Murder at Ryan's Run: exposing the cult of John Africa
A true crime investigation exposing the Philadelphia cult operating as the MOVE Organization. Told by survivors and insiders, Murder At Ryan’s Run reveals abuse, lies, and lost lives—plus exclusive tapes, FBI files, and real-time reporting of a daring cult escape. This is the story MOVE leaders don’t want you to hear.
Murder at Ryan's Run: exposing the cult of John Africa
We'll Burn This House Down - Ramona Africa's Letter
Two days before the 1985 fire that killed 5 children and 6 adults inside 6221 Osage Avenue, MOVE’s Minister of Information, Ramona Africa, sent a letter to police: “We will burn this motherf***ing house down and burn you up with us.” This handwritten letter has been publicly available for 40 years. So why is it rarely included in books, documentaries, or retrospectives—especially now, 40 years later? This episode brings her words back into the story—and asks us all to think critically about what MOVE calls “the strategy of John Africa (Vincent Leaphart)?"
The producers of this podcast wish to stress that all individuals reference in this series are presumed innocent unless or until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law in the United States of America.
Executive Produced, reported, hosted, and edited by Beth McNamara
Additional research by Robert Helms
Murder At Ryan's Run
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All individuals referenced in this podcast are presumed to be innocent unless or until they are found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a United States court of law.
Warning this episode contains graphic language and mentions of violence and death. It is intended for mature audiences only.
Speaker 2:But the house shook and you know we found out shortly that there was a fire in that house, that you know it wasn't tear gas like we thought it was, it was smoke from the fire. They tried to kill everybody in that house. So you know, I just want to say long live giant Africans. Because I didn't do anything. But when I went to court I was the only one arrested. And when I went to court, judge Michael Stiles, who was the presiding judge, found no, the jury found me guilty of riot and conspiracy, only because Judge Stiles told them don't worry about me that officials were going to be held accountable too, which never happened. Which never happened.
Speaker 2:But one thing that is true and shows you that these officials don't have real power the people, the team men, william Bell and Frank Powell who flew the helicopter, that helicopter with Frank Powell in it, that helicopter with Frank Powell in it, dropped out of the sky and burnt up. You know, moon didn't have to take revenge on him for dropping that bomb on you people. Mama, our guy took care of that.
Speaker 1:That's Ramona Johnson Africa, known as Ramona Africa, the public spokesperson, the face of MOVE, the sole adult survivor of May 13th 1985.
Speaker 4:She escaped out of the back of 6-221 Osage Avenue. Two of us escaped, myself and a little boy named Birdie Africa. We're the only two that you know escaped, but this government did what it does best.
Speaker 1:This is Ramona in 2012, speaking with a man named Mike Reyes on his cable access show Impacto Latino.
Speaker 3:Thank you. One of the reasons that the government uses is that you guys had a lot of weapons, arms guns. You know why the movement was so armed.
Speaker 4:First of all, that's a lie. We were not armed, heavily armed, it's the government that's heavily armed. If they have a problem with weapons, then shut down Smith Wesson, shut down Browning, disarm all them cops that walk around with, you know, guns on their hips. It's not move, that's a threat. You know, with guns, it's not move. That goes around shooting people 40, 50 times. You know. So that's a lie period. First of all, we don't believe in guns, the government does. That's a lie period. First of all, we don't believe in guns, the government does. Secondly, if we were armed, you know so what it was? In defense of our family, in defense, you know, of ourselves from being attacked.
Speaker 1:The next bit of audio is from January 2020 Moves press conference for the release of Move member Delbert Orr, aka Delbert Africa.
Speaker 4:I'm Minister of Communication, although when John Africa gave me that title I didn't have a clue what that meant and what I was going to be doing. But after May 13th I start seeing it because the media was on me, asking me questions like you're doing now. So I had to be prepared to speak on things and explain things, and I was equipped to do that because John Africa equipped me to do it. Forty-one, almost forty-two years ago, when MOVE people went to jail, john Africa told MOVE people that we might have to go to jail for a long time but that we would be coming home. And today you see it. You know Delbert will be here shortly. I was in the bombing in 85 and I survived that you know and did seven years in jail and came home. Janet and Janine came home. I mean, you know the MOVE organization lives on.
Speaker 1:On May 13th of this year 2025, it will mark 33 years that Ramona Johnson, africa, has been the public face and spokesperson for the MOVE organization. Her title is Minister of Information or Minister of Communication. Ramona's MOVE activity began the minute she stepped outside of Muncie Women's Prison after serving seven years on charges related to May 13, 1985. A white stretch limo picked her up from outside the gates and took her to her press conference this May 13th of 1992. Speech from Ramona is more than 20 minutes long and the audio was not great, so I'm just going to play the first minute or so.
Speaker 5:On the move everybody.
Speaker 4:That's right. On the move, everybody, that's right. That's what we are and that's what everybody better be On the move. You know this government ain't playing no games with black people. You know, I thought long and hard about what I was going to say when I got up here. I don't know whether you know it or not, but this is my first speaking engagement since I've been released from prison. I've done media interviews, but this is my first speaking engagement and I thought long and hard about what I was going to say. But after coming in here and seeing you, you know, I know we're all family, so we just going to talk. You know, we just going to get down to the real nitty-gritty. You know that's right. You know what's happening with the MOVE organization is that we are revolutionaries, true revolutionaries, and we don't make no apologies for that. You know we don't back off of that word revolution at all. And we don't back off of it because we know that at this time more than any other time, you know, revolution is necessary. It is necessary.
Speaker 1:This is the speech that prompts Bob Helms, my research collaborator on this podcast and my friend, to invite Ramona to the A-Space in 1992 to speak to the West Philadelphia anarchists. I shared Bob speaking about this as his entry point to Move and Mumia in the first season of this podcast, which is now four years and almost 30 episodes ago, so I'm going to play it again now.
Speaker 6:It's a storefront size space. The place was packed People sitting on the floor in between the chairs in the aisles and people leaning above each other at the entrance and Ramona's in the front, and she starts her talk with the same thing. She holds out her fist and says on a move. Right after she does the on a move, a black cat. Now, this is a symbol of anarchism. A black cat symbol of direct action. But anarchists really like black cats. I have two Just creeps between the people, walks up all the way through the people and sits down in front of Ramona and just sits there looking at the audience. Everybody's saying ooh, wow, it was just so beautiful. I don't know how to explain it any better than this. It really was very special.
Speaker 1:Anarchism and cats. Bob still loves both. He believed everything Ramona said that day in the A-space and he kept believing it for the next 25 years Because, like the majority of people who hear the story of May 13th 1985, particularly if they hear it from Ramona or other MOVE spokespeople they don't ask a lot of questions. If they do, they lose access to Ramona or anyone else in MOVE. People who choose to tell the story of MOVE, whether it be in a documentary, a book or a podcast, tend to focus exclusively on May 13th. Move was created 12 years before that, so that means there are 4,380 days that lead up to May 13th. Ramona joined MOVE in 1979 after the August 8th 1978 confrontation that resulted in eight first responders being shot and one police officer killed. Ramona was not a public spokesperson for MOVE until the weekend preceding Monday, may 13, 1985. Ramona gave an interview to a local TV news station right in front of the boarded-up, with two bunkers on the roof row, home at 6221 Osage Avenue.
Speaker 5:Is it a confrontation? It must certainly is a confrontation, one strategized by Giant Africa years and years and years ago.
Speaker 6:There's been talk that there are explosives in this house. Is there any truth to that?
Speaker 5:That's only people's you know hallucination because they have not been inside this house so they would not know what is in this house. What is in this house is the strategy of John Africa. That is very explosive.
Speaker 1:That clip is video and audio and it is rarely, if ever, included in documentaries about MOVE. Ramona speaking to that reporter, that was her MOVE activity and it was directed by either Vincent Lepart, aka John Africa, or by one of his proxies, a member of his inner circle, possibly Frank James, also known as Nick Africa, the naturalist minister of MOVE, who lived inside of 6221 Osage, which was his childhood home. He was the son of Louise James. Ramona also wrote a letter this same weekend, a letter to police. In all caps it says the following Take this to your people.
Speaker 1:If y'all think y'all going to come in here and surprise us, you are wrong. Thanks to the strategy of John Africa, we are prepared for anything. We know that y'all would like us to think that as long as the block ain't evacuated, we ain't going to worry about no raid so that y'all can catch us off guard. M ain't never off guard. We know you people will try to raid this house by coming through the walls on either side of the house and catch us off guard by allowing them people on the block to go about their business like nothing ain't happening. We know about the plastic explosives you all can use to raid us swiftly and cleanly, before any of the neighbors can get hurt. That is a fucking pipe dream. The raid will not be swift and it will not be clean. The strategy of John Africa prepared us for anything y'all come with. We will not be caught by surprise. To quote John Africa, the coordinator. Quote surprises only work when you succeed in surprising somebody. End quote. Long live the coordinator. Exclamation mark you cannot surprise move. When you come in here trying to surprise us, we gonna leave you where you stand and the surprise gonna be on y'all. It don't matter how y'all come through the walls, through the floor in the basement, through the windows or any place else, we ain't going to be surprised. You are. Y'all can plan all you want to, but finally y'all got to come in here. To quote John Africa, the coordinator, quote officials making plans is like a scientist making experiments they don't know how it's going to come out. Super cops who come into an explosive situation and gain the community's trust are like the scientists in the community who have gained the community's trust till the laboratory blow up and the community catch fire. End quote. Long live the coordinator.
Speaker 1:In 1978, a lot of plans were made to raid, move swiftly and cleanly, but a lot of cops got fucked up and the plans were a mess. We are sending this note to you because we could not send this message over the PA system until it's repaired. However, we want to make it clear that any surprise attack on this house, like y'all intended to pull on August 8th last year, will end in not only you planners getting fucked up, but a whole lot of these neighbors getting fucked up. We don't give a damn whether you come through the walls or come through the ceiling, long as you get all the elders and the infants out of the neighborhood. When that is done, you can come any way you want to come, but if you try to pull some surprise while these people are still in the community, we are gonna leave you all where you stand because you all get to get a lot of people hurt and use the example to show how dangerous you politicians are and all you super cops and all your plans are.
Speaker 1:Anybody who thinks they're going to jump on, move, wipe us out and leave an example of a well-organized plan is out. They goddamn mind. When you come here, it ain't going to be clean, it's going to be a mess. Move going to see to that and the example that is left will be in move's favor. If move go down, not only will everybody in this block go down, the knee joints of America will break and the body of America will soon fall, and we mean it. We ain't going down without leaving the example of power with people and leaving you people with the example of a mean it. We ain't going down without leaving the example of power with people and leaving you people with the example of a goddamn failure. We ain't going to fuck around. If them motherfuckers try anything next door, we going to burn them the fuck out. If they succeed in coming through the walls, they are going to find smoke, gas, fire and bullets, bullets. Before we let you motherfuckers make an example of us, we will burn this motherfucking house down and burn you up with us. We know about all those odorless chemicals y'all can put through the walls to paralyze people or put people to sleep or even kill people. But we got detectors, we got canaries, we got saor. If that detector shows signs of foreign odor in the basement or any other part of this house, or if our canaries drop dead, or if our saorians begin to vomit or wheeze, we are going to burn that goddamn house down next door and burn them motherfuckers up in it.
Speaker 1:Ramona Africa, minister of Communications for the MOVE organization, vincent Leapart, aka John Africa, who was the leader of MOVE, instructed and very likely dictated this message to police two calendar days before police officers and firemen arrived to serve arrest warrants for Ramona Johnson, teresa Brooks, frank James and Conrad Hampton for parole violations and various violations of criminal statutes, including terroristic threats. Ramona Johnson's May 11, 1985 letter was printed in the Philadelphia Inquirer on May 20, 1985. Ramona's letter is also available at the Urban Archives at Temple University in Philadelphia. The Urban Archives holds the collection of all the city documents from the 1985 MOVE Commission hearings. Ramona's May 11th letter was also used by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office in their criminal trial of Ramona Africa for charges related to the deadly May 13th confrontation. Like all MOVE members, ramona was being used by Vincent Leapheart, aka John Africa, but she wasn't the only one. Alfonso Robbins, aka Mo Africa, who had stood trial with Vincent in 1981 for federal bomb and weapons charges. They were acquitted was also forewarning the city of Philadelphia, quote. Forewarning the city of Philadelphia, quote.
Speaker 1:The MOVE organization has put, has stopped, put a bind in Philadelphia, not just one time, but the MOVE organization is on its way right now to doing something in Philadelphia that everybody in this country will be like totally shocked at. They will never think that anything is beyond what the MOVE organization can do. This was May 7th 1985. Over this next week you'll hear the names of 11 people reported to have died 40 years ago inside of 6221 Osage. Move and everyone else in the media on the 40th anniversary will use their MOVE names and typically they won't show you any photos. The names of the reported adult victims Teresa Brooks, rhonda Harris, ward, conrad Hampton, raymond Foster, frank James, vincent Leapart. The names of the reported children, and then Sue Levino's son. He was the youngest. He was known first as John, in deference to Leader John Africa, then as Tommaso and sometimes as Boo. He was just nine years old.
Speaker 1:Ramona's May 11th letter. Moe's May 7th prediction. I'm going to put that up on our website for you to see for yourself. Lastly, I'm going to fact check Ramona's audio at the top. The helicopter carrying Frank Powell on May 13th did not drop out of the sky and burn up. Frank Powell is alive.
Speaker 1:If you have any information about the 2002 unsolved murder of former MOVE member John Gilbride, the whereabouts of Shieda Holloway, the younger sister of Delisha Holloway, who disappeared in MOVE in 1977,1978, the bodies of Life Africa or the baby born to Rhonda Ward in 1976, and their whereabouts as far as burial, or about any of the allegations of child abuse in MOVE that you have heard on this podcast, please reach out. I will speak to you on or off the record. You can reach me directly on social media or email murder at Ryan's run at gmailcom for comments, questions, tips or media inquiries. More people will find this episode and the podcast series If you give us five stars, write a review and share. Thanks in advance, as always, thanks for listening. This episode was produced, written, narrated, edited by me, beth McNamara. Amazing archival research by Robert Helms.
