Sojourner Truth Radio

Has an all-out war broken out between Israel and Lebanon? If so, what are the impacts and wider implications? How is this extension of conflict in the region related to the ongoing genocide by Israeli forces in Gaza? And what is the latest from the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank? Our guest is Middle East expert and author Phyllis Bennis. And there is an explosion of voter suppression efforts being put in place by the Republican Party mainly targeting must win battle ground states in this year’s presidential election. What’s going on? What are the attacks? How can voters be protected? Barbara Arnwine an attorney and decades long voting rights expert beaks it down for us.

Today on Sojourner Truth, a deep dive into the August 29th 1970 Chicano Moratorium, where tens of thousands of Chicanos and their supporters took to the streets in East Los Angeles to protest the war in Vietnam and the oppression of Chicano people. Similar marches took place in several other states, but the one in EastLos was by far the largest. Police attached peaceful marchers, many were injured, and 3 were left dead. We are also marking the anniversary of Mexico’s independence from Spain which is celebrated on September 16th.

Our guest is Bill Gallegos, a veteran Chicano liberation activist and author.

Special Earthwatch episode. An update on the struggle to save the shawnee forest at the same time cut through the jobs versus nature debate our guests are John Wallace Karen Furley and Sam Sterns, All campaigners based in southern Illinois.

Today on the Sojourner Truth Weekly Broadcast: We get an update on the Presidential election, a look at the contrast between the candidates of the two major political parties; key moments at the Democratic National Convention; and analysis on the race. Our guest is Jackie Goldberg. And for our annual Labor Day Special we focus on the labor union activism as we mark the upcoming 45th anniversary of the LA/Long Beach/Harbor Coalition whose theme is “Fighting for the Future of Labor”. Our guest is the award-winning writer Alex O’Keefe who has written for the TV hit show “The Bear”. Alex is a member of the Writers Guild of America.

PDA conference

Progressive Democrats of America was founded in 2004 to transform the Democratic Party and our country. We seek to build a party and government controlled by citizens, not corporate elites-with policies that serve the broad public interest, not just private interests.

As a grassroots organization operating inside the Democratic Party, and outside in movements for peace and justice, PDA has played a key role in the rise of the progressive movement. Our inside/outside strategy is guided by the belief that a lasting majority will require a revitalized Democratic Party built on firm progressive principles.

For many decades, the Democratic Party declined as its leadership listened more to the voices of corporations and the donor class than those of average Americans. PDA strives to rebuild the Democratic Party from the bottom up " from every congressional district to statewide party structures to the corridors of power in Washington, where we cooperate with the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

In its short history, PDA has succeeded in shaking up the political status-quo with its stated opposition to the Iraq war and to excessive military budgets; advocacy for universal single-payer healthcare, racial and economic justice; fighting environmental racism and the climate emergency; support for voter rights and the Equal Rights Amendment; and, notably, being the first national organization to ask Bernie Sanders to run for President as a Democrat, launching the Run Bernie Run campaign in early 2014.

Bernice Johnson Reagon, a civil rights activist who co-founded The Freedom Singers and later started the African American vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, died Tuesday at the age of 81.

Her daughter, the acclaimed musician Toshi Reagon, shared the news of her mother's passing Wednesday night in a public Facebook post.

It is impossible to separate liberation struggles from song. And in the 1960s — at marches, and in jailhouses — the voice leading those songs was often Bernice Johnson Reagon. Her work as a scholar and activist continued throughout her life, in universities and concert halls, at protests and in houses of worship.

The future songleader was born in southwest Georgia, the daughter of a Baptist minister. She was admitted to a historically Black public college, Albany State, at the age of 16 and studied music. Albany, Ga., would become an important center of the civil rights movement when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested there in 1962, causing the media to descend on the town.

The left-wing alliance in France won the most seats in parliament in a dramatic election, dealing a surprise blow to the far-right party of Marine Le Pen.

Meanwhile the push for electoral reform in the UK has received a shot in the arm after the “most disproportionate election in history”, according to campaigners and academics.

Longstanding reform campaigners have become uneasy bedfellows with Reform UK’s Nigel Farage in recent days after Labour secured a 174-seat majority with just 34% of the popular vote.

“This election has thrown the spotlight on to the electoral system as the result was the most disproportional on record,” said Darren Hughes, the chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society. “We have already had a growing chorus of calls for PR [proportional representation] in the aftermath.”

Farage said the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system was “unfair” after Reform took 14.3% of the popular vote – making it the third biggest party by vote share – but won only five seats. The Green party received 6.8% of the vote for its four seats.

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The left-wing alliance in France won the most seats in parliament in a dramatic election, dealing a surprise blow to the far-right party of Marine Le Pen.

Meanwhile the push for electoral reform in the UK has received a shot in the arm after the “most disproportionate election in history”, according to campaigners and academics.

Longstanding reform campaigners have become uneasy bedfellows with Reform UK’s Nigel Farage in recent days after Labour secured a 174-seat majority with just 34% of the popular vote.

“This election has thrown the spotlight on to the electoral system as the result was the most disproportional on record,” said Darren Hughes, the chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society. “We have already had a growing chorus of calls for PR [proportional representation] in the aftermath.”

Farage said the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system was “unfair” after Reform took 14.3% of the popular vote – making it the third biggest party by vote share – but won only five seats. The Green party received 6.8% of the vote for its four seats.

The left-wing alliance in France won the most seats in parliament in a dramatic election, dealing a surprise blow to the far-right party of Marine Le Pen.

Meanwhile the push for electoral reform in the UK has received a shot in the arm after the “most disproportionate election in history”, according to campaigners and academics.

Longstanding reform campaigners have become uneasy bedfellows with Reform UK’s Nigel Farage in recent days after Labour secured a 174-seat majority with just 34% of the popular vote.

“This election has thrown the spotlight on to the electoral system as the result was the most disproportional on record,” said Darren Hughes, the chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society. “We have already had a growing chorus of calls for PR [proportional representation] in the aftermath.”

Farage said the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system was “unfair” after Reform took 14.3% of the popular vote – making it the third biggest party by vote share – but won only five seats. The Green party received 6.8% of the vote for its four seats.

Slavery still exists in California and several other states across the US, its not what we generally think of when we hear the word slavery, as in chattel slavery, but slavery inside prisons.

What we are taught in history books is that slavery was abolished with the 13th amendment in the US which was ratified on December 6th, 1865. However, this did not apply to prisoners.

Today on “Sojourner Truth”, we focus on the movement to finally abolish what is known as involuntary slavery in prisons in CA and other states. Our guests are Dorsey Nunn a founder of California Prisoners with Children and Stanley Thermidor with A New Way of Life.