Abolition Today

The parable of the blind men and an elephant is a story of a group of blind men who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and imagine what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant's body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then make a determination of what creature they are touching based on the limited knowledge.

This week we explain the 4 competing groups attempting to dominate the US justice system narrative. What groups? What narratives? What's the difference? What do they have in common? Is it a problem? How? Using music, poetry, and dialogue, we'll discuss all that and more.

As always, we'll also bring the words of our abolitionists ancestors back to life for a new generation in our Bridging The Gap segment.

Abolition Today is available for streaming on all major podcast platforms.

Program archives www.abolitiontoday.org

Video playlists www.youtube.com/abolitiontoday

Remember to like, follow and subscribe. If you don't, the ancestors might haunt you until you do.

This week we're joined by political activist, former member of the Black Panther Party, and the Black Liberation Army who served 49 years in prison, 13th Forward Coalition member Jalil Muntaqim to discuss his trials, tribulation and journey that led him to Slavery Abolition.

Of course, we'll have powerful inspiring music, and as always we will bring the voices of the ancestors back to life for a new generation in our Bridging The Gap segment.

This week we're joined by members of 13th Forward to discuss the No Slavery in NY Act (S.225/A.3412). The New York anti-slavery bill. Our guests will be Jesse Koklas, Statewide Director for Ending Mass Incarceration at Citizen Action of NY. and Wilfredo Laracuente, 13th Forward Campaign Leader, Educator, and Formerly Incarcerated Advocate.

Of course we'll have powerful inspiring music, and as always we will bring the voices of the ancestors back to life for a new generation in our Bridging The Gap segment.

This week we are joined by Pat Gailey. Author of Fundamentals of Well-Being: Four Qualities You Can’t Live Without. Pat is also the lead organizer for #AbolishSlaveryKY and a member of the Quaker community.  Last but not least she is a student of physicist David Bohm. This provides a great opportunity to discuss the physics of abolition.  Chaos/Complexity theory. Quantum theory, Fractal Geometry, wholeness and the Implicate Order. 

The butterfly effect. Phase transitions. Self organizing systems. System thinking. Emergence. Initial conditions of chaos and pattern recognition.  We'll cover the science while breaking down the issues of legalized slavery in Pats home state of Kentucky and nationally. 

Including the US Department of Justice's scathing report on policing in Louisville. Of course it will all be mixed with amazing music and educational/inspirational audio presentations.

Even our Bridging the Gap segment covers The Science of Abolition as applied by the ancestors. 

Be sure to bring pen & paper. Class is in and it will blow your mind.

We're 3 days from Abolition Today's 3rd anniversary and we're doing something special you won't hear anywhere else from anyone else.

Silence can be destructive in the face of injustice because it can perpetuate the injustice by allowing it to continue unchecked. When people remain silent in the face of injustice, they are essentially condoning it and sending a message to the perpetrators that their actions are acceptable. This can embolden the perpetrators and make them more likely to continue their unjust behavior.

Furthermore, silence can also lead to the marginalization and silencing of those who are being harmed by the injustice. When people fail to speak up and support those who are being oppressed, they are essentially complicit in the oppression and contributing to the harm being inflicted on the marginalized group.

In short, silence can be just as destructive as actively participating in the injustice because it allows the injustice to persist and denies justice to those who are suffering. It is therefore crucial for individuals to speak out against injustice and use their voices to advocate for change and support those who are being oppressed.

Today, through music, discussion, and truth, we address the sounds of silence on the issue of legalized slavery.

A program hosted by, produced by, and featuring callers who are all currently incarcerated.

Max and Yusuf are both tied up in abolition related efforts this weekend. So, In leue of our regular program we'll air episode 1 of our groundbreaking and revolutionary series from Season one.

LIVE FROM THE PLANTATION!

This is fitting as we're preparing to launch another similar series called "Tales From The Plantation" this March.

Again, a program developed and produced by the formerly and currently incarcerated.

Continuing with our 2023 "New Breed" interviews, this week our returning guests are Jamilia Land and Samual Nathaniel Brown. 

This husband/wife duo are two of the lead organizers for the "End Slavery In California Act". On Thursday, 2-16-23 at the CA Capitol they joined Assembly member Lori Wilson in hosting a press conference introducing the legislation. The act is an Assembly Constitutional Amendment that will remove involuntary servitude from the California State Constitution.

We'll listen to some of the press conference highlights and discuss the future and history of slavery in California as well as nationwide.

Jamilia is co-director of state operations for the Abolish Slavery National Network (ASNN) and a board member of the March On Foundation. Samual is co founder of the Anti-Violence Safety and Accountability Project, (ASAP) and was the original author of the legislation. Written in his cell while incarcerated with a life sentence.

Of course we've got music and poetry to share featuring Tupac Shakur, Knox Brown, Anderson Paak, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

We'll also get back to our Bridging The Gap Segment with "A Warning To The American People From Frederick Douglass".

In Columbia SC at the capitol building on June 27th, 2015, Thomas Washington, Tribal Raine and Max Parthas recorded the reading of "I Denounce the So-Called Emancipation as a Stupendous Fraud" by Fredrick Douglas (1888) in a 9 part series. The first time it had ever been recorded since 1888.

They are powerful eye-opening and moving presentations that can be used for education purposes with students, viewing and conversation with friends or family, or just to show someone the truth.

On a historical level, the readings were done June 27th at the South Carolina Statehouse. The day after Reverend and state Senator Clementa Pinckney, (one of nine victims in the June 17, 2015, shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC), lay in state at the capitol with his body having to pass under the rebel flag. This was the same day and same place Bree Newsome cut the confederate flag down just yards away.

The monument we recorded at is one of the few in America dedicated to the history of the African Diaspora. In the center of the display is a marble dais holding the 4 stones of the 4 African nations where Enslaved Peoples in SC originated.

A direct connection to those ancestral lands.

Our intention was to speak to the state and the nation using not our words, but those of a man who was arguably the greatest statesman we have ever know. Those words ring true today.

A sad truth that most have never heard. Hidden and muted on purpose because it didn't fit the false narrative.

The productions include news clips of current events (at the time) which drive all of his points home like a prophet.

For black history month of 2023, we will conclude the Denouncement series on Abolition Today for the first time in its entirety.

This week, the whole episode IS the Bridging The Gap Segment.

We'll share history and make history in one night.

In Columbia SC at the capitol building on June 27th, 2015 Thomas Washington, Tribal Raine and Max Parthas recorded the reading of "I Denounce the So-Called Emancipation as a Stupendous Fraud" by Fredrick Douglas (1888) in a 9 part series. They are powerful eye-opening and moving presentations that can be used for education purposes with students, viewing and conversation with friends or family, or just to show someone the truth. On a historical level, the readings were done June 27th at the South Carolina Statehouse. The day after Reverend and state Senator Clementa Pinckney, (one of nine victims in the June 17, 2015, shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC), lay in state at the capitol with his body having to pass under the rebel flag. This was the same day and same place Bree Newsome cut the confederate flag down just yards away. The monument we recorded at is one of the few in America dedicated to the history of the African Diaspora. In the center of the display is a marble dais with the 4 stones of the 4 African nations where Enslaved Peoples in SC originated. A direct connection to those ancestral lands. Our intention was to speak to the state and the nation using not our words, but those of a man who was arguably the greatest statesman we have ever know. His words ring true today. A sad truth that most have never heard. Hidden and muted on purpose because it didn't fit the false narrative. The productions include news clips of current events (at the time) which drive all of his points home like a prophet.

During this black history month of 2023, we will play the Denouncement series on Abolition Today for the first time in its entirety.

This week, the whole episode IS the Bridging The Gap Segment.

In this last episode for the 1st month of 2023, we focus on the issue of modern slave-catchers. AKA police.

The incentivization of incarceration, police arrest quotas, jail, fines, fees, and the utter inhuman brutality that results from such a predatory system built on hunting human beings.

We'll highlight the Tyre Nichols case and explain how black cops can be part and parcel of a racist Neo-slavery system against people who look just like them.

Of course we've got great music with songs from ASA, Alicia Keys, Havia Mighty, Anthony Hamilton, Black Thought, Cee-Lo Green, Syleena Johnson, Stephen Marley, C.S. Armstrong, and Angela Hunte. Then we will wrap it up by bringing the words of the abolitionist ancestors back to life for a new generation with An Address to Free Colored Americans at the ANTI-SLAVERY CONVENTION OF AMERICAN WOMEN in 1837.