Ramona Africa is a lead member of MOVE, a Philadelphia-based organization, which "is a family of strong, serious, deeply committed revolutionaries".
A powerful speaker, Ramona explains the principles MOVE organizes around, and talks of the growth of MOVE and the violent reactions by those in power in different levels of government. Eight members of MOVE are in prison, framed for shooting a cop in the back of the neck while they were across the road, in the basement of their house, enduring a massive military operation in which thousands of bullets were fired into their home.
7 years after that incident, on May 13, 1985, the MOVE house was flooded, shot up, and then bombed by a police helicopter, killing 6 adults, 5 children, and numerous animals. Ramona was the sole adult survivor of that bombing, and she tells the story so as to share a warning to all of us, that this bombing was not just about MOVE, but rather it serves as an example to us that this is how far those in power are willing to go to try to shut down a revolutionary group of people.
"People have to get really serious because these people running this system, they are the master game players and they know, they can tell very quickly, when people are serious and when they're not. And they will push as much they know they can push, they will get away with as much as they know they can get away with. And we are the ones that have to draw the line and be serious about it. And we also know that giving in to this system, submitting to it does not protect you. Not being involved in revolution and working to make things right does not protect you. You can be victimized nevertheless. So why not do the work to put an end to such things?"
"This is a very serious time and it's not enough to just talk about it and complain about it. We are going to have to set some serious priorities here, make some serious decisions, because nobody is saying that we can't go to movies, have a party, relax or whatever, but what I am saying, we are going to have to make time, find the energy, to be involved in some revolutionary activity in defence of ourselves. Because if we are not willing to do something to put an end to this madness, then what is the point of complaining about it?"
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