The grassroots community was saddened upon learning that former political prisoner-of-war, Charles “Chucky” Sims-Africa, 61, the youngest and final MOVE 9 member to be paroled, joined the ancestors Sept. 20. After an Aug. 8, 1978, raid by Philly’s finest on their Powelton Village home resulted in a cop’s death, along with eight comrades, he was imprisoned at 18 years-old in the “MOVE 9” case and was eventually paroled from Pennsylvania’s SCI Fayette on Feb. 7, 2020, spending almost his entire adulthood behind bars.
“After four years of battle, my uncle Chuck Africa lost his fight to cancer,” Mike Africa Jr. tweeted. “I have many uncles but none like Chuck. Thank you to everyone that loved and supported him. RIP Chuck.”
The MOVE 9 were convicted of third-degree murder and seven attempted-murder counts, sentenced 30-100 years, and repeatedly denied parole after fulfilling the 30-year minimum eligibility, due to them not denouncing their cultural affiliation and political views, nor admitting guilt.
“The way we feel is that the government medically assassinated Chucky, Will, Phil, Merle and Delbert Africa,” contends Janine Africa, MOVE’s minister of education and fellow MOVE 9 co-defendant. “And now they’re trying to assassinate Mumia. They couldn’t kill us Aug. 8th with bullets, tear gas and cops; so, once they got us all in prison, they tried to kill us by taking our health.”
She added how her MOVE 9 comrades endured decades of torturous treatment, and lost loved ones, while behind enemy’s lines.
“Chuck had a heart and a fighting spirit that was unparalleled,” Brad Thomson, Africa’s attorney when paroled, tweeted. “He loved animals, boxing, and literature; which we’d talk about often. RIP Chuck. You’ll be deeply missed.”
Chuck’s comrades say he had a deep love for people, but had no tolerance for ignorance or injustice.
“I’ve never ever seen or met anybody that was just so strong-willed and so determined to just be a fighter. And he fought every step of the way since he came home last February,” Debbie Africa said during a podcast dedicated to her late brother who had been diagnosed with cancer prior to being released from prison.
Janine Africa said she was glad that she and several comrades had met up with Chucky before he transitioned, then added: “Had Chucky been on the streets he never would’ve got cancer and died. The fight in this revolution is on-going. The attacks on our organization are still going on, they’re just going about it in a different way. We will miss him. R.I.P. Chucky. On the move.”