelphia needs a second MOVE bombing commission,” by Shannon McLaughlin Rooney. Reprinted from “Opinion” section for The Philadelphia Inquirer (original link). [Scholar whose Ph.D. thesis was on MOVE calls for another MOVE Commission.]

Onamove.com analysis: Unsurprisingly, she didn’t bring up the first Commission’s findings of Homicide by the City of Philadelphia, stationing of police in the alley blocking MOVE members from escaping, or those same police bullet and buckshot fragments in the remains of MOVE members, like Delisha. So, why do we need a new commission, Shannon? Why not just homicide indictments for the well-documented members of the police kill squad in the back alley? Why not the release of Mumia Abu-Jamal whose only crime was to have reported truthfully about the MOVE organization?

May 6, 2021, “Anthropology, Racial Science, and the Harvesting of Black Bones: Dr. Michael Blakey Interviewed by Dr. Jemima Pierre,” Black Agenda Review (original link), Read more (stay on-site). Important, truthful article to read.

Friday, April 30, 2021, “Former Penn anthropologist gives remains of MOVE bombing victim, Tree Africa, to Terry Funeral Home in West Philadelphia.” By Vinny Vella and Ellie Rushing, The Philadelphia Inquirer (original).

Friday, April 30, 2021, VIDEO: “Penn Faces Backlash for Handling of MOVE Remains.” Video and editing by Lauren Schneiderman, The Philadelphia Inquirer (original link).

April 29, 2021, “Rally demands: MOVE children deserve to rest in peace,” by Betsey Piette, Workers World (original link).

April 28, 2021: Part 1/2: Confronting the Penn Museum/Univ. of Penn about the remains of Tree Africa (& potentially other MOVE children) they barbarically stole, studied, sold info on Coursera. The remains of Tree Africa were identified in 1985 by a much more experienced pathologist, but the Philadelphia Medical Examiners Office gave them to Dr. Mann/Univ. of Penn anyways!

April 28, 2021: Part 2/2: 2nd part of the April 28, 2021, demo/march

Ghoulish Anthropologists, Universities, Penn Museum and Philadelphia Government Steal Remains of Tree Africa & Who Else?

Weds., April 28, 2021, Confronting UPenn on the bones of MOVE children that they stole, “studied” & mishandled
Over 300 outraged students, activists, and community members protested at UPenn for their just-revealed desecration of the 1985 remains of murdered MOVE children. Beginning with a rally at Penn Museum, participants marched in the streets to the on-campus home of UPenn President Amy Gutmann where Mike Africa described his experiences growing up with MOVE children Delisha and Tree (Thank you, hate5six).
• Watch Facebook video of same April 28th demo/march (thank you, Joe Piette):
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2924198431131777&ref=watch_permalink
• See photos from the same April 28th demo/march (thank you, Joe Piette):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/109799466@N06/albums/72157719104596165

April 28, 2021: Watch this specific, very important truths by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad.

Weds., April 28, 2021, “World-renowned MOVE Commission Forensic Pathologist Dr. Ali Hameli Identifies Remains of Tree Africa in 1985. Hack Philadelphia Medical Examiner Consultant Dr. Alan Mann steals Tree Africa’s remains anyways.” Speech by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad at today’s rally and march at the Penn Museum. Read more/see video (stay on-site). Very important speech to read and listen!

Weds., April 28, 2021, “Penn Museum pledges to return remains of MOVE member to the Africa family, demonstrators visit residence of Penn President Amy Gutmann.” By Vinny Vella, The Philadelphia Inquirer (original).

Weds., April 28, 2021, “Photos of Penn Museum protest over non-return of MOVE family remains.” By Tom Gralish and Steven Falk, The Philadelphia Inquirer (original).

Tuesday, April 27, 2021, “Ivy League Secret Exposed: Classes Used Bones of Black Children Killed in 1985 MOVE Police Bombing.” By Amy Goodman, with Juan González interviewing Ramona Africa, Mike Africa Jr. & Penn Museum curator Janet Monge, Reprinted from Democracy Now (ext. site). Read more/see video (stay on-site). Contains info for Drs. Janet Monge and Alan Mann.

April 26, 2021, Press Conference by Consuewella Africa (mother of Tree Africa), Janine, Janet, Eddie, Carlos, Pam & Mike Africa Jr. The remains of Tree Africa were identified in 1985, but the City of Philadelphia gave them to Dr. Mann/Univ. of Penn anyways.

Monday, April 26, 2021, “Penn Museum apologizes for keeping remains of MOVE victim rather than returning them to family.” By Vinny Vella and Mensah M. Dean, Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer (original). Read more [stay on-site]. Warning: this article contains many lies, in particular, it omits that the remains of Tree Africa were officially identified in 1985, nonetheless, the City of Philadelphia gave them to Dr. Mann anyways.

Sunday, April 25, 2021, “Decades After Police Bombing, Philadelphians “Sickened” by Handling of Victim’s Bones.” By Michael Levenson, Reprinted from The New York Times. Read more (stay on-site).

Friday, April 23, 2021, “A Mystery and a Scandal for Anthropology.” By Colleen Flaherty. Reprinted from Inside Higher Ed (original). Important, truthful article about white supremacy rampant in anthropology.

Friday, April 23, 2021, “Bones of Black children killed in police bombing used in Ivy League anthropology course.” By Ed Pilkington, Reprinted from The Guardian-U.S. edition (original). Must read. Most accurate coverage so far.

Thurs., April 22, 2021, “Handling of MOVE remains at issue.” By Craig R. McCoy. Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer (original). Read more (stay on-site).

Weds., April 21, 2021, “Penn Museum owes reparations for previously holding remains of a MOVE bombing victim | Opinion,” Reprinted from The Philadelphia Inquirer (original). By Abdul-Aliy Muhammad. Read more (stay on-site).

Sign a petition authored by Mike Africa Jr. demanding Princeton University, The University of Pennsylvania, The Penn Museum, and Coursera that MOVE Children Deserve to Rest in Peace! Return our family’s remains NOW!

Learn more about the MOVE organization and family. Learn more about Frank Rizzo and how the Philadelphia police became so violent and unaccountable.

Special WURD Broadcast Weds., May 13, to Commemorate the 35th Anniversary of the MOVE Bombing.

MOVE members will speak.

WURD can be heard on 900AM, 96.1FM, or https://wurdradio.com. The day will be structured within a historical and chronological context, placing guests in the order in which they appear in the MOVE narrative. Read more.

10am – 11pm:
In the beginning, there was John Africa.

11am – 12pm:
DELBERT AFRICA
JANINE AFRICA
EDDIE AFRICA
JANET AFRICA

1pm – 2pm:
PAM AFRICA
CARLOS AFRICA

3pm – 4pm:
CONSUEWELLA AFRICA
RAMONA AFRICA

5pm – 7pm:
Interviews with a wide array of stakeholders who were directly involved. Archival audio, live interviews and video.

The day of programming is sponsored by Resolve Reporting Collaborative. Read more.

Join the MOVE 9. Remember the 35th Anniversary of the MOVE Bombing.

Program with MOVE members and Philadelphia guest speakers.

Join us online to watch this stirring event. 6 pm. Click below:
https://www.facebook.com/tez.thewriter/videos/840597689760144

https://instagram.com/tez_thewriter
To see the program you have to have Instagram. Then click “Like to see his page. Once you do that you’ll see a red-ringed circle “LIVE” up top, click that and you can see it! (See photo below)

NYC Welcomes Home Our Women Warriors, Janet and Janine Africa!

Welcome home our Sheroes, Janet Africa & Janine Africa on July 19, 2019 at The People's Forum, NYC. — Welcome Home Our Sheroes, Janet & Janine Africa!

2019-07-19-Janet-Janine-Africa-nyc Download flyer

Friday, July 19, 2019,
7-9pm
The People’s Forum,
320 W. 37th St., NYC.

Take A,C,E to Port Authority and walk north to 37th St. and west 1.5 blocks to #320, see map. Light Supper. Sponsored by the Free Mumia Coalition & Campaign to Bring Mumia Home. Call 212-330-8029 for more info.