Sojourner Truth Radio

Philando Castile, Charleena Lyles, Nabra Hassanen and the Movement for Black Lives by Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod

Today, we bring you our annual Juneteenth special. On June 19, 2017, events in several cities in the U.S. marked the anniversary of June 19, 1865, known as Juneteenth, when people enslaved in Texas received news of the Emancipation Proclamation, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln's proclamation became official on January 1, 1863. Why is Juneteenth still remembered and celebrated today? 152 years later, what is the state of U.S. race relations? What is the state of Black America? We examine the killings of Philando Castile, Charleena Lyles and Nabra Hassanen in context with our commemoration of Juneteenth.

Also, voter suppression continues to be an issue across the nation. Gerrymandering has reached the U.S. Supreme Court. How are people resisting?

Our guests include Patricia Vickers of the Human Rights Coalition; attorney and voting rights advocate Barbara Arnwine; Oluchi Omeoga of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis; Dr. Melina Abdullah of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles; Trudy Goodwin of Justice Warriors 4 Black Lives.

Watch the full "From Knowledge to Action" panel, featuring Pacifica Radio's Amy Goodman, here: vimeo.com/221102542

Over the weekend of June 9, 2017, over 4,000 activists gathered in Chicago for the People's Summit. Organizers described the Summit as a convening of organizations and individuals committed to social, racial and economic justice. Those who attended pushed forth a people's agenda, based on popular demands for justice, equality and freedom. Speakers ranged from Bernie Sanders and Nina Turner, to Van Jones and Josh Fox. "Sojourner Truth" was represented at the Summit, and today, we bring you the first in a series covering the Summit. You will hear the words of actor and activist Danny Glover; Dr. Jane Sanders, educator and wife of Bernie Sanders; author and environmentalist Naomi Klein; and Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor at The Nation. You’ll hear about each of their personal journeys into activism; about taking inspiration from progressive movements across the globe; about the legacies of Martin Luther King and W. E. B. Du Bois; about the ills of corporate media; and about the path forward in the era of Trump.

On June 13, U.S. Attorney General Jefferson Sessions testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee. His is the latest in a slew of congressional hearings centered on Russian interference in the U.S. election, the Trump campaign and Trump's administrations possible collusion with Russian officials, Trump's possible obstruction of justice in the FBI's investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. Sessions was combative in both defending himself and refusing to answer basic questions about his private conversations with Trump on these matters, even though Trump had not invoked executive privilege. Sessions, time and time again, was unable to cite any legal grounds for dodging questions posed by committee members. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden called Sessions out for stonewalling, and the ACLU has tweeted that Sessions is "impeding a congressional investigation." Today, we dive right into the hearing and share with you some of the key pieces of testimony and questioning.

A group of Persian Gulf states, lead by Saudi Arabia and with the support of Trump and the Israeli government, continues their blockade of Qatar. What is going on? Our guest is historian Dr. Gerald Horne.

In the UK, Theresa May is trying to hobble together a majority in parliament following the shocking defeat of her party and the victory of the Labour party, led by left-leaning Jeremy party head Corbyn. In France, Macron's new party is predicted to take a landslide in the second round of legislative elections. Our guest is economist and analyst Mark Weisbrot.

What policy moves is the Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress making while the focus in Washington, D.C. and in the U.S. media remains on the Russia investigation? We speak with Jackie Goldberg.

In the UK, Theresa May is trying to hobble together a majority in parliament following the shocking defeat of her party and the victory of the Labour party, led by left-leaning Jeremy party head Corbyn. What was the political context that made this progressive victory possible, and what can the U.S. learn from such a win? Our guest is Mark Weisbrot, economist and political columnist.

Read Weisbrot's latest column here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-resurrection-of-jeremy-corbyn-truth-can-be-an_us_593aa8f2e4b014ae8c69df9c

Today, Washington, D.C. and the White House are in turmoil following the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey. The White House responded by saying the president is not a liar, and Trump tweeted this morning that he is totally and completely vindicated.

On the other side of the pond in the UK, the Conservative Party suffered an embarrassing and devastating defeat in Thursday's general election, which saw voters flock towards Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, cementing a hung parliament. Prime Minister Theresa May is now cobbling together a government. UK-based Nina Lopez provides her reaction along with our regular roundtable guests: Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg and Dr. Gerald Horne.

The Democratic party is focused on the Russia investigation. Is Russia the problem, or is the exercise a distraction? This question plays out in a debate between Bill Curry, political columnist and former counsellor to the Bill Clinton White House, and Paul Jay, Senior Editor at The Real News Network. We bring you this debate as part of our partnership with The Real News.

Then, we turn our attention to the UK, which is days away from its general election, where the British people will vote on members of parliament. On the right are the Conservatives, headed by Theresa May, who called for the early election; on the left is the Labour Party, headed by Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn has expanded the membership in the Labour Party by garnering a huge wave of support in the past year. Many have compared Corbyn to Bernie Sanders. But what does Corbyn stand for " and could his party upset the Conservatives? We bring you the speech Jeremy Corbyn gave to his party at the start of his campaign.

Washington is in turmoil as Donald Trump fires James Comey, the head of the FBI, the man who was investigating him and members of his team. What are the implications? Our guest is former elected official Jackie Goldberg.

Today, we hear from Dr. Maryse Narcisse, the Presidential candidate for Lavalas, the party of Haitis Jean Bertrand Aristide. Aristide was deposed in a U.S. backed coup on the 200th anniversary of the Haitian Revolution.

Dr. Narcisse represented Lavalas in the 2016 Presidential elections in Haiti, an election reported to be marred by widespread fraud. In addition to Lavalas, three other candidates have challenged the election results. Nevertheless, the U.S.-backed candidate, Jovenel Moise, was installed as Haitis President.

Dr. Narcisse spoke at Scripps College in her first visit to California, and we bring you her presentation, with translation from Pierre Labossiere.