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.