FEATURING MIKE AFRICA JR. – Nearly 36 years ago, the worst incident of domestic state terror against the MOVE organization in Philadelphia took the lives of 11 people and injured many others. Only recently it emerged that the Penn Museum and the University of Pennsylvania had in their custody the remains of the victims of the 1985 MOVE bombing and that professors and their students had been studying those remains. The museum and university issued a formal apology to the Africa family, the survivors of the bombing.  

In fact, MOVE members had been harassed and traumatized by police and city authorities for years before the bombing. Today we’ll turn to Mike Africa Jr., the son of Debbie Sims Africa and Michael Africa Sr. who were incarcerated for the 1978 killing of a police officer. It was only in 2018 that Mike Africa Jr. was reunited with his parents after working tirelessly to free them from prison. This week, on Mother’s Day weekend he is releasing a new song and accompanying video to honor his mother Debbie Sims Africa. On May 13th, four days after Mother’s Day, the city of Philadelphia will commemorate its first Day of Remembrance of the MOVE bombing on its 36th anniversary. Last year the city council passed a resolution apologizing for the bombing.  

Mike Africa Jr., the son of Debbie Sims Africa and Michael Africa Sr. of the MOVE 9 who were incarcerated for the 1978 killing of Officer James Ramp. He is an activist, a writer and the host of the podcast “On a Move w/ Mike Africa, Jr.,” and the star of the HBOmax documentary 40 Years A Prisoner; he is a stage performer, keynote speaker and a hip hop artist.