Janine Africa served as Minister of Education for the MOVE Organization. Her daugher, Life Africa, was killed at three weeks old by the Philadelphia police.  She was later caught in the police raid of the MOVE house where she and eight others were wrongfully convicted of the murder of a police officer who was killed by friendly fire during the raid. She has served 40 years in prison despite her innocence. In May 2018, her sister Debbie Africa was freed on parole. A habeas lawsuit was filed on behalf of Janine because she was denied parole unjustly.

Personal Background

Delbert Orr Africa was born April 2, 1946.  As a young man he joined the Chicago Chapter of the Black Panther Party.  In 1969 the FBI put forth false warrants on the Chicago BPP leadership, including Delbert. He and others then fled to Canada. They struggled to get any financial support while in exile and received support from others in the struggle. Many reports have listed them as carrying out bank expropriations to sustain themselves, which is false.

Jalil became affiliated with the Black Panther Party at age 18.  Less than 2 months before his 20th birthday he was captured with Albert Nuh Washington in a midnight shootout with San Francisco police. He was subsequently charged with a host of revolutionary activities including the assassination of two police in New York City. It is for this that he is currently serving a 25 years – life sentence in New York State. His case is known as the New York 3 case as his co-defendants include Nuh Washington and Herman Bell.

Personal Background

Veronza Bowers Jr. is a former Black Panther Party member framed for the murder of a U.S. Park Ranger. He is being unjustly and arguably illegally held past his 30-year mandatory release date of April 7, 2004, making him one of the longest-held political prisoners in U.S. history.

Legal Case

Veronza was convicted in the murder of a U.S. Park Ranger on the word of two government informants, both of whom received reduced sentences for other crimes by the Federal prosecutor’s office.

Personal Background

Zolo Azania is a former Black Panther convicted of a 1981 bank robbery that left a Gary, Indiana cop dead. He was arrested miles away from the incident as he was walking, unarmed, down the street.  After a trial plagued with injustices, Zolo was given the death penalty.  After years of campaigning and several orders to stop his execution, the death penalty sentence was finally dropped. Zolo still adamantly maintains innocence.