Editing MOVE Organization (section)

== Origins and Ideology ==

MOVE was founded by John Africa, a charismatic figure with little formal education who developed a distinctive ideology combining distrust of technology, rejection of institutional authority, and belief in the sanctity of all life. His teachings, compiled in a document called "The Guidelines," advocated raw food diets, rejection of medicine, and reverence for nature. MOVE members lived communally, homeschooled their children, and rejected the conventional lifestyle that they believed imprisoned most Americans. The group's practices—including keeping numerous animals, composting food waste outdoors, and amplifying revolutionary speeches through loudspeakers—brought them into conflict with neighbors who found their presence disruptive and unsanitary.<ref name="boyette">{{cite book |last=Boyette |first=Michael |last2=Boyette |first2=Randi |title=Let It Burn: MOVE, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Confrontation that Changed a City |year=1989 |publisher=Contemporary Books |location=Chicago}}</ref>

The group attracted members, mostly African American, who found meaning in John Africa's teachings and community in MOVE's collective life. Members took the surname "Africa" and adopted an oppositional stance toward authorities they viewed as oppressors. MOVE's confrontational style—including aggressive rhetoric and willingness to physically resist police—distinguished it from other Black organizations and made conflict increasingly likely. Critics viewed MOVE as a cult whose members had surrendered individual judgment to John Africa; supporters saw them as principled resisters of an unjust system. The truth likely included elements of both.<ref name="anderson"/>