This is an internal MOVE letter written about John Africa (referred to within MOVE as "The Coordinator"). From the context of the letter, it appears to be from some time in the mid-1980s, before Vincent Leaphart/John Africa was killed on Osage Ave. in 1985. I'm posting this here to reference in a future post, but the document also stands alone. This letter highlights the way that Vincent Leaphart was viewed to have supernatural powers, to be able to have absolute knowledge of pre-historical events. Within MOVE it's believed that John Africa has always existed. At first glance, it seems as though MOVE members are using the name John Africa as another name for God in this context because they surely couldn't believe that Vincent Leaphart, who they call John Africa, has always existed. However, after spending enough time in MOVE it becomes clear that that is, in fact, what is believed. Current MOVE leaders, Alberta and Ria, have often claimed that Leaphart did not actually die on Osage Ave. on May 13th, 1985, but that he made himself invisible and walked right out of the house.
These claims are not terribly unusual in a religious context. However, in Leaphart's case, this total devotion and veneration allowed him to experiment on children, lead many people to their deaths, justify murders, and tear apart families. My hope in posting documents like this is to provide context so that MOVE can be better understood, and that this will, hopefully, prevent destructive patterns like this from reoccurring in the future.
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