Sojourner Truth Radio

Today on Sojourner Truth:

The latest on the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the challenges facing the U.S. to control the virus without universal healthcare. Our guest is Dr. David Himmelstein, a Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the City University of New York, a lecturer in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a primary care doctor in The Bronx. Dr. Himmelstein co-founded Physicians for a National Health Program, a group whose 23,000 members advocate for Medicare for All.

Food banks are under stress across the U.S., with long lines of food insecure people hoping to be able to feed their families. We discuss food insecurity in the U.S. as well as the inter-relationship between sustainable agriculture, ecology and health. Our guest is Kentucky-based Stephen Bartlett, coordinator of Sustainable Agriculture of Louisville. His organization aims to create a joyous, diverse, and sustainable community of well-nourished people and well-compensated farmers and food workers.

For our weekly Earth Watch, Klee Benally joins us to discuss COVID-19 and Indigenous mutual aid. Klee is a Din musician, traditional dancer, artist, filmmaker, & Indigenous anarchist. Klee is originally from Black Mesa and has worked nearly all of his life at the front lines in struggles to protect Indigenous sacred lands. Klee is a founder and coordinator with Indigenous Action, Kinlani Mutual aid, Indigenous Mutual Aid, and a partner of Navajo and Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

The latest on the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the challenges facing the U.S. to control the virus without universal healthcare. Our guest is Dr. David Himmelstein, a Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the City University of New York, a lecturer in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a primary care doctor in The Bronx. Dr. Himmelstein co-founded Physicians for a National Health Program, a group whose 23,000 members advocate for Medicare for All.

Food banks are under stress across the U.S., with long lines of food insecure people hoping to be able to feed their families. We discuss food insecurity in the U.S. as well as the inter-relationship between sustainable agriculture, ecology and health. Our guest is Kentucky-based Stephen Bartlett, coordinator of Sustainable Agriculture of Louisville. His organization aims to create a joyous, diverse, and sustainable community of well-nourished people and well-compensated farmers and food workers.

For our weekly Earth Watch, Klee Benally joins us to discuss COVID-19 and Indigenous mutual aid. Klee is a Din musician, traditional dancer, artist, filmmaker, & Indigenous anarchist. Klee is originally from Black Mesa and has worked nearly all of his life at the front lines in struggles to protect Indigenous sacred lands. Klee is a founder and coordinator with Indigenous Action, Kinlani Mutual aid, Indigenous Mutual Aid, and a partner of Navajo and Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

U.S. citizens were among those caught in Venezuela as part of what President Nicolas Maduro said was an attempted coup. The White House has denied any involvement. What happened and why? What are the wider implications? Also, Cuban doctors are making their mark around the world in fighting COVID-19. Our guest is Dan Kovalik, a human rights lawyer and author of the recently-released book "The Plot To Overthrow Venezuela" and the just-released "No More War."

How is rural United States faring in the time of COVID-19? What is happening to the most vulnerable rural communities? What are Black farmers up against? Our guest is John Zippert, the Co-Publisher of the Greene County Democrat weekly newspaper, based in Eutaw, Alabama. He recently retired after working for 50 years with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund at their Rural Training and Research Center near Epes, Alabama. He serves as the Chairperson of the Board of the Greene County Health System which includes a 20-bed hospital, 60-bed nursing home and a rural physicians clinic. He is actively involved with the Save Ourselves Movement for Justice and Democracy, a statewide effort to develop more humane and inclusive public policies.

For our Campaigners for Black Lives series, we speak with Hillary Holey, a Georgia native who is the Organizing Director for Fair Fight and Fair Fight Action. We also discuss the latest in the controversial shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man who was shot to death while jogging.

Also, our weekly Earth Minute presented by Anne Petermann of the Global Justice Ecology Project.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

U.S. citizens were among those caught in Venezuela as part of what President Nicolas Maduro said was an attempted coup. The White House has denied any involvement. What happened and why? What are the wider implications? Also, Cuban doctors are making their mark around the world in fighting COVID-19. Our guest is Dan Kovalik, a human rights lawyer and author of the recently-released book "The Plot To Overthrow Venezuela" and the just-released "No More War."

How is rural United States faring in the time of COVID-19? What is happening to the most vulnerable rural communities? What are Black farmers up against? Our guest is John Zippert, the Co-Publisher of the Greene County Democrat weekly newspaper, based in Eutaw, Alabama. He recently retired after working for 50 years with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund at their Rural Training and Research Center near Epes, Alabama. He serves as the Chairperson of the Board of the Greene County Health System which includes a 20-bed hospital, 60-bed nursing home and a rural physicians clinic. He is actively involved with the Save Ourselves Movement for Justice and Democracy, a statewide effort to develop more humane and inclusive public policies.

For our Campaigners for Black Lives series, we speak with Hillary Holey, a Georgia native who is the Organizing Director for Fair Fight and Fair Fight Action. We also discuss the latest in the controversial shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man who was shot to death while jogging.

Also, our weekly Earth Minute presented by Anne Petermann of the Global Justice Ecology Project.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

U.S. citizens were among those caught in Venezuela as part of what President Nicolas Maduro said was an attempted coup. The White House has denied any involvement. What happened and why? What are the wider implications? Also, Cuban doctors are making their mark around the world in fighting COVID-19. Our guest is Dan Kovalik, a human rights lawyer and author of the recently-released book "The Plot To Overthrow Venezuela" and the just-released "No More War."

How is rural United States faring in the time of COVID-19? What is happening to the most vulnerable rural communities? What are Black farmers up against? Our guest is John Zippert, the Co-Publisher of the Greene County Democrat weekly newspaper, based in Eutaw, Alabama. He recently retired after working for 50 years with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund at their Rural Training and Research Center near Epes, Alabama. He serves as the Chairperson of the Board of the Greene County Health System which includes a 20-bed hospital, 60-bed nursing home and a rural physicians clinic. He is actively involved with the Save Ourselves Movement for Justice and Democracy, a statewide effort to develop more humane and inclusive public policies.

For our Campaigners for Black Lives series, we speak with Hillary Holey, a Georgia native who is the Organizing Director for Fair Fight and Fair Fight Action. We also discuss the latest in the controversial shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man who was shot to death while jogging.

Also, our weekly Earth Minute presented by Anne Petermann of the Global Justice Ecology Project.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

Today is Cinco de Mayo, a holiday with roots in Mexico, but, today, mainly celebrated in the United States. Amid the coronavirus, celebrations are tamped down this year, as we focus on the impact of the virus on the most vulnerable essential workers and the economic impact of the virus. This has resulted in a series of rent strikes across the country. We discuss Cinco de Mayo and its historic roots and more about the little-known Mexican history with Gabriel Buelna. Gabriel Buelna, PhD, holds a doctorate in political science from the Claremont School of Politics and Economics, is a faculty member in Chicana/o Studies at Cal State Northridge, and a Trustee at the Los Angeles Community College District.

What is the situation on the ground in Mexico? Like other countries, Mexico is struggling against the coronavirus. Prior to the virus, what were the social movements making themselves heard in Mexico and what has been the government's response? What about the deal the government of Mexico was forced by the Trump administration to accept on the issue of migration? What are some of the sociopolitical and economic challenges facing Mexico today? Our guest is Jose Luis Granados Ceja, a writer and photojournalist based in Mexico City. He previously worked as a staff writer for teleSUR and currently works on a freelance basis. His stories focus on contemporary political issues, particularly those that involve grassroots efforts to affect social change. He often covers the work of social and labor movements in Latin America.

What about immigrants to the United States from Mexico and South of the Border? What has been the impact of COVID-19 in terms of the health and economics of that community? Our guest is Kenia Alcocer is a community organizer with Union de Vecinos based in East Los Angeles and Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign - California, A National Call for Moral Survival.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

Today is Cinco de Mayo, a holiday with roots in Mexico, but, today, mainly celebrated in the United States. Amid the coronavirus, celebrations are tamped down this year, as we focus on the impact of the virus on the most vulnerable essential workers and the economic impact of the virus. This has resulted in a series of rent strikes across the country. We discuss Cinco de Mayo and its historic roots and more about the little-known Mexican history with Gabriel Buelna. Gabriel Buelna, PhD, holds a doctorate in political science from the Claremont School of Politics and Economics, is a faculty member in Chicana/o Studies at Cal State Northridge, and a Trustee at the Los Angeles Community College District.

What is the situation on the ground in Mexico? Like other countries, Mexico is struggling against the coronavirus. Prior to the virus, what were the social movements making themselves heard in Mexico and what has been the government's response? What about the deal the government of Mexico was forced by the Trump administration to accept on the issue of migration? What are some of the sociopolitical and economic challenges facing Mexico today? Our guest is Jose Luis Granados Ceja, a writer and photojournalist based in Mexico City. He previously worked as a staff writer for teleSUR and currently works on a freelance basis. His stories focus on contemporary political issues, particularly those that involve grassroots efforts to affect social change. He often covers the work of social and labor movements in Latin America.

What about immigrants to the United States from Mexico and South of the Border? What has been the impact of COVID-19 in terms of the health and economics of that community? Our guest is Kenia Alcocer is a community organizer with Union de Vecinos based in East Los Angeles and Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign - California, A National Call for Moral Survival.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

Today is Cinco de Mayo, a holiday with roots in Mexico, but, today, mainly celebrated in the United States. Amid the coronavirus, celebrations are tamped down this year, as we focus on the impact of the virus on the most vulnerable essential workers and the economic impact of the virus. This has resulted in a series of rent strikes across the country. We discuss Cinco de Mayo and its historic roots and more about the little-known Mexican history with Gabriel Buelna. Gabriel Buelna, PhD, holds a doctorate in political science from the Claremont School of Politics and Economics, is a faculty member in Chicana/o Studies at Cal State Northridge, and a Trustee at the Los Angeles Community College District.

What is the situation on the ground in Mexico? Like other countries, Mexico is struggling against the coronavirus. Prior to the virus, what were the social movements making themselves heard in Mexico and what has been the government's response? What about the deal the government of Mexico was forced by the Trump administration to accept on the issue of migration? What are some of the sociopolitical and economic challenges facing Mexico today? Our guest is Jose Luis Granados Ceja, a writer and photojournalist based in Mexico City. He previously worked as a staff writer for teleSUR and currently works on a freelance basis. His stories focus on contemporary political issues, particularly those that involve grassroots efforts to affect social change. He often covers the work of social and labor movements in Latin America.

What about immigrants to the United States from Mexico and South of the Border? What has been the impact of COVID-19 in terms of the health and economics of that community? Our guest is Kenia Alcocer is a community organizer with Union de Vecinos based in East Los Angeles and Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign - California, A National Call for Moral Survival.

Today on Sojourner Truth, our weekly roundtable marking International Workers' Day.

Workers across the U.S. and the world are marking the day virtually due to COVID-19. Strikes and sickouts by essential workers will be taking place. May 1st will see the largest rent strike in U.S. history.

During our roundtable, we discuss workers (waged and unwaged), their rights in the time of COVID-19 and how they are being protected (or not) in the United States in contrast to other countries. Has COVID-19 helped to refine work and who is a worker? Who are the new essential workers? What should be done to protect them? What resources must they have? Following the pandemic, what fundamental changes should be made in order to protect people and the environment.

Also, do we have to look at the way economies are organized? The obligation of the Global North to the Global South, including the wealth that is transferred to the Global South to the Global North. We will also hear about responses in Latin America to COVID-19.

Our panelists are Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg and Dr. Gerald Horne.

Today on Sojourner Truth, Part 2 of our special on COVID-19 and mass incarceration.

Imprisoned people, along with frontline workers and communities of color, are extremely vulnerable to the deadly virus and are being severely impacted by it. The United States currently has the largest incarcerated population in the world, with about 2.3 million people in jails and prisons across the country, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. More than half of them (nearly 1.3 million inmates) do not have the ability to socially distance or take the sanitary measures needed to slow the spread of the virus. In prisons, jails and immigration detention centers, there is very little diagnostic testing, resulting in the rapid spread of COVID-19 in these facilities across the country. Many of them are women, people of color and poor people. Black people are incarcerated in state prisons at a rate that is 5.1 times the imprisonment of white people, according to the ACLU. In five states (Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, Vermont, and Wisconsin), the disparity is more than 10 to 1. Latinos are imprisoned at a rate that is 1.4 times the rate of white people. Meanwhile, across the United States, over two million women are jailed every year, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. At least 80 percent of the women who go to jail annually are mothers, including nearly 150,000 women who are pregnant when they are admitted. Many of these women are poor and have been forced into drug abuse and criminal activity because of their unjust circumstances. They often end up being held in horrible prison conditions, where physical and mental abuse is rampant, worsening their trauma.

Today, you will hear more audio from a recent webinar entitled, Covid 19, Decarceration, and Abolition. It focused on what is decarceration and how it can be achieved for the millions of people in jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers across the country. The webinar was hosted by Haymarket Books and featured commentary by Ruth Wilson Gilmore. Ruth Wilson Gilmore is Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Director of the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics at the City University of New York Graduate Center in New York City. A co-founder of California Prison Moratorium Project and Critical Resistance, she is author of the prize-winning book, Golden Gulag: Prison, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California. Her forthcoming book, Change Everything: Racial Capitalism and the Case for Abolition, is the inaugural book in the new Abolitionist Papers book series, edited by Naomi Murakawa. During todays program, you will hear Ruth Wilson Gilmore respond to questions asked by listeners and read by Naomi Murakawa during the webinar. Her responses address everything from challenges facing campaigners for prisoners rights to what kind of systemic changes are needed in the 21st century.

Afterwards, you will also hear a recent Sojourner Truth interview with Susan Burton, a grassroots campaigner for the rights of women and imprisoned people. Susan Burton and her story of perseverance in overcoming overwhelming odds is an inspiration to women across the United States, particularly formerly incarcerated women and women in recovery from addiction to alcohol and drugs. After cycling in and out of the criminal justice system for nearly fifteen years, Susan gained freedom and sobriety and founded A New Way of Life Reentry Project in 1998. She opened her doors to other women returning home from prisons and jails, offering shelter, safety, leadership, and support to those seeking to rebuild their lives. Dedicating her life to helping other women break the cycle of incarceration, homelessness, addiction and despair, Susan became a recognized leader in the criminal justice reform and reentry rights movements.