Punk Politics Vol. 1: Operation M.O.V.E.

Operation M.O.V.E. by Leftover Crack

Lyrics:

Philedelphia, ‘78

shut down M.O.V.E, by police state

Forty-five police storm Powellton village 

Friendly fire kills officer dead

The M.O.V.E 9 are framed up instead 

One cop dead, One officer’s gun

Unjust system is yet undone

In spite of efforts dissipated 

Until the movement was incinerated 

May 13th ‘85

Eleven people burned alive

they dropped the bomb after liquid was doused

to smoke out the family and burn up the house

sights trained on exits, the police wait

A firing squad for those who try to escape

M.O.V.E. fought against exploitation 

the state’s injustice and their oppression

For these crimes that the city pigs created 

The Afrika’s were incinerated

sentenced to be incinerated X2

Operation M.O.V.E. by Leftover Crack talks about the bombing of M.O.V.E. on May 13th, 1985.

MOVE was founded in 1972 by Vincent Leaphart, AKA John Africa. 

MOVE is a black liberation group that supported animal rights, civil rights revolution, and a return to hunter gatherer society. Members of MOVE changed their surname to Africa.

The war on MOVE started in 1978 when police tried to evict the family from their home which resulted in a firefight. A police officer, James J. Ramp was killed (shot in the back of the head as a result of friendly fire) and 9 members of MOVE were framed and given life sentences. 

In 1981, the group moved to a row house on Osage Ave. Philadelphia, PA. They boarded up the windows & blasted political lectures with bull horns at all hours of the day. They racked up violations, possessed illegal firearms, and were considered a terrorist group by the mayor & police commissioner. On May 13th, 1985, police arrived with arrest warrants for 4 people. The first shot came from the house which resulted in more than 500 police discharging 10,000 rounds of ammunition in 90 minutes. The house was also hit with tear gas and high pressure fire hoses. At 5:28pm 2 sachet bombs composed of FBI supplied C4 and Tovex TR2 on a 45 second timer hit the roof of the house. A blaze raged from the house and firefighters were told to let the fire burn. The fire spread down the block destroying 61 homes. The damage that day: 11 dead including founder John Africa, 5 MOVE members, 5 MOVE children, and 61 houses. The only survivors were Ramona Africa and a 13 year old boy known as Birdie Africa.

“We tried to get our children, our animals, ourselves out of that blazing inferno. And as the cops saw us coming out, they opened fire.”

-Ramona Africa