At a time when there is a growing movement around the Poor People’s Campaign, headed by the Reverends William Barber and Liz Theoharis, Donald Trump signed an executive order last month that orders all safety net programs – from food stamps now known as SNAP to Medicaid – be renamed welfare or public assistance. The order also mandates work requirements, i.e. workfare, to receive any of these programs. Our guest is Maureen Taylor, President of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and a board member of the National Welfare Rights Union.
In a victory for Reverend Edward Pinkney, a Black community leader based in Benton Harbor Michigan, the state Supreme Court in Michigan tossed out a ruling against him. Rev. Pinkney was sent to prison on charges that he always maintained were false. The Reverend joins us as a guest.
Journalist and political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal’s case was back in court in Philadelphia on Monday. We get the latest on Mumia’s case from Pam Africa.
For this week's installment of our weekly Campaigners for Black Lives series, Dr. Melina Abdullah, a founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, joins us to discuss the increasing assault on Black people and what a multi-faceted resistance might look like.