John Africa's desire for control, even in death (including a Historical Document)

In the last episode of Season One of "Murder at Ryan's Run," former MOVE member, Mario Hardy talks about how John Africa/Vincent Leaphart intended for everyone to die in the house on Osage Avenue on May 13th, 1985 (I also write about that here). For those unfamiliar with the psychology of cults, this may be difficult to believe. The 1983 MOVE letter that I've posted below provides supporting context demonstrating the inner dynamics of MOVE leading up to the tragedy of May 13th. It shows that the death drive that led to that tragedy was not unique to that event and that Leaphart had an almost unimaginable degree of psychological control over the adults at 6221 Osage Ave. 

Written on the top-left corner of the first page is "Copy of info Bert Brought back 12/83" and in the top-right corner, it's dated 2/84. In the 70s and 80s, it was common practice for a MOVE prisoner to talk to Vincent Leaphart on the phone, take notes, and then write out the notes long-form. This "information" given by Leaphart (John Africa) was passed on to another MOVE prisoner who was expected to copy it out by hand (often multiple times) and then pass it along to other members. There are thousands of pages of documents written in this way. These notes were originally taken by Alberta in December of 1983, but this particular copy was made in February of 1984. It's worth noting that the original recipient was Alberta, as the first section of the letter justifies violence against enemies of MOVE. 

The beginning of the letter references infamous events in MOVE's history; two occasions when MOVE's Naturalist Minister, Frank Africa, physically attacked his mother, Louise James. Frank, also known as Nick, is viewed within MOVE as the strongest and most committed MOVE member other than John Africa. He was the example that all of us, members and supporters, were told to follow. Frank was Leaphart's nephew and was known to have submitted his will to John Africa more than any other MOVE member. 

The events in question are well summarized in "Let it Burn" by Michael and Randi Boyette. In my opinion, this is the best book on the history of MOVE. I'll quote at length here:

"The violence on the street was matched by increasing violence within the home itself. One day in early December neighbors watched in alarm as Louise ran down the street chased by her son, an ax in his hands." (pg. 147)

"In a police report filed later, Louise said that John Africa had once ordered Frank to beat her after Sharon Sims, her niece, refused his order to marry Jerry Africa. She told police that one day in October (1983) Frank had seen her slip a letter into her pocket and confiscated it. John Africa had called the other MOVE members into Louise's bedroom and ordered her to read the letter out loud. It was from a MOVE member in Muncy prison, and it attacked Louise virulently. After reading a few sentences of obscenities and rants, Louise refused to go on. 

Vincent, she told police, had turned to Frank and ordered him to beat her until she started to vomit. Then Frank took a pillow and put it over her face.

"Do you want her cycled (killed)?" he asked, looking at Vincent. "No," he said. "Not this time." (pg. 148)

MOVE has always done everything they could to downplay these allegations. In a recent podcast episode, Mike Africa Jr. disingenuously characterizes the event in question as simply the result of a MOVE member with bad judgment that in no way implicated Leaphart or MOVE as a whole. Here's a quote from the letter which is posted below. In the quote Frank is called Nick (the most revered MOVE member), Lou is his mother Louise (who is also Leaphart's biological sister), and M's stands for mothers. 

  "People will say they can't do what Nick did to Lou cause they say they love they M's and cant hurt em (this is what reds and greens be sayin) but what people gotta understand is the same way they feel about they M's is the same way they feel about cooked food, that socall feelin can be compared to any distortion and it will come out as the same way they feel for they M's, and it can be proven that it (them so call feelins) aint valid just like any other distortion can be proven invalid. If people say they care about they mothers then they are sayin they cant hurt em cause they see that as wrong, so if people are sayin they cant do wrong (which is what they sayin when they say they cant hurt mothers cause they see it as wrong) If people are sayin they cant do wrong, that they concerned about right, then why do they eat cooked food, if they concerned about right they got to be concerned about health - so why do they eat cooked food - they eat cooked food for the same reason they are now sayin they love their M's - cause that is what they been TAUGHT! If they love they M's how can they turn against MOVE LAW  which is right, they gotta substantiate  that." 

If you're not used to reading MOVE documents this can be a bit difficult to understand. Essentially it's saying that MOVE members only have a problem with Frank attempting to kill his mother because they have a systematic attachment to their mothers in the same way that they have a systematic addiction to cooked food (MOVE believes humans liberated from "the system" would only eat raw food). If they were as committed to John Africa as Frank was then they would not have a problem doing what Frank did (brutally assaulted his mother based on the orders of John Africa, and stopped just short of killing her, also on John Africa's orders). Louise James’ only crime was questioning her biological brother and speaking out against her niece being forced to marry another MOVE member against her will. 

The document goes on to explain that MOVE members have no right to question Leaphart/John Africa, who throughout the rest of the document is referred to as "The Coordinator."

"You are not at liberty to question the Coordinator once you have said that MOVE Law is right. When a person says that MOVE Law is right, when they admit that and really see it, accept it, then they are not at liberty to question the Coordinator because you are contradicting yourself if you do once you have admitted that he is right. People think they have the liberty to question things based on they personality cause that is the way people are taught in this system and they used to doin it, but once you have admitted that MOVE Law is right you don't have the right to turn around and question the Coordinator"

I've written in a few places about how John Africa never intended for the MOVE 9 to get out of prison, and about how Ria and Bert continued this legacy by sabotaging the legal avenues for their release. However, this document provides the philosophical grounding, within MOVE's belief structure, for why they, and the other MOVE prisoners, should stay in prison. 

"We in jail becuz we guilty and we got to understand that, it aint got nothin to do with the courts, if the courts is decidin thing then the Coordinator would be in jail. We in jail though, cause we are not innocent, the Coordinator is innocent and thats why he aint in jail only guilty people go to jail, we are guilty and our personality is the cause of our guilt!"

According to John Africa/Leaphart, John Africa is the only person on earth who should not be in prison. He's the only person who is not guilty of "violation" (sin). In MOVE's worldview, all things are coordinated by John Africa, so if the MOVE prisoners were not meant to be in prison then they would not have been found guilty. The fact that Leaphart was found innocent at his 1981 Federal trial, despite mountains of evidence, significantly bolstered his point. 

Based on other internal documents it's clear that the psychological health of many MOVE members was severely compromised by 1983. Many who had joined in the mid-70s as idealistic young people were trapped by psychological control, prison sentences, poverty, or by their children being essentially held as hostages. It's clear that many MOVE members were desperate to find a way out of the psychological torment they were enduring. In this era Leaphart begins to focus heavily on how there's no way to escape "MOVE's work" and he repeatedly emphasizes that not even suicide gets them out of the work they've committed themselves to as MOVE members. 

"People think suicide is the solution but it aint, goin in the ground is a cop out and its a violation because suicide is goin against the Coordinator. Only the Coordinator know when we should cycle, not us, we dont have that understanding. The Coordinator is the only one who can coordinate our goin in the ground, he knows exactly when we are supposed to do that activity and to go the way of suicide is to challenge the Coordinators wisdom"

After explaining that Leaphart himself is the only person with the authority to decide when a MOVE member dies, he goes on to explain that "violators" (anyone other than Leaphart) can feel everything that happens to them after they die. His claim is that a person remains completely conscious after death and can feel everything that happens to them during an autopsy. According to Leaphart, if a body is not allowed to decompose it will be preserved in a state of pain forever, and this suffering is even greater for MOVE members who kill themselves. 

"People better realize that nothin dont stop once we go in the ground, that is not the end as this system teach, as a matter of fact it is the beginning of your most intense sufferin if you go in the ground thru suicide, you really wont even get to the ground becuz the coffin, the embalmin fluid will interfere with that you will be aware of everything happenin to you too, but there will be nothin you can do about it except just lay there and see them people, them doctors, scientist, lookin down on you talkin about doin things to you and in your mind you'll be screamin "I aint really dead!" but them maniacs wont hear you, and they will fuck you up, stagnate you, suffocate you, you will suffer, if you do your work and go in the ground when the Coordinator coordinate you to go in the ground, you will be right, and sufferin, pain does not exist in righteousness."

In closing, the letter touches on MOVE's stance on homosexuality by saying "That monster is a faggot, whenever he comes at you think of Mama, John Africa." The monster being referenced here is "personality," which is essentially any aspect of individuality, any part of the psyche that is not under the control of John Africa. 

For those who've peripherally supported MOVE the contents of this letter bear little resemblance to the MOVE that they know. However, for first-generation MOVE members, none of this is a bit surprising. Similar documents have regularly circulated amongst members throughout MOVE's history. The internal workings of MOVE are burdened with fifty years of dark secrets. That's why it's so infuriating to me that first-generation MOVE members are silent, and that those who have acknowledged the MOVE reckoning at all are only doing so in the interest of protecting themselves. 

Pam and Ramona were on Osage Avenue and knew full well that Frank was ordered by John Africa to beat his mother nearly to death. They saw how the children at Osage Avenue were treated. Carlos, Eddie, Janet, Janine, Debbie, Mike, Ria, and Bert know that the story they've told about the murder of Life Africa is a lie. They know that the entire pretext for the August 8th, 1978 confrontation was a fabrication. Ria, Alberta, and many of the other first-generation members know that what happened on May 13th of 1985 is exactly what Vincent Leaphart intended to happen, and I'm fairly certain they know exactly what happened to John Gilbride. Any first-generation MOVE member who claims they didn't know about the rampant abuse of children within MOVE is lying.

Vincent Leaphart controlled through manipulation and fear. He used children as pawns. He made his followers believe that he could even control them in death, that they would never escape. However, it's only been a few decades since his death and his entire enterprise has come apart at the seams. There are very few MOVE members left and they appear to be living in a bubble. 

When we launched this project in late June I hoped that at least a few first-generation members would do the right thing and speak out about what they know. I hoped that conscience would compel them to support the survivors coming forward and that they would feel a responsibility to tell the truth to the Gilbride family. That hasn't happened yet. In the meantime, there are many of us who will not allow these issues to be forgotten, who feel a responsibility to Delisha, Zanetta, Katricia, Tomasso, and Phil (the children who died on Osage Ave), to John Gilbride and his family, and to all of the second and third generation MOVE members who were denied educations, neglected, and abused. As the seams of John Africa's creation continue to tear apart hopefully some light will be let in. 

(L to R) Louise James (sister of Vincent Leaphart), Vincent Leaphart/John Africa, Frank James/Nick Africa (Louise James' son)