Sojourner Truth Radio

Today on Sojourner Truth:

A special on COVID-19 and mass incarceration. People in prison are extremely vulnerable to the virus and are being severely impacted by it. The United States currently has the largest incarcerated population in the world, with about 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 COVID-19.

In prisons, jails and immigration detention centers, there is very little diagnostic testing. The effects of cramped and unsanitary cells and lack of testing have been disastrous across the country. In April 2020, prisoners and prison staff in several states " including California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and others " have reportedly been infected by the virus and in some cases, have died. One Ohio prison recently found that more than 70 percent of inmates are positive for COVID-19, according to NPR. Women, especially impoverished single mothers, are the fastest-growing sector of the prison population.

Today, you will hear exclusive audio from a recent webinar entitled, "Covid 19, Decarceration, and Abolition." It focused on how we can achieve urgently-needed decarceration for the millions of people caged in jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers across the country. The webinar, which was hosted by Haymarket Books.

You will hear the presentation by Ruth Wilson Gilmore is Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Director of the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is also the 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.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

The latest on COVID-19 in Africa, where there are fears that the continent may soon become the next global hotspot. Our guest is Senegal-based Coumba Toure, Coordinator for Africans Rising for peace, justice and dignity.

We continue our coverage of the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable communities. Our guest is Dr. Chandra Ford, who is lead editor (with Derek Griffith, Marino Bruce and Keon Gilbert) of Racism: Science & Tools for the Public Health Professor (American Public Health Association Press, 2019). She is Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice and Health and Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

The reclaimers movement continues in El Sereno, Los Angeles. Residents have taken over houses owned by the city. Our guest is Martha Escudero, an impacted mother who is involved with the reclaimers.

As National Poetry Month wraps up, poet Ron Baca joins us to read one of his original pieces. Ron grew up in Boyle Heights in the shadow of the East L.A. Freeway Interchange. His poetry attempts to capture and reflect on people and events that contribute to celebrating one's roots. He taught for over 20 years in the LAUSD in Eastside public schools and is currently a volunteer tutor at Homeboy Industries.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

The latest on COVID-19 in Africa, where there are fears that the continent may soon become the next global hotspot. Our guest is Senegal-based Coumba Toure, Coordinator for Africans Rising for peace, justice and dignity.

We continue our coverage of the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable communities. Our guest is Dr. Chandra Ford, who is lead editor (with Derek Griffith, Marino Bruce and Keon Gilbert) of Racism: Science & Tools for the Public Health Professor (American Public Health Association Press, 2019). She is Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice and Health and Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

The reclaimers movement continues in El Sereno, Los Angeles. Residents have taken over houses owned by the city. Our guest is Martha Escudero, an impacted mother who is involved with the reclaimers.

As National Poetry Month wraps up, poet Ron Baca joins us to read one of his original pieces. Ron grew up in Boyle Heights in the shadow of the East L.A. Freeway Interchange. His poetry attempts to capture and reflect on people and events that contribute to celebrating one's roots. He taught for over 20 years in the LAUSD in Eastside public schools and is currently a volunteer tutor at Homeboy Industries.

Today on Sojourner Truth, our weekly roundtable.

The COVID-19 pandemic is close to the end of its second month. The United States remains the epicenter of the global crisis, with over 49,000 deaths and 869,000 confirmed cases. Within the U.S., New York leads other states in terms of fatalities, with close to 21,000 deaths and over 263,000 reported cases. Globally, there have been over 190,000 deaths and 2.7 million reported cases, according to The Washington Post. The handling of the pandemic - the inability to control the crisis as other countries have done - has shaken the belief in "American exceptionalism."

Using the pandemic as a cover, the Trump administration is moving full steam ahead with a right-wing agenda that only a few years ago would have been considered fringe. Encouraged by Trump and financed by wealthy Trump supporters, protests have broken out in several states against stay-at-home orders, calling on the government to reopen America. Not only do these protests have the blessing of Trump, who is putting the lives of millions at risk by wanting to pre-maturely lift lockdown rules. They are also being supported by Republican billionaires like Robert Mercer, who helped finance the Convention of States project, which is behind many of the protests. So far, protests have been held in Washington, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Texas.

Critics of these Trump-backed protests point out that more people will likely be infected and die if the country re-opens too early. Meanwhile, protesters who have been calling for a rent freeze and having safe protests in cars have been ignored. A CBS News poll published on Thursday, April 23, reports that 70 percent of respondents believe the countrys top priority should be to try to slow the spread of coronavirus by keeping people home and social distancing, even if the economy is hurt in the short term.

Today on our weekly roundtable, our panelists will be discussing the pandemic as cover to move forward with a right-wing agenda nationally as well as internationally. They will also be discussing a story they want to bring out, but has not gotten much mainstream media attention. Also, what about the November elections? We return to our Sojourner Truth Election Watch.

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

Today on Sojourner Truth:

We continue our coverage of COVID-19. What is going on in the area in Louisiana known as Cancer Alley? How are residents there responding? What is the inter-relationship between pollution, racism and COVID-19? Our guests are Robert Taylor and Lydia Gerard. Robert Taylor is the founder of Concerned Citizens of St. John. The mission of the organization is to ensure the health and safety of all citizens while working to hold government officials and industry accountable for air pollution. Lydia Gerard is a member of Concerned Citizens of St. John. Lydia lost her husband Walter to cancer. She is also imperiled by COVID-19, as she has several preconditions because of her exposure to chloroprene from the Denka Dupont plant in Reserve, Louisiana.

Also, the impact of COVID-19 on sex workers. Should they be eligible for economic relief? Our guests are Niki Adams and Rachel West. Niki Adams is a spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes, a network of women working in different areas of the sex industry " both on the streets and indoors " which has campaigned since 1975 for decriminalization of sex work, sex workers' safety, and the resources for sex workers to leave the sex trade if they want to. Rachel West is a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based US PROStitutes Collective (US PROS), part of the International Prostitutes Collective and a multiracial network of women who work or have worked in different areas of the sex industry. Founded in 1982, US PROS campaigns for the decriminalization of prostitution and for justice, protection and resources so that no woman, young person or man is forced into prostitution through poverty or violence.

For our weekly Earth Watch, we speak with Eleanor Goldfield about mutual aid amid the COVID-19 crisis. Eleanor Goldfield is a creative activist and journalist. Her work focuses on radical and censored issues via photo, video and written journalism, as well as artistic mediums including music, poetry and visual art. She is the co-host of the podcast Common Censored along with Lee Camp, and will soon be releasing a film, Hard Road Of Hope about West Virginia as both a resource colony and radical inspiration. She also assists in frontline action organizing and activist training. Her website is: ArtKillingApathy.com

Today on Sojourner Truth:

We mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. When and how did Earth Day get started? What was its impact? What does the movement look like today? What is the impact of environmental devastation on frontline communities? How is the Trump administration using the pandemic to reward corporate predators and polluters? What's happening around the world on this Earth Day? Our guests are Tyson Slocum, Cherri Foytlin and Bill Gallegos.

Tyson Slocum is director of Public Citizens Energy Program, covering the regulation of petroleum, natural gas and power markets. Tyson promotes an equitable energy transition that provides distributed renewable energy generation and sustainable transportation solutions for working families.

Cherri Foytlin is an Afro-Indigenous (Dine) organizer, writer, speaker, and mother of six who lives in southwest Louisiana. She is the author of Spill It! The Truth About the Deep Water Horizon Oil Rig Explosion, and regularly contributes to BridgetheGulfProject.org, and other written platforms.

Bill Gallegos is a longtime Chicano Liberation and Environmental Justice activist. He is the author of "The Sunbelt Strategy and Chicano Liberation, and Reflections on The Green Economy." He is also the former executive director of Communities for a Better Environment, one of the leading environmental justice organizations in the U.S.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

We mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. When and how did Earth Day get started? What was its impact? What does the movement look like today? What is the impact of environmental devastation on frontline communities? How is the Trump administration using the pandemic to reward corporate predators and polluters? What's happening around the world on this Earth Day? Our guests are Tyson Slocum, Cherri Foytlin and Bill Gallegos.

Tyson Slocum is director of Public Citizens Energy Program, covering the regulation of petroleum, natural gas and power markets. Tyson promotes an equitable energy transition that provides distributed renewable energy generation and sustainable transportation solutions for working families.

Cherri Foytlin is an Afro-Indigenous (Dine) organizer, writer, speaker, and mother of six who lives in southwest Louisiana. She is the author of Spill It! The Truth About the Deep Water Horizon Oil Rig Explosion, and regularly contributes to BridgetheGulfProject.org, and other written platforms.

Bill Gallegos is a longtime Chicano Liberation and Environmental Justice activist. He is the author of "The Sunbelt Strategy and Chicano Liberation, and Reflections on The Green Economy." He is also the former executive director of Communities for a Better Environment, one of the leading environmental justice organizations in the U.S.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

We mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. When and how did Earth Day get started? What was its impact? What does the movement look like today? What is the impact of environmental devastation on frontline communities? How is the Trump administration using the pandemic to reward corporate predators and polluters? What's happening around the world on this Earth Day? Our guests are Tyson Slocum, Cherri Foytlin and Bill Gallegos.

Tyson Slocum is director of Public Citizens Energy Program, covering the regulation of petroleum, natural gas and power markets. Tyson promotes an equitable energy transition that provides distributed renewable energy generation and sustainable transportation solutions for working families.

Cherri Foytlin is an Afro-Indigenous (Dine) organizer, writer, speaker, and mother of six who lives in southwest Louisiana. She is the author of Spill It! The Truth About the Deep Water Horizon Oil Rig Explosion, and regularly contributes to BridgetheGulfProject.org, and other written platforms.

Bill Gallegos is a longtime Chicano Liberation and Environmental Justice activist. He is the author of "The Sunbelt Strategy and Chicano Liberation, and Reflections on The Green Economy." He is also the former executive director of Communities for a Better Environment, one of the leading environmental justice organizations in the U.S.

Today on Sojourner Truth:

We mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. When and how did Earth Day get started? What was its impact? What does the movement look like today? What is the impact of environmental devastation on frontline communities? How is the Trump administration using the pandemic to reward corporate predators and polluters? What's happening around the world on this Earth Day? Our guests are Tyson Slocum, Cherri Foytlin and Bill Gallegos.

Tyson Slocum is director of Public Citizens Energy Program, covering the regulation of petroleum, natural gas and power markets. Tyson promotes an equitable energy transition that provides distributed renewable energy generation and sustainable transportation solutions for working families.

Cherri Foytlin is an Afro-Indigenous (Dine) organizer, writer, speaker, and mother of six who lives in southwest Louisiana. She is the author of Spill It! The Truth About the Deep Water Horizon Oil Rig Explosion, and regularly contributes to BridgetheGulfProject.org, and other written platforms.

Bill Gallegos is a longtime Chicano Liberation and Environmental Justice activist. He is the author of "The Sunbelt Strategy and Chicano Liberation, and Reflections on The Green Economy." He is also the former executive director of Communities for a Better Environment, one of the leading environmental justice organizations in the U.S.

Today on Sojourner Truth: Poetry in the Time of COVID-19.

We celebrate National Poetry Month, which is marked annually in the United States and Canada. The Academy of American Poets kicked off the month-long celebration in 1996 in order to create awareness and appreciation of poetry. The push to promote National Poetry Month has proven to be successful. Many educators and librarians across the United States have embraced the initiative, including it in their school curriculums and lesson plans. According to a 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, conducted by the National Endowment of the Arts, the number of poetry readers in the United States has nearly doubled in the past five years, from 6.7 percent of adults in 2012 to nearly 12 percent in 2017. By 2018, 28 million people read poetry. Now, with the global pandemic, as people in the United States are sheltering in place, likely we have more reading of poetry going on. Among other things it can be a real stress-buster.

In honor of National Poetry Month, we have invited several women and men to read their poems. They include Ron Baca, a teacher and Chicano poet who grew up in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. His poetry spotlights the local culture of Los Angeles while touching on subjects that all people around the world can relate to, such as love, fear, inspiration and culture. It was Ron Baca who inspired this Sojourner Truth special. Also, we will hear from Aricka Foreman, a poet, essayist and digital curator. Her latest book of poems titled "Salt Body Shimmer" has been met with critical acclaim.

We also hear poetry from Angelina Saenz, Camilo Baca, Bill Gallegos, Sabreen Adeeba, Gata Salvaje, Pastor Eddie Anderson, Jacqueline Johnson and Miya Iwataki.