September 9, 1974
MOVE cult leader Vincent Leaphart was always chasing press. He wanted to see his creation, MOVE, in the headlines—and his sure-fire way to get there was confrontation: with neighbors, activist groups, and, in this case, the Philadelphia Board of Education. Why target the Board? Reporters were in the room, public comment was guaranteed under the Brown Act, and the whole thing was broadcast on local TV. Bingo.
When Vincent’s young disciples were ejected from a May School Board meeting for spewing profanity-laced doctrine, they came right back as soon as school was in session—this time to protest outside the Board of Education in the middle of a workday. Twelve MOVE members showed up, along with ten more pretending to be members of the public. The MOVE “activity” was simple: cause a scene, and if you got arrested, even better—that meant more press.
Here’s the Philadelphia PD Civil Affairs report:
Police did not arrest any MOVE members.
The ironic significance of MOVE targeting the Philadelphia School District is that Leaphart’s “teachings” forbid children being raised in MOVE from attending school or learning to read & write—denying them an education and shielding the pervasive abuse from school staff who are mandated reporters. Children in MOVE were only verbally taught The Guidelines and forced to do manual labor for businesses owned by MOVE members. It was about total control over their minds and bodies, and also about making them dependent on the cult so that escape and survival in the outside “system world” would be near impossible.
This is just one day in MOVE history that brings into question, if not flat out contradicts, the repeated claims by both MOVE leaders and the media that it is a Black Liberation Group.
Thanks for reading.
