The Africas VS. America

<p>The Outlaw Ocean, according to our host Matthew Amha, “exemplifies the kind of trenchant, deeply reported, serialized journalism that we don't see enough of; and represents the form at its very highest level. Reporting which adds value and colour and context and interrogation to corners of life in desperate need of it.”</p><p><br></p><p>If you liked our podcast, we think you’ll appreciate the urgent, unsettling journalism led by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ian Urbina. His domain is the

<p>In this live discussion from the Hot Docs festival, Matthew joins Falen Johnson on stage to speak about the stories journalists choose to tell — and how they tell them. He reflects on the personal cost of infusing his own experiences into his journalism, and how he navigated the MOVE organization’s historically fraught relationship with the media.</p>

In this On Air Fest exclusive, host Matthew Amha sits down with activist and MOVE member Mike Africa Jr. to discuss the making of The Africas VS. America and the ethical challenges of telling a family's carefully-guarded story. Mike Jr. opens up about his fraught childhood in the MOVE family, including his memories of the 1985 bombing, and the power of community healing.

<p>After a commission finds that city officials and police were negligent in their actions on May 13, 1985, a reeling city looks to heal, and surviving members of the Africa family redouble efforts to free the MOVE 9. Two senior members are released from prison having served more than 40 years. They now have reservations about the MOVE organization. A rift in the family opens up. By the end of 2020, all remaining MOVE 9 are free. Delbert dies only months after his release, and the family now tur

<p>In 1983, the City of Philadelphia elects its first Black mayor as successor to Frank Rizzo. Woodrow Wilson Goode inherits Rizzo’s fight against MOVE, but he also represents a moment of hope for Black Philadelphians who believe his election could be a harbinger of progress for a city beset with racial strife. Instead, Mayor Goode’s administration unleashes a torrent of violence never before seen in American history in an effort to neutralize MOVE once and for all.</p><p><br></p><p>For transcri

<p>The MOVE 9 are catapulted into the international spotlight, facing more than 900 years between them for the death of Officer James Ramp — a crime for which they maintain their innocence. Central to the case is a former Black Panther and Vietnam vet named Delbert Africa, who will become a symbol of police brutality in Philadelphia. As all of this is happening, MOVE’s mysterious leader John Africa is on the run from local and federal authorities. When he’s finally found and brought up on charge

<p>Complaints from neighbours about MOVE’s lifestyle lead to increasingly violent clashes with police. One confrontation turns deadly, and by 1978, relations between MOVE and city authorities have reached a crisis point. The MOVE home in residential Powelton Village becomes the scene of a two-months-long starvation blockade, and the site of a stand-off with police that will end in blood, gunfire, and the arrest of nine members of MOVE, collectively charged with murder for the death of an officer

<p>By the 1970s, both local and federal law enforcement have perfected a system to subvert and neutralize Black liberation movements across the United States. The civil rights movement has been uprooted, and Black Power is now here. In Philadelphia, the most famous police officer in America is elected mayor. Frank Rizzo’s objective is to turn the city into centre stage in the nationwide fight against Black liberation activists. His power and influence will have deep implications for MOVE.</p><p>