Happy Independence Day: How July 2nd Changed the MOVE Narrative Forever

July 2nd resonates with profound significance – marking both the launch of this podcast four years ago and the day Pixie Africa broke free from MOVE with her five children. That courageous exodus, described as "driving a tank through a concrete wall," shattered decades of silence and control, allowing truth to finally emerge from within the organization.

This date now stands as an Independence Day for MOVE survivors – a powerful counterpoint to the dates MOVE itself commemorates. When those born and raised inside finally said "no more lies, no more fear," they changed the trajectory of the organization forever and reclaimed their narrative. Their testimony revealed shocking truths about life inside MOVE: physical abuse, psychological manipulation, medical neglect, educational deprivation, and such profound despair that some children contemplated suicide.

Yet MOVE continues operating openly – in classrooms, on campuses, and in political spaces. They're even collaborating with Hollywood figures like Lee Daniels and Regina Hall to adapt Mike's book into a movie, potentially burying victims' stories beneath a sanitized narrative. Their motto – "never give up, never back down" – isn't just a slogan but a warning that demands our vigilance and truth-telling.

I'm expanding my platforms to continue this vital work. 

Subscribe to my new Substack "Beth is Not Afraid" for behind-the-scenes details and latest reporting. 

Check out my merchandise featuring designs that spark conversations about MOVE's realities – including the infamous "Ham Africa" moniker that exposes how leaders secretly ate meat while their followers and children subsisted on inadequate raw food diets. And their supporters praised them for being animal rights leaders on the scale of PETA.  

To every source who trusted me with their story: I care for you, respect you, and am immensely proud of you. You showed extraordinary courage in speaking truth when it still cost you something. And to everyone listening – share this podcast, amplify these voices, and join me in ensuring this story that began with MOVE ultimately ends with truth and justice. Because the mirror MOVE holds up shows not just who they are, but who we are by what we choose to tolerate, ignore, or excuse.

July 2nd, 2021 - put it on the timeline of MOVE's 50-year history as the day their victims exposed them as a dangerous cult.  

Read Kevin Price's Blog post 

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 Content Warning & Introduction
• 1:13 July 2nd: MOVE's Independence Day
• 4:19 Fighting Back Against MOVE's Narrative
• 6:25 Share Truth: Substack & Merch
• 8:18 Independence From Silence & Complicity
• 10:05 Call to Action & Final Thoughts

Transcript

Beth: 0:00

Content warning. This short episode contains my discussion of child abuse, neglect and suicidal ideation. Please take care while listening. Today is July 2nd. Today is July 2nd 2025. And around here that date means something.

Beth: 0:18

Four years ago today, this podcast launched. And on that same day, july 2nd 2021, a woman named Pixie Africa escaped MOVE with her five children. It wasn't quiet, it wasn't safe, it wasn't easy. It was the equivalent of driving a tank through a concrete wall, a breach from the inside of Move. That let the truth finally pour out.

Beth: 0:44

That day, something happened that MOVE couldn't undo. The silence broke, the control fractured. The next generation, those born and raised inside of Move, said no more, no more lies, no more fear, no more loyalty to the people who used them, controlled them and called it love. That moment was revolutionary. It was brave, badass and unforgettable, and it forever changed the trajectory of MOVE and the lives of those who got out. It changed my life, it changed Bob's life and I know it changed yours too.

Beth: 1:25

July 2nd is the new date that matters in MOVE history. It is an independence day. If MOVE gets to chant about August 8th 1978, and scream about May 13th 1985, then we get to claim July 2nd 2021 as the day we stopped letting them define the narrative, because the people who walked away from MOVE walked into their own lives. And today I want to say this as clearly as I can to every single source who trusted me I care for you, I respect you, I'm rooting for you, like you're my own kids, because that's how proud of you I am. You told your story when it still cost you something. You came forward when the world was still listening to the lie and you let me walk beside you on that journey. You made me cry, you made me laugh and you made my heart burst every time you told me walk beside you on that journey. You made me cry, you made me laugh and you made my heart burst every time you told me about something small that was actually huge, a moment of healing or bravery or joy or just simple, simple things that other people take for granted. You are not what move made you believe you were. You are so much more and I will always be in your corner.

Beth: 2:54

Now for everyone else listening. MOVE is still out there. They're not hiding. They're in classrooms, on campuses, on city council floors. They're smiling in photographs with movie director Lee Daniels and movie actress Regina Hall, celebrating a deal to make Mike's book into a movie, a deal that erases the truth and buries the victims survivors of sexual abuse, violence, neglect, people who were denied basic medical care, education, freedom, protection under the law.

Beth: 3:35

Children born into MOVE that are now adults that came forward on this podcast told stories in great detail of their abuse and suffering, physical and psychological. Some of them shared that they thought about suicide as children because they could not bear living in move any longer and could not imagine what their future was going to be. Just think about that - Children wanting to kill themselves. Don't let those stories be erased, don't let Hollywood rewrite the narrative and don't let the lie win, because MOVE's motto is never give up, never back down. That's not a slogan, it's a warning, it's a promise. And if we don't speak up warning, it's a promise, and if we don't speak up, there will be more victims. Move History proves that. So here's what you can do - Share this podcast.

Beth: 4:34

Subscribe to my new sub stack. It's called Beth is Not Afraid. That's where I'll share my thoughts on move, behind the scenes, details and new reporting. I'll also be talking about other stories I'm working on and amplifying work by brilliant people I believe in. It'll be raw, unfiltered, and it's where you'll hear from me first. And yes, I'm working on a memoir, still untitled but in progress. You'll hear more about that there too.

Beth: 5:01

And finally, I dropped merch because I needed a new outlet, a new way to think about move that wasn't just pain and research and darkness, a way to fight back using design and laughter, creativity and truth. It's not just merch, it's walking journalism, it's form and function, it's a conversation starter. I love conversation starters. There are exclusive designs, including one featuring the elusive Vincent Lepart, his 1981 mugshot, the man who called himself John Africa, who hid his face for decades. Well, now you can put it on a t-shirt, you can have it on a coffee mug. There's also one design I cannot stop laughing about.

Beth: 5:46

A former Move and Mumia supporter told me how they used to secretly refer to Pam Africa as Ham Africa, like ham, as in H-A-M, because of how much meat she and other Move members would eat, while pretending and letting their supporters think that they were back-to-nature raw food vegetarians Always a lie. Shocker, right Meanwhile their kids were malnourished and sometimes starving, because raw food wasn't health, it was control. So, yeah, I made the shirt and the coffee mug and the tote bag. It's absurd. It's absurd, it's real and it's so funny and it's a perfect opening to the hard, necessary truths that need to be said out loud to as many people as possible. Instead of using hashtag move, how about hashtag ham Africa?

Beth: 6:45

And to my sources again, happy Independence Day. July 2nd belongs to you. You broke the cycle, you broke the silence and I will never stop being proud of you. I wish you love, joy and peace, and I'm right here cheering you on. And for the rest of you, I'm not done. There's more reporting coming, more truth to bring you, so I'll be back soon and if something happens before that, you know, I'll show up and tell you all about it. Until then, happy independence from move day.

Beth: 7:19

Share the podcast, subscribe to the sub stack, wear the truth, speak the truth, protect the truth, because this story may have started with them, but it ends with us. But us isn't just a feel-good phrase, it's a mirror. The truth about move is that mirror. It shows us who we are, what we tolerate, what we ignore, who we are, what we tolerate, what we ignore, what we excuse. So look closely. Do you like what you see?

Beth: 7:51

If you saw things in move and didn't speak up, if you believed the myth because it made you feel good or righteous or part of something. And now you know better, that's okay. You can still do the next right thing, even if you're scared, even if it means admitting you were wrong. The people who left MOVE they were terrified too, but they still told the truth. They survived the MOVE cult and then they used their voice to warn us. If they can do that, then the rest of us can at least speak up. We can tell the truth out loud. We can say this is not liberation, this is abuse. So if you're looking for courage, look to them. If you're looking for what to do next, do the next right thing. And if you're looking for a place to start, start today, july 2nd, this is Independence Day, not just from move, but from silence and from complicity.

Beth: 8:57

Before I sign off, I want to speak to just one person, someone who might be listening, but even if not, I know she's out there. Happy Independence Day to the former Pixie Africa, daughter of Ham Africa. You are brave, you are free and you are never going back. There's a saying I want to leave with you the best way to honor your survival is to live the life they tried to take from you and you're doing exactly that. So, wherever you are today, I'm raising a glass, I'm shouting your name and I'm so fucking proud of you.

Beth: 9:36

Just a few quick things Follow the socials, check the show notes for links to everything I mentioned today the sub stack, the merch, share, share, share the podcast and if you haven't yet, please leave a review and give us five stars. Let's blow this thing up. We've hit 175,000 downloads and I know we can push it to I don't know a million, because the more people who hear the truth, the harder it becomes to bury it again. I had absolutely planned to answer some listener email questions today but honestly, it just didn't fit with the energy and priority of this episode. My apologies, but if you sent me a question and I haven't answered it yet, I promise I will and I'll do it in detail, because I love hearing from you.

Beth: 10:20

Truly, it's been so fun to go back and forth. Please keep it up. I'm here, I read every word and guess what? Bob loves them too. He's still here and together we are still digging, still connecting dots, still stirring the pot. Love you, bob. You are my ride or die. West Philly anarchist, cat daddy and, most importantly, my friend. Let's keep going.