The incredible story of MOVE, the revolutionary Black civil
liberties group that Philadelphia police bombed in 1985, killing 11
civilians--by one of the few people born into the organization,
raised during the bombing's tumultuous aftermath, and in the face
of unthinkable systemic abuses, entrusted with repairing what was
left of his family and building life anew. Before police dropped a
bomb on a residential neighborhood on May 13, 1985, few outside
Philadelphia knew a Black-led peace organization had taken root
there. Founded in 1972 by a charismatic ideologue called John
Africa, MOVE's mission was to protect all forms of life from
systemic oppression, drawing ideology from the Black Panther Party,
PETA, and Earth First. The organization emerged in an era when
Black Philadelphians suffered under devastating policies brought by
President Ronald Reagan's War on Drugs and Mayor Frank Rizzo's
overtly racist police surveillance. Living together in a commune of
West Philly row houses, MOVE members took the surname Africa out of
admiration for the founder. But in MOVE's lifestyle, city officials
saw threats to their status quo. The city's bombing of their
commune shocked the nation and made international news. Eleven
people were killed, including five children. And the City of
Brotherly Love became known as the City That Bombed Itself. Among
the surviving children most affected by the bombing was Mike
Africa, Jr. Born in jail following a police attack on MOVE that led
to his parents' incarcerations, Mike was placed in an abusive
orphanage at age three. He was six and living with his grandmother
when the commune was bombed. In the ensuing years, Mike sought
purpose in the ashes left behind. He studied the law as a teenager
and learned how to speak and inspire public support with the help
of other MOVE members. In 2018, at age 40, he finally succeeded in
vindicating his parents and securing their release from prison. On
a Move is one of the most unimaginable stories of injustice and
resilience in recent American history. But Mike Africa, Jr.'s
experience is not only one of tragedy. It is about coming-of-age as
an activist, the strong ties of family, and, against all odds,
learning how to take indignities on the chin and to work within the
very system that created them. At once a harrowing memoir and an
impassioned examination of racism and police violence, On a Move
testifies to the power of love and hope, in the face of astonishing
wrongdoing.
General
Imprint: |
Collins
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
6 August 2024 |
Authors: |
Mike Africa Jr.
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152mm (L x W) |
Pages: |
320 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-06-331887-8 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-06-331887-3 |
Barcode: |
9780063318878 |
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