The Cult of Mumia: from convicted killer to campus icon using the MOVE playbook

A powerful moment in 1999 captures everything you need to know about how MOVE operated. When Rage Against the Machine held a benefit concert for Mumia Abu-Jamal, they didn't just pack an arena with passionate fans—they delivered approximately $75,000 straight into MOVE's coffers. The organization's leadership understood that Mumia's case was their golden ticket to Hollywood, mainstream visibility, financial support, and fresh recruits. 

Here is the Howard Stern show mentioned - TC 01:30:47 -01:51:08 (thanks to listener Alex).

Through meticulous research into archived recordings, Beth unveils the calculated recruitment strategy that played out when Mumia delivered a commencement address at Evergreen State College. Behind his revolutionary rhetoric was a 13-minute advertisement for MOVE and its founder, Vincent Leaphart (John Africa).  LINK TO VIDEO of Commencement

The speech reveals the organization's chameleon-like ability to mirror whatever values potential recruits held most dear—a classic cult tactic that expert Dr. Janja Lalich calls "Bounded Choice."

Examining Mumia's commencement speech is an opportunity to unpack the recruitment and control dynamics in MOVE - lots of word play, virtue signaling and creating alignment in order to create connections that foster support for both Mumia and MOVE.  The investigation takes a darker turn when examining how MOVE specifically targeted teens and young adults using romantic relationships to lure young men, especially those with weapons training, into Vincent's clutches. What looked like love and purpose was actually calculated grooming and for many, like Mike Davis, it would lead to decades in prison following the 1978 shootout with police.

Most telling is Mumia's continued accessibility to supporters while remaining completely unavailable to those investigating MOVE's alleged abuses aka "That Beth McNamara" as MOVE refers to me. Despite reaching out multiple times, Beth has received no response from Mumia regarding the serious allegations made by former MOVE children who have come forward on this podcast. The contrast between his public persona as a revolutionary truth-teller and his silence on these matters speaks volumes.

Why does this matter now? Because understanding how effective MOVE's recruitment tactics were in 1999 helps explain how MOVE and other high control groups aka cults and extremist groups continue to operate today. When someone appears to be all

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.

Chapters

• 0:00 Beth's Investigation Methods
• 1:04 Mumia and Rock Concerts
• 5:16 Rage Against the Machine Benefit
• 9:00 College Campuses and MOVE Recruitment
• 23:15 Analyzing Mumia's Commencement Speech
• 38:30 MOVE's Manipulation Tactics Revealed
• 44:00 Unanswered Questions for Mumia

Transcript

Beth: 0:01

Hi, it's Beth. Throughout this podcast investigation I've traveled back in time to get information using the World Wide Web, as we used to call it, specifically Newspaperscom, youtube, the Internet Archive, big shout out and their Wayback Machine and, of course, good old Google. Oftentimes I go back to something two, three, even four times and each time I'll notice something I didn't notice before a name, a reference, a photo. So it should be no surprise to you that I save everything, every email, every text message.

Beth: 0:35

After the second season of the podcast, I heard from quite a few listeners asking questions or providing tidbits of information specifically about Mumia Abu-Jamal, or providing tidbits of information specifically about Mumia Abu-Jamal identified by Inner Circle Move members as a Move member himself. So for this episode I'm going back to my old emails and I'm turning on the recorder so that you can come along as I check out this material related to Mumia Abu-Jamal specifically in the year 1999. For you lucky listeners who don't know what this sound is, it's dial-up internet. For those of you who unfortunately remember this noise, I wanted to give you authentic 1999. Some former Moov supporters who are actually members, like Kevin Price, came into Moov via MooMia. But he actually came to MooMia via rock members like Kevin Price came into Move via MUMIA but he actually came to MUMIA via rock concerts, punk rock concerts in the 90s.

Kevin Price: 1:35

Most of the shows back then had a couple of political tables, anti-racist action maybe somebody had a Greenpeace table and in Norfolk, virginia, friends of Move and the Virginia chapter of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal was very active and often had, you know, a table at shows with flyers and books not just on Mumia and the Move 9, but on a lot of other you know, political prisoners and related prison justice issues.

Beth: 2:04

Kevin and some podcast listeners pointed out a specific concert for Mumia put on by Rage Against the Machine. So recently I circled back and looked for it. It's January 29th at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, new Jersey. The band Rage Against the Machine is on tour for their newest album, the Battle of Los Angeles.

Beth: 2:34

According to my sources and newspaper reporting of the event, pam Africa was there that night and she was brought out on stage by the band to speak to the crowd. At this point in my six-plus years of MOVE research, I can hear in my head what Pam's address to that crowd probably was. It would have included saying Mumia is innocent and that this motherfucking system set him up, etc. Etc. And of course, on a MOVE, long live John Africa. I wonder if she was thinking to herself as she looked out onto this huge adoring crowd of young people with money to spend. If only the coordinator could see me now Meaning John Africa, of course, who is Vincent Lepart.

Beth: 3:14

Vincent Lepart became a manipulative cult leader who directed his followers to get into confrontations with neighbors and the police so that the press would cover move. I don't think that Vincent could have made this Mumia spotlight moment happen like Pam did. There's an American flag on the stage draped upside down. Written on it free Mumia. And on the drum kit fair trial. Now this is a cult's Super Bowl. In my opinion, the musicians as individuals and as a band, along with their fans, all forking over money and screaming free Mumia, don't realize they've been pulled in by and are being manipulated by the move cult.

Zack de la Rocha: 3:58

We're at a critical phase in the case against Mumia, as it's going to the federal courts very soon.

Beth: 4:03

This is Zach De La Rocha, lead singer Rage Against the Machine.

Zack de la Rocha: 4:07

And as I say this, I just want each and every one of you to look around. Look around each other.

Zack de la Rocha: 4:12

I want you to acknowledge the power in this room and acknowledge what can happen if we all stand up, get this information, put it to use and stop the execution of Mumia. Look around the execution of Mumia with the rap, Because there's really only a few politicians and cops around the country who want to keep Maria in jail and eventually send her to death. What can a few cops and politicians do to 20,000 crazy motherfuckers like yourself?

Beth: 4:48

According to public reporting, net ticket sales for the concert that night were estimated to be 400,000. And MOVE sources who attended the concert with special backstage passes said that the donation to the international concerned, friends and family of Mumia Abu-Jamal, aka MOVE, aka Alberta Africa, was around $75,000. In addition to the money haul for MOVE, the controversy around the concert got headlines which got the attention of shock jock Howard Stern, who then did a show with Tom Morello of Rage and Maureen Faulkner, the widow of slain officer Daniel Faulkner, the one Mumia is convicted of shooting four times on December 9th 1981. I've been on the hunt for this specific Stern show audio but so far no luck. Still, looking In 99, howard Stern had 20 million listeners a day, so of course, this show about Mumia leads to more headlines, national and international. Move was on cloud nine. Finding young supporters to give Move free labor money devotion was like shooting fish in a barrel. A few weeks after I launched the podcast in 2021, a really good friend sent me a text message. Been meaning to text. I love your podcast. I've listened to all episodes and teasers. A couple weeks later, she sends another text.

Beth: 6:13

Mumia was a graduation speaker at Evergreen College, recorded from prison while I was a student. It was a huge controversy because he was a quote-unquote cop killer, lots of walkouts etc. It's interesting to hear the other side of the shit he was involved in, especially with recent year's events which obviously found me again in an unsupportive position of police and all of their flaws, move and Mumia supporters. Arranging for Mumia to speak to college students is something I'm aware of. I always want to see and hear it for myself is something I'm aware of. I always want to see and hear it for myself. Bingo, evergreen College. Archived the entire speech. June 1999, olympia, washington, commencement ceremony for the 1999 graduating class of Evergreen State College.

Dr. Jane Jervis: 6:59

Our next speaker, Mumia Abu-Jamal, is a radio journalist and author who is currently on death row for killing police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981.

Beth: 7:13

Speaking is Dr Jane Jervis, then president of Evergreen State College.

Dr. Jane Jervis: 7:19

The students who invited him here have asked us to listen to him as someone who has raised questions about the connections between poverty and justice, education and freedom and the right to justice in this country. Some people have said that they wish to leave during this part of the program or to stand to show their disagreement. I would ask that you respectfully facilitate those expressions of conviction and that you allow people to leave and return quietly. Many people wish to hear this tape, regardless of their position on the issues, and I would ask that you make it possible for them those people who wish to listen to do so.

Beth: 8:07

Thank you. Mumia is on death row so I'm not sure what the process was of obtaining a recording of this commencement speech. There's not the usual interruption of the prison recording saying this is a call from an inmate at, so not sure how this recording was made or how it made it to Evergreen. This is a video of the graduation taken from the back of the event space and Mumia's speech is playing through speakers. The quality is mediocre, with a slight buzz from the technological transfers of the material over the years. So my apologies, but I want you to hear the whole thing. For the content, which I find very interesting in the big picture of both Move and Mumia, I'm going to play Mumia's entire 13-minute speech from my laptop and then share my thoughts with you on the backside.

College Students: 8:57

Welcome to the University of Africa and thank you for this invitation. On the Move All, new Town, africa, I feel privileged to address your chosen theme, not because I'm some kind of avatar, but because a life lived deliberately has been the example of people that I admire and respect, such as Malcolm X, dr Huey P Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party, like Ramona Africa, who survived the hellish bombing by police on May 13, 1985, or the Move 9 and committed rebels, now in cage for up to 100 years since the main hell holes, despite their innocence, solely for their adherence to the teachings of John Africa. These people, although of quite diverse beliefs, ideologies and lifestyles, shared something in common a commitment to revolution and a determination to live that commitment deliberately in the face of staggering state repression. No doubt some of you are disconcerted by my use of the term revolution. It's telling that people who claim with pride to be proud Americans would disclaim the very process that made such a nationality possible, even if it was a bourgeois revolution. Why was it right for people to revolt against the British because of quote taxation unquote, and somehow wrong for truly unrepresented Africans in America to revolt against America? For any oppressed people, revolution, according to the Declaration of Independence is a right.

College Students: 10:41

Malcolm X, although now widely acclaimed as a black nationalist martyr, was vilified at the time of his assassination by Time magazine as, quote an unashamed demagogue. Unquote, who, quote, was a disaster to the civil rights movement. Unquote. The New York Times would describe him as a quote twisted man, unquote, who used his brains and rhetorical skills for quote an evil purpose. Unquote. Today there are schools, a friend and recently a posted staff with his own issue in his honor. Dr Huey P Newton, phd founded the Black Panther Party in October of 1966 and created one of the most militant and principled organizations American blacks had ever seen. Jake Hoover of the FBI targeted the party using every foul and underhanded method they could conceive of to neutralize the group, which they described as the quote number one threat to national security. Unquote.

College Students: 11:49

Since Ramona Africa of the MOVE organization survived one of the most remarkable bombings in American history, one where Philadelphia police massacred 11 men, women and children living in the MOVE house and destroyed some 61 homes in the vicinity, she did seven years in a state prison on riot charges, came out and began doing all she could to spread the teachings of John Africa, the teachings of revolution, and to free her imprisoned brothers and sisters of the Moon from their repressive century in hellish prison cells. These people dare to dissent, dare to speak out, dare to reject the status quo by becoming rebels against it. They live, and some of them continue to live, lives of deliberate will, of willed resistance to a system that's killing us. Remember them, honor their highest moments, learn from them. Are these not lives lived deliberately? This system's greatest fear has been that folks like you, young people, people who've begun to critically examine the world around them, some perhaps for the first time, people who have yet to have the spark of life stuffed out will do just that learn from those lives, be inspired and then live lives of opposition to the deadling status quo. Let me give you an example.

College Students: 13:19

A young woman walks to a courtroom one situated in the cradle of American democracy that's Philadelphia to do some research for a law class. This woman, who dreams of becoming a lawyer, sits down and watches the court proceedings and is stunned by what she sees. She sees defendants prevented from defending themselves, manhandled in court and cops lying on the stand with a bat. She saw the judge as nothing more than an administrator of injustice and saw US law as an illusion, Her mind reeled as she said to herself they can't do that, as her eyes saw them doing whatever they wanted to do, that as her eyes saw them doing whatever they wanted to. Well, that young woman is now known as Ramona Africa, who lived her life deliberately after attending several sessions of the Moore trial in Philadelphia. After that farce, she knew she could never be a part of a legal system that allowed it, and she found more truth in the teachings of John Africa than she ever could in the law books which promised a kind of justice that was foreign to the court rules she had seen. The contrast between America's lofty promises and the truth of its legal repression inspired her to be a revolutionary one that America has tried to bomb into oblivion. What is the difference between Ramona Africa and you? Well, absolutely nothing, except she made that choice. Similarly, huey Newton studied US law with close attention when he was a student at Merritt Junior College in West Oakland, california. His studies convinced him that the laws must be changed, and the famous Black Panther Party ten-point programming platform proves, then and now, that serious problems still face the nation's black communities, such as all the predominantly white juries still sending blacks to prison and cops still treating black life as a cheap commodity. Witness the recent Bronx execution of Ghanaian immigrant Amadou Diallo, where cops fired 41 shots at an unarmed man in the doorway of his own apartment building unarmed man to the doorway of his own apartment building. Huey, at least in his earlier years, lived his life deliberately and set the mark as a revolutionary. What was the difference between Huey Newton and you? Absolutely nothing, except he made that choice.

College Students: 16:01

Each of the MOVE 9, including the late Merle Africa, who died under somewhat questionable circumstances after 19 years into an unjust prison sentence, members of the Move organization who were trialed initially attracted the attention of a young law student named Ramona. Decades ago was a person who came to question their lives, has lived in the system. Some were US Marines, some were petty criminals, some were carpenters, but all came to the point of questioning the status quo deeply, honestly and completely irrevocably. One by one, they turned it back on a system that they knew couldn't care less if they lived or died and joined the revolution. After being exposed to the steering teachings of John Africa, they individually chose to live life deliberately and join. All of them individuals Delbert Africa, Janet Africa, Phil Africa, Janine Africa, Chucky Africa, Mike Africa, Debbie Africa and Eddie Africa. They are also united as MOVE members, united in heart and soul. What's the difference between the MOVE 9 and you? Absolutely nothing, except they need a choice.

College Students: 17:24

Now, unless I miss my guess, evergreen is not a predominantly black institution, and my choices heretofore given may seem somewhat strange to too many of you, for far too many of you may identify yourself by the fictional label of white. In truth, as I'm sure many of you know, race is a social construct. That said, it is still a social reality formed by our histories and our cultures. For those of you still bound by such realities, however, I have some names for you. Like John Brown, like Dr Alan Burke, Susan Rosenberg, Sue Africa, Marilyn Buck (1981 Brinks Robbery and murder), for example, each of these people are or were known in America as white. They're all people I know, of who I admire, love and respect. They are all, or were, revolutionaries.

College Students: 18:23

John Brown's courageous spance attack on Harpers Ferry was one deeply religious man's strike against the hated slavery system. It was indeed considered one of the opening salvos of the US Civil War. Dr Alan Burton, susan Rosenberg and Marilyn Buck were all anti-imperialists who fought the free black revolutionary Assad al-Shakur from an unjust and cruel bondage. They're the spiritual grandsons and granddaughters of John Brown. Dr Alan Bergman, marilyn Buck and Susan Rosenberg were treated like virtual traitors to white supremacy and thrown to American dungeons. Buck and Rosenberg remain so, imprisoned today.

College Students: 19:07

They live lives deliberately, chose liberation as their goals, understanding that our freedom is interconnected. They chose the hard road of revolution. Yet they chose, and but for that choice, they're just like each of you seated here tonight, people who saw the evils of the system and resolved to fight it. Period. Now, the name Sue Africa may not be known to you, but she's what you may call white. Yet when she joined the MOVE organization, the system attacked her bitterly for what was seen as a betrayal of her white-skinned privilege. On May 13, 1985, she lost her only son because the Philadelphia police bombed the house she was living in. Sue was not living in 6221 Osage - she was in prison since 1981 and before that a fugitive in Rochester, NY. She left her only son in MOVE and he died in 6221 Osage at only 9 years old. She served over a decade in prison when a guard violently taunted her in the hours and days after the bombing. When she came out, she went right to words to rebuild the move organization in Philadelphia. She lives her life deliberately by promoting John Africa's revolution each and every day. Except for that choice, she's just like you.

College Students: 20:20

Now, some of you are sure to be wondering well, if this guy's gig with the revolutionaries. Why is he saying this to us? The answer, of course, is why not? Okay, I know you ain't supposed to answer a question with a question, but do I expect you guys and gals who've just received your degrees to chuck it all for so ebulous a concept as revolution? Nope, I ain't that dumb.

College Students: 20:50

The great historians Will and Ariel Durant teach us that history in the large, is the conflict of minorities. The majority applauds the victor and supplies the human material a social experiment and supplies the human material a social experiment. Now, I take that to mean that social movements are begun by relatively small numbers of people who, as catalysts, inspire, provoke and move larger numbers to see and share their vision. Social movements can then become social forces that expand our perspectives, open up new social possibilities and create the consciousness for change. To begin this process, we must first sense that 1. The status quo is wrong and 2. The existing order is not amenable to real, meaningful and substantive transformation. Is not amenable to real, meaningful and substantive transformation.

College Students: 21:48

Out of the many here assembled, it is the heart of he or she that I seek who looks at a life of vapid materialism, of capitalist excess, and finds it simply intolerable. It may be a hundred of you, or fifty, or even ten, or even one of you who makes that choice. I'm here to honor and applaud that choice and to warn you that, though the suffering may indeed be great, it is nothing to the joy of doing the right thing. Nipinu Ramona, africa. The Move 9, dr Alan Bergman, susan Rosenberg, john Brown, susan Africa, marilyn Buck, geronimo Gisaga, leonard Peltier, angela Davis and others. All of them, people just like you, felt compelled to change the conditions they found intolerable. I urge you to join that noble tradition. I thank you all and I wish you well On the move. Long live John Africa. From Death Row. This is Mumia Abu-Jamal. Thank you.

Beth: 23:38

At the end of the audio you hear cheering, but you also hear some booing. Mumia was chosen by some students to be the second commencement speaker in January 1999, just when Mumia is getting extra attention from the controversial, headline-making Rage Against the Machine benefit concert you heard earlier in the episode. So for months before the January 11th graduation ceremony and for weeks after everyone is weighing in either pro-Mumia or anti-Mumia Students, local residents in Olympia, Washington, local police, the widow of Daniel Faulkner, the governor of Washington, who was supposed to be the commencement speaker but dropped out because he would not share the stage with Mumia. This just means more and more press. I'm going to start off my comments and thoughts about Mumia's speech by replaying a clip from the introduction given by Evergreen President, Dr Jane Jervis.

Dr. Jane Jervis: 24:31

The students who invited him here have asked us to listen to him, as someone who has raised questions about the connections between poverty and justice, education and freedom and the right to justice in this country.

Beth: 24:46

Mumia didn't speak about any of these topics because his whole speech is about promoting the MOVE organization and the teachings of John Africa. Mumia begins and ends his 13-minute speech with on the move. Long live John Africa. Every single MOVE member has been trained to do that. Mumia says John Africa or John Africa's teachings seven times. He says Ramona Africa seven times. He says the MOVE organization five times. He says the MOVE 9 four times. Mumia equates Ramona Africa and the Move 9 to Huey P Newton and Malcolm X and sets up the question to these graduates what's the difference between Ramona Africa and you? And then he answers the question for them. He says nothing.

Beth: 25:39

Some people who came to MOVE had been criminals and other people had been Marines. I'm going to take Mumia's Marine reference as an opportunity to share some military facts about MOVE members. Delbert Orr Africa was in the Air Force. He was discharged on May 21, 1969. How do I know this? Because, strangely, his discharge form was found among the human remains and charred items of 6221 Osage Avenue the day after the police confrontation and fire on May 13, 1985. Delbert never lived in 6221 Osage. He had been in jail and then prison since August 8, 1978. So it's really weird that MOVE was in possession of this legal document. Ted Williamson, aka Bebop Africa, was one of the first MOVE members, but before that he had served in the army. Ted literally escaped MOVE in late 1976 and then died in June 77 under very suspicious circumstances. He was found electrocuted by 30,000 volts of electricity.

Beth: 26:47

In an internal MOVE document that I have it says in the case of Swell, that's Consuela Dotson, and Ted C explained C is the coordinator, which is John Africa, which is Vincent Lepart that despite the work those who were involved had to do, the deciding factor was the complete unwillingness of Swell and Ted to do the work. Work and move means following the orders of John Africa without question. So I'm going to read that line again the deciding factor was the complete unwillingness of Swell and Ted to do the work. That caused what they got to happen. We know if either had done just a little to show they were trying to do the work, stuff would not have happened to them.

Beth: 27:36

It's what's meant by Nick. Nick is Frank James in the info from 83 about making payment for violations immediate. This was written by MOVE to imprisoned MOVE members sometime after 1992. Alberta Africa was the leader at this time. To me this written MOVE communication sounds like a confession and a warning slash threat all in one. Okay, now I'm finally going to get to Mumia's Marines reference Move member Merle Austin did not die under suspicious circumstances in prison. It was untreated cancer.

College Students: 28:28

She was supposed to just do her MOVE work and not seek medical care? Members of the MOVE organization, which I'll initially attract the attention of a young law student named Ramona decades ago.

Beth: 28:36

Fact check Ramona Johnson. Africa was never a law student. Sometimes she claims she has one degree from Temple University. Sometimes she claims she has two degrees. Based on my research, I think she only took classes there. You know who did graduate from Temple University John Gilbride class in 1990. And during his college years John Gilbride was under the complete control of MOVE of move.

College Students: 29:02

One by one they turned it back on a system that they knew couldn't care less if they lived or died, and joined the revolution after being exposed to the stirring teachings of John Africa.

Beth: 29:33

So what you just heard is Mumia exalting the stirring words of John Africa. But it's not just that line I want you to focus on. It's how he gets there that lead up the build, because it's in the setup where you start to see the pattern, the strategy. This speech was for a working class crowd at a state college in Oregon Young people, graduating, families in the audience, people with ties to the military, to service, to struggle. And Mumia knows his audience. He doesn't open up with rage or revolution, he opens with flattery, with solidarity, with a nod to the Marines Yup, the Marines. And you might be thinking, wait, mumia, the anti-government, anti-military, anti-system, revolutionary political prisoner shouting out the US military. Exactly, that's the point, that's the move. No pun intended, because he's not praising it, he's setting it up to be discredited. The subtext is this the system used you, it broke you and then move saved you. That's the pattern. It's not a contradiction, it's a seduction.

Beth: 30:48

And the Marine that Mumia is referencing without naming is Michael Davis, not Mike Africa Jr. His father, mike, enlisted in the Marines, completed boot camp, then somehow ends up in MOVE, and it seems it was through Vincent's niece, debbie Sims. They had dated when she was 14 and he was 16. Vincent was recruiting. He wanted young men and if they had weapons training even better. And Debbie, she was likely the lure.

Beth: 31:23

Mike thought he was choosing love and sex, but he was choosing move. I can almost hear what Vincent would have said the military doesn't care about you, the system will throw you away. But here, here, you matter. Here you're protected. You're part of something bigger, of a revolutionary family. We're going to make the world a better place. The world that has fucked you. That's not freedom, that's grooming. And it's exactly what cult expert Dr Janja Lalic calls bounded choice, when it feels like your decision. But every option has been shaped by the group's leader. You think you're walking away from control, but you're walking straight into it and the leash. It's invisible, but it's also emotional. For Mike it probably looked like fun camaraderie, there was sex, there was love, there was purpose. Fun camaraderie, there was sex, there was love, there was purpose.

Beth: 32:18

Mike was 19, maybe 20. What young man could easily walk away from that? Mike's move activity. August 8th 1978. He was selected to be inside the barricaded move house with Debbie, eight months pregnant, and their two-year-old daughter, whit. They have a shootout with police. Officer James Ramp is killed A decorated Marine veteran that Mumia doesn't mention in this speech Mike Debbie and seven others sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison. Their children were left behind in move.

Beth: 32:51

Vincent never arrested, never even in the house. Because that's how he operated. He didn't pull triggers. He didn't pull triggers. He didn't go to prison. His followers did. They were his human shields, his weapons, his sacrifices, his pawns. No exception with Mumia. He was already in move before December 9th 1981.

Beth: 33:09

The night a young police officer pulls over Mumia's brother at 4am for a traffic stop and Mumia just happens to be there With a gun. That night wasn't random. It was the final act in a performance On trial for his life. Mumia didn't mount a traditional defense. He gave himself over to Vincent to Move, to the idea that he would be the most devoted, the most feared, the most revolutionary, and MOVE would make him famous for it. I want you to hear one more moment from the 1999 commencement speech. Listen closely not just to the words but to the framing how identity is used, how morality is implied and who gets to be righteous by default. According to Mumia, the last choice the Move Nine made of their own free will was when they first checked out the Move organization and the guidelines. After that moment they were coerced and under the complete control of the cult and its leaders. What's the difference between the Move 9 and Mumia?

College Students: 34:22

Nothing strange to too many of you, For far too many of you may identify yourselves by the fictional label of white. In truth, as I'm sure many of you know, race is a social construct. That said, it is still a social reality formed by our histories and our cultures. For those of you still bound by such realities, however, I have some names for you. Like John Brown, like Dr Alan Bergman, Susan Rosenberg, Sue Africa, Marilyn Brunk, for example. Each of these people are or were known in America as white. To all people I know, of who I admire, love and respect. They are all or were revolutionaries.

Beth: 35:21

Sue Africa is Suzanne Levino and if you have been listening to the podcast, you know her best by her cult name, rhea.

College Students: 35:28

Now. The name Sue Africa may not be known to you, but she's what you may call white. Yet when she joined the MOVA organization, the system attacked her bitterly for what was seen as a betrayal of her white-skinned privilege. On May 13, 1985, she lost her only son because the Philadelphia police bombed the house she was living in. She served over a decade in prison where the guards finally taunted her in the hours and days after the bombing. When she came out, she would write the words to rebuild the MOVE organization in Philadelphia. She lives her life deliberately by promoting John Africa's revolution each and every day. Except for that choice, she's just like you. She's just like you.

Beth: 36:15

Sue Africa is just like you. Ramona is just like you. The Move 9 are just like you. Every time, mumia and Move are putting out information they are selling, and so their quote-unquote information is tailored to the audience, who they see as customers who, if persuaded, will buy their story or their merchandise and maybe even join them. Move and Mumia have a way of becoming whatever you need them to be. If you're into black liberation, they'll lean into that, without mentioning white members like Sue Africa. If you're vegan, they'll nod along and skip over the fact that they've always eaten meat and made kids eat it raw.

Beth: 37:01

Environmentalists hear about nature. Move being back to nature, not their gas-powered cars and their gas-powered landscaping businesses. They meet you where you are. They mirror back what you want to see. In Dr Janya Lalich's book she explains bounded choice when it feels like you're making your own decisions, but the choices have already been shaped for you. You feel seen, not steered, but you are being steered. So I think it's worth considering that when you're talking to move or or Mumia's followers or any group that presents itself as all things to all people, or to you in particular, just pause. Are they asking you to think critically or are they working to gain your trust by reflecting your values back at you? Because sometimes what looks like alignment is just really good performance.

Beth: 37:58

And that's why this 1999 commencement speech from Mumia matters, not just for what's in it, but for what it reveals when you listen through the lens of what we now know about MOVE. It's not just a message, it's a strategy, not just a moment. It's a model. This speech was recorded after Mumia's trial. He was chosen to inspire students at a public college, not because of what he'd done, but because of what people believed he represented. And when you hold that belief up to the reality of how MOVE operates, it starts to crack. That's why I decided this old recording was so important to share. I wanted you to hear it, I wanted you to really think about it and compare it to the stories MOVE is telling today and the stories that MOVE is not telling today. We all need to ask our own questions, not just about MOVE, but about justice, about influence and about how far people will go to perform to get you to believe them and do what they want.

Beth: 39:07

I've reached out to Wesley Cook, aka Mumia Abu-Jamal. I wrote to his lawyer, his closest supporter, noel Hanrahan, who runs the nonprofit Prison Radio which raises money and visibility to broadcast Mumia's messages. I also wrote directly to Mumia by mail three times. One of my letters included a full copy of the Philadelphia Inquirer article featuring former children of MOVE Africa's coming forward with serious allegations of abuse and that MOVE is a cult. I have not gotten a response, except once from Mumia's lawyer, who passed along that Mumia was declining to speak with me. And let's be clear Mumia is not unreachable. He gives interviews regularly, Mumia even-Jamal.

Zack de la Rocha: 40:16

Welcome to the Classroom. In the Cell podcast Mumia. What's going on, brother?

Beth: 40:22

Oh brother, just another day in the madhouse and for more than 10 years, mumia has been doing recordings as a prison correspondent for Prison Radio, a nonprofit run by a Mumia supporter From Imprisoned Nation. This is Mumia supporter. Mumia regularly calls in to move programs and events and he always calls in when they throw him his yearly birthday party. Mumia has always been able to reach college campuses and college students. The connection is always made by Mumia supporters in academia and in activist organizations. Academia and in activist organizations. Right after October 7th 2023, mumia and his Free Mumia Machine was especially keen to align Mumia with college students in the pro-Palestine encampments at Columbia University, city College of New York, university of Southern California, ucla Temple and UPenn. Here is one of those Mumia calls that was then made into an Instagram reel. Mumia talked to these college students from prison until his time ran out Brick by brick wall by wall free.

College Students: 42:01

Mumia.

College Students: 42:01

Abu-Jamal.

Beth: 42:05

So it's very clear that Wesley Cook, aka Mumia Abu-Jamal, a 71-year-old prisoner in the Pennsylvania state prison system, is very available, apparently, just not to me. I have lots of questions for Mumia that I want to pose to him directly. I have questions about December 9th 1981. Mumia, why did you just happen to be on that block when your brother was pulled over at four in the morning? Does the shooting of Faulkner on December 9th have anything to do with your visits to Move members in the preceding week, specifically with Frank James? Why did you pretend, like you thought, that Vincent Leapheart could be your legal counsel? You clearly knew better. Who was telling you to say that. Was it Jeanette Knighton? If yes, was that coming directly from Vincent Leapheart? Speaking of Jeanette Knighton, aka Pam Africa, how did you meet her? What was your relationship with her and do you have any idea where she was between April 1985 and 1991? And why did she emerge as PAM Africa?

Beth: 43:27

Mumia, do you have any idea how much money has been raised for your quote-unquote defense and where that money is? Who got it and what was it spent on? Mumia, did you ever meet John Gilbride in person? Were you aware of the custody battle? What, if anything, were you told about the murder of John Gilbride Mumia? What were you told about the 2021 allegations from children born into MOVE that came on this podcast and were featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer? What do you have to say for those allegations that MOVE is a cult that abused them, threatened them, terrorized them and also used them on your campaign to raise money and recruit followers? If Mumia is listening, or any of his followers, supporters or regular contact people, I will accommodate Mumia Abu-Jamal for an interview at any time in person, over the phone, over Zoom, you name it. I'll be there Coming up next time. I have a long conversation with a former friend of Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Kevin Price: 44:43

I found that Mumia and I had a lot in common our backgrounds, even though they were certainly different. We both came out of a certain radicalization period.

Beth: 44:53

At this point. You're not just a listener. You're enrolled in the advanced Move and Mumia course. After more than four years and 30 episodes, if I could hand out graduate degrees, you'd get one. If you have questions, comments or tips, you can always reach me. I'm at Murder at Ryan's Run on everything except for X. I pegged Elon Musk a long time ago, ew. Or you can email me murderatryansrun at gmailcom.

Beth: 45:18

If you have information about the unsolved murder of John Gilbride, the disappearance of Shiaida Holloway, a missing MOVE child, or anything related to the abuse and control reported in this podcast, please reach out. You can speak to me on or off the record. I'm here to listen and if this series has resonated with you, please read it five stars, if you can, and leave a review. Make sure you're subscribed, follow us on socials for updates and bonus content and check out the website for my receipts source documents, court files, letters, photos, more. This podcast is researched, reported, written, edited and hosted by me, beth McNamara. It's exhausting, with excellent research, support from Robert Helms, my West Philly cat-loving anarchist. Ride or die. Talk to you soon. Be well.