When memoir meets mythology, what happens to historical truth? This gripping episode investigates Mike Africa Jr.'s vivid account of his childhood in Richmond, Virginia, revealing a remarkable disconnect between his published narrative and documented reality.

Through painstaking research, including interviews with the retired detective who led the 1980 operation, the prosecutor who brought charges, and the attorney who represented MOVE women, we uncover the actual circumstances surrounding the removal of 14 malnourished MOVE children from a Richmond house. Medical reports, court documents, and newspaper accounts directly contradict Mike's dramatic tale of police sirens, an orphanage with cruel nuns, and a daring escape.

The investigation places Mike at just 16 months old during these events, not the nearly three years he claims in his memoir. Photos taken during medical examinations show a distended belly and no dreadlocks, contradicting key elements of his story. Most significantly, there were no orphanages in Richmond at that time—the children were taken to a hospital and placed with foster families.

Beyond fact-checking, this episode reveals the profound connection between this little-known Richmond chapter, a lawyer who, if he had made a different choice, might have prevented 6 children from being with MOVE on May 13, 1985.  You will hear that Pixie Africa, who escaped MOVE in 2021 with her 5 children when this podcast launched - she was not the first to attempt that - there is a woman that MOVE never speaks of because she got away and took her two children. 

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.

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Executive Produced, reported, hosted, and edited by Beth McNamara
Additional research by Robert Helms

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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.