Episodes
Tuesday Feb 28, 2017
Black Agenda Radio - 02.2.17
Tuesday Feb 28, 2017
Tuesday Feb 28, 2017
Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Coming up: the MOVE organization will hold a three day event to dispel confusion about why the Philadelphia police killed 11 of their members, burned out a whole city block, and put nine MOVE people in prison for life, in the 1970s and 80s; and, an advocate for the people of the Congo says it may be a good thing that Donald Trump doesn’t yet have a policy on Africa.
The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and other law firms have sued the State of Louisiana for denying poor defendants even the semblance of adequate legal counsel. Lawyers Committee president Kristen Clark says Louisiana violates the Constitution by depriving people charged with crimes with the means to defend themselves -- and that’s why the state is the “Incarceration Capital of the World.”
In 1985, Philadelphia police bombed the residence of the MOVE organization, killing 11 of the group’s members, including 5 children, and burning down a whole city block. Eight years earlier, nine MOVE members were sentenced to life in prison in the death of a policeman. But MOVE keeps on moving, and on May 5 th will hold a three day event, in Philadelphia, to counter decades of disinformation about the group. Ramona Africa is MOVE’s Minister of Communications.
President Donald Trump does not yet seem to have yet developed his own policy on Africa. That means former President Obama’s policies are still largely in effect – which is not necessarily a good thing, since Obama vastly increased the U.S. military presence in Africa, and continued Washington’s support for friendly dictators in the region. Kam-BAH-lay Moo-sah- VOO-lee is a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the DRC, and a spokesperson for the Washington-based advocacy organization Friends of Congo. He is particularly concerned about the lasting mark made on U.S. policy by two war hawks of the Obama administration: Samantha Power and Susan Rice. Under their influence, the U.S. State Department created a strange new agency, called the “Atrocity Prevention Board.” Moo-sah-VOO-lee explains.
And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.
Monday Feb 13, 2017
Black Agenda Radio - 02.13.17
Monday Feb 13, 2017
Monday Feb 13, 2017
Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Coming up: Activists plan to counter President Trump’s threatened crackdown on so-called “sanctuary cities,” by expanding the movement to resist unjust laws and government repression; and, prison abolitionists say the U.S. system of mass incarceration is a continuation of old time slavery. They plan a Millions March for Prisoners Human Rights, in Washington, DC, this summer.
Donald Trump’s ban on refugees and visitors from seven mostly Muslim countries is a reflexion of the new president’s larger vision of who should be an American, according to author and activist Arun Kundnani. Kundnani recently wrote an article titled “Recharging the Batteries of Whiteness: Trump’s New Racial Identity Politics.” But, Trump’s anti-Muslim policies are nothing new. Kundnani says the seven targeted countries had already been singled out for special treatment under the Obama administration.
President Trump has long threatened to crack down on so-called “sanctuary cities” that refuse to collaborate in the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. However, rather than go on the defensive, activists are vowing to broaden the sanctuary movement beyond immigration issues. According to Sue Udry, executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the movement will be expanded to include resistance to other forms of state repression.
Anti-mass incarceration activists from across the country will converge on Washington, DC, on August 19 th , for a Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March. Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Fraser spoke with one of the organizers: Brother Dee, of the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee and Jailhouse Lawyers Speak. Brother Dee prefers not to give his full name, to avoid retribution by the authorities. He explained what the march in August is all about.
And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.
Monday Feb 06, 2017
Black Agenda Radio - 02.06.17
Monday Feb 06, 2017
Monday Feb 06, 2017
Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Coming up: A new report on mass incarceration in the United States, this time focusing on the 160-thousand men and women who are serving life sentences behind bars; Mumia Abu Jamal speaks with Eddie Africa, the Move activist who has been a prisoner of the State of Pennsylvania for 38 years; and New York City organizers launch a Campaign for Community Control Over the Police.
Donald Trump’s ban on visitors and refugees from seven mostly Muslim countries sparked protests all across the country, last week, including in Columbia, South Carolina. Black activist and author Kevin Alexander Gray was one of the organizers of the Columbia protest.
The Sentencing Project, in Washington, DC, has released a new study on the rapidly aging U.S. prison population, which now includes160,000 people serving life sentences. The report is titled, “Delaying a Second Chance: The Declining Prospects for Parole on Life Sentences.” Researcher Nazgol Ghandnoosh is one of the authors of the study. The overall U.S. prison population has decreased somewhat in recent years, but the number of men and women serving life sentences continues to go up. We asked Ghandnoosh why that’s happening.
Kerry “Shakaboona” Marshall has been incarcerated in Pennsylvania for more than 25 years, serving a life sentence for a crime committed when he was a juvenile. Marshall is edits a magazine behind the bars, at Rockview prison, and is a correspondent with Prison Radio. Marshall’s editor on the outside, Noelle Hanrahan, had trouble contacting him for several weeks, because the prison was on lockdown. Marshall explained why he was out of touch.
The nation’s best known political prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal, is also locked up in Pennsylvania. Abu Jamal’s commentaries on Prison Radio have a worldwide following. This week, he has a conversation with another, but lesser known, political prisoner, Eddie Africa, who has been behind bars for 38 years.
A coalition of 26 anti-police terror organizations in New York City has launched a Campaign for Community Control Over the Police. The coalition plans a series of community organizing meetings, beginning on February 18 th . Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Spencer spoke with Brother “Shep” Olugbala, chairman of the campaign’s outreach committee.
And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.