Human Rights & Justice

Esteemed scholars Dr. Wade Nobles, Dr. Joyce King and Dr. Afia Zakiya join Human Rights and Justice host Nkechi Taifa on Juneteenth, sharing issues relating to the concept of Ubuntu and its relationships to the climate crisis, protection of Freedmen’s Settlements, and Black psychology.

Human Rights and Justice Episode 86 features host Nkechi Taifa interviewing the phenomenal Kim Poole, a Soul-Fusion Performing Artist hailing from her hometown of Baltimore, and Founding Fellow of the Teaching Artist Institute (TAI), operating in the USA, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Jamaica, Uganda, Tanzania and The Gambia. Under the TAI umbrella, Kim serves as Chief Visionary of the ARTIZEN conference philosophy aimed at connecting sustainable development to art culture in emerging economies. She coined the philosophy, “Culture is the New Currency,” and began curating reparatory institutions and experiences that promote and preserve the African identity in the Diaspora. This riveting episode is a must to listen to!

Rehabilitation and Healing: The Role of Social Workers in the Reparations Movement!  

Panelists:  Elder Baba Leonard Dunston: President Emeritus NABSW; Melissa Smith Haley - President NABSW; BabaJay Onaje Muid - Co-chair NABSW National Relations Committee

Pursuant to international norms, rehabilitation is a major aspect of reparations, Beyond unraveling consequences from the enslavement era and its vestiges (drug addiction, unemployment, torn families, etc), social workers play a huge role . Yet the social work profession holds the dubious legacy of oppression, while articulating services for our most vulnerable. To delineate the history adn role of social work in today's Reparations Movement, a multigenerational veteran panel from the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) share their perspectives. 

Human Rights and Justice with host Nkechi Taifa features a discussion with political commentator, Angela Rye, with clips from Atty. Ben Crump, Joy Reid, and Marilyn Mosby. Co-host, Cynthia Roseberry.

Human Rights and Justice with host, Attorney Nkechi Taifa, features a discussion with Addie Richburg, Executive Director of the 400 Years of African American History Commission, a Federally appointed 15-member Commission established to coordinate the 400th anniversary of the first documented arrival of enslaved Africans in the English colonies. 

The Commission is legislated to plan, develop and carry out programs and activities throughout the United States that recognize and highlight the resilience and cultural contributions of African Americans over 400 years and beyond. The Commission has forged collaborative relationships with over 350 local, regional, and national organizations, municipalities, cultural and other entities and institutions in the U.S., including connections made in Alaska, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands. The show will also commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the eve of his assassination.

Description:  Episode 80 of Human Rights and Justice host Nkechi Taifa interviews Congo issues veteran Maurice Carney, co-founder and Executive Director of Friends of the Congo, discussing the historical and current situation in the Congo and the destructive interventionist role the U.S. and others have played. 

Episode 79 of Human Rights and Justice with host, Nkechi Taifa, features an interview with Haitian-born advocate and organizer Eugenia Charles, host of Konbit Lakay, a socio-political Haitian WPFW 89.3 FM radio show. She is also the Executive Director of Fondasyon Mapou, a faith-based organization that promotes Haitian issues and human rights. The episode begins with a poem written by Taifa on Haiti, from her book for young people that was banned in 2020 by a school district.

Guests:  Gwen Carr (mother of Eric Garner, killed by police during use of a prohibited chokehold) Patricia Elam-Walker (mother of Denzel Elam Ruff, brutalized by police during a vaping arrest on the Ocean City boardwalk)

Sonia Pruitt (former police captain, Montgomery County, MD and former Chair, National Black Police Association)

Episode 78 of Human Rights and Justice features Gwen Carr, one of the "Mothers of the Movement" and mother of Eric Garner, who was killed by police during use of a prohibited chokehold during his arrest. She will join DC award-winning author Patricia Elam-Walker, mother of Denzel Elam Ruff who was brutalized by police during a vaping arrest on the Ocean City boardwalk. These two mothers are joined by Sonia Pruitt, former police captain of Montgomery County, MD and former chair of the National Black Police Association. This episode during Women’s History Month with a panel of three mothers will share their thoughts about police violence — one whose son was killed, one whose son was brutalized, and one who once wore a badge and seeks policy changes so the same does not happen to her twin sons.  Carr, a key figure with Mothers of the Movement (a group of African American women whose children have been killed by police officers), has used her grief to highlight police injustices and advocate for change. Elam-Walker has chillingly stated that she "was only an inch away from becoming one of them [Mothers of the Movement].”  Pruitt, now retired, teaches at both Howard University and Montgomery Community College, highlighting the "Black Police Experience." This illustrious panel also explores the slippery slope that can flow from negative consequences of police enforcement of minor infractions, and discusses important policy changes that can be effectuated to insure that no more mothers are thrust into this traumatic club. 

Description - Human Rights and Justice host Nkechi Taifa engages in an exciting chat with Nkenge Toure, legendary Black feminist icon and former long-time host of WPFW’s show “In Our Voices,” discussing her life and those of historic Black women as we kick off Women’s History Month. 

Broadcast March 6, 2024

Human Rights and Justice host Nkechi Taifa continues her interview of Episode 34 with the multi-talented Siphiwe Baleka on his many reparations efforts in the international arena, including his case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the issue of ethnocide as distinct from genocide, the African Diaspora as Region Six of the African Union, and more, including his personal triumphs and travails.