Sojourner Truth Radio

Welcome to Sojourner Truth. Thank you for staying with us. This is your host, Margaret Prescod.

Today: Poetry for Haiti, the worlds first Black republic, which is struggling to overcome neo-colonialism, imposed poverty, state violence, and natural disasters produced by climate change. In the early morning hours of August 14, 2021, a powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southern Haiti, killing at least 2,200 people and injuring over 12,000 others, according to France 24. These figures, however, are expected to be much higher and many people remain unaccounted for. The Associated Press reported that at least 136,800 buildings were damaged or destroyed.

The August 2021 earthquake that struck Haiti was the deadliest natural disaster of 2021; and it was the worst natural disaster to strike Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. Just two days later, on August 16, 2021, Haiti experienced a direct hit from Hurricane Grace, which poured over 10 inches of rain on the nation. There was further damage from flash flooding and landslides that led to more casualties, especially among those hundreds of thousands of Haitians left homeless by the earthquake. According to the United Nations, at least 1.2 million people, including 540,000 children, had been impacted by the twin devastations of the earthquake and the hurricane. Meanwhile, all of this took place within the context of COVID-19, state violence, political instability, and attacks on the poor.

In the Summer of 2021, a benefit for the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund (known as HERF) was organized by longtime Haiti solidarity campaigners. HERF provides concrete material aid directly to the people of Haiti, such as water, food, shelter, medicine, housing, and more. The benefit, dubbed Poetry for Haiti, was an afternoon of soul-nourishing poetry and an opportunity to support Haitis movement for democracy. The event featured Devorah Major, San Franciscos Third Poet Laureate, Tongo Eisen-Martin, San Franciscos current Poet Laureate, and Shanga Labossiere. It also featured a heart-warming tribute by longtime Haiti human rights activist Pierre Labossiere, to beloved elders of the Haiti solidarity movement.

They include: Mrs. Solange Aristide, mother of President Jean Bertrand Aristide; Terry Collins, a community leader and co-founder of KPOO-FM; and Jacques Antoine Gwo Lobo, a Haitian DJ, community leader, and activist with the Lavalas movement. The Sojourner Truth Team, myself and Assistant Producer Ramiro Funez, had the honor of meeting Gwo Lobo in 2019, when we traveled to Haiti to cover the grassroots uprising. We bid farewell to these beloved and highly revered elders. Today on Sojourner Truth, we bring you exclusive audio from this historic event, Poetry for Haiti. The event was co-sponsored by the Haiti Action Committee, the Ecumenical Peace Institute, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, and St. Johns Presbyterian Church Mission and Justice Commission.

Welcome to Sojourner Truth. Thank you for staying with us. This is your host, Margaret Prescod.

Today: Poetry for Haiti, the worlds first Black republic, which is struggling to overcome neo-colonialism, imposed poverty, state violence, and natural disasters produced by climate change. In the early morning hours of August 14, 2021, a powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southern Haiti, killing at least 2,200 people and injuring over 12,000 others, according to France 24. These figures, however, are expected to be much higher and many people remain unaccounted for. The Associated Press reported that at least 136,800 buildings were damaged or destroyed.

The August 2021 earthquake that struck Haiti was the deadliest natural disaster of 2021; and it was the worst natural disaster to strike Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. Just two days later, on August 16, 2021, Haiti experienced a direct hit from Hurricane Grace, which poured over 10 inches of rain on the nation. There was further damage from flash flooding and landslides that led to more casualties, especially among those hundreds of thousands of Haitians left homeless by the earthquake. According to the United Nations, at least 1.2 million people, including 540,000 children, had been impacted by the twin devastations of the earthquake and the hurricane. Meanwhile, all of this took place within the context of COVID-19, state violence, political instability, and attacks on the poor.

In the Summer of 2021, a benefit for the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund (known as HERF) was organized by longtime Haiti solidarity campaigners. HERF provides concrete material aid directly to the people of Haiti, such as water, food, shelter, medicine, housing, and more. The benefit, dubbed Poetry for Haiti, was an afternoon of soul-nourishing poetry and an opportunity to support Haitis movement for democracy. The event featured Devorah Major, San Franciscos Third Poet Laureate, Tongo Eisen-Martin, San Franciscos current Poet Laureate, and Shanga Labossiere. It also featured a heart-warming tribute by longtime Haiti human rights activist Pierre Labossiere, to beloved elders of the Haiti solidarity movement.

They include: Mrs. Solange Aristide, mother of President Jean Bertrand Aristide; Terry Collins, a community leader and co-founder of KPOO-FM; and Jacques Antoine Gwo Lobo, a Haitian DJ, community leader, and activist with the Lavalas movement. The Sojourner Truth Team, myself and Assistant Producer Ramiro Funez, had the honor of meeting Gwo Lobo in 2019, when we traveled to Haiti to cover the grassroots uprising. We bid farewell to these beloved and highly revered elders. Today on Sojourner Truth, we bring you exclusive audio from this historic event, Poetry for Haiti. The event was co-sponsored by the Haiti Action Committee, the Ecumenical Peace Institute, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, and St. Johns Presbyterian Church Mission and Justice Commission.

Welcome to Sojourner Truth. Thank you for staying with us. This is your host, Margaret Prescod.

Today: Poetry for Haiti, the worlds first Black republic, which is struggling to overcome neo-colonialism, imposed poverty, state violence, and natural disasters produced by climate change. In the early morning hours of August 14, 2021, a powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southern Haiti, killing at least 2,200 people and injuring over 12,000 others, according to France 24. These figures, however, are expected to be much higher and many people remain unaccounted for. The Associated Press reported that at least 136,800 buildings were damaged or destroyed.

The August 2021 earthquake that struck Haiti was the deadliest natural disaster of 2021; and it was the worst natural disaster to strike Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. Just two days later, on August 16, 2021, Haiti experienced a direct hit from Hurricane Grace, which poured over 10 inches of rain on the nation. There was further damage from flash flooding and landslides that led to more casualties, especially among those hundreds of thousands of Haitians left homeless by the earthquake. According to the United Nations, at least 1.2 million people, including 540,000 children, had been impacted by the twin devastations of the earthquake and the hurricane. Meanwhile, all of this took place within the context of COVID-19, state violence, political instability, and attacks on the poor.

In the Summer of 2021, a benefit for the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund (known as HERF) was organized by longtime Haiti solidarity campaigners. HERF provides concrete material aid directly to the people of Haiti, such as water, food, shelter, medicine, housing, and more. The benefit, dubbed Poetry for Haiti, was an afternoon of soul-nourishing poetry and an opportunity to support Haitis movement for democracy. The event featured Devorah Major, San Franciscos Third Poet Laureate, Tongo Eisen-Martin, San Franciscos current Poet Laureate, and Shanga Labossiere. It also featured a heart-warming tribute by longtime Haiti human rights activist Pierre Labossiere, to beloved elders of the Haiti solidarity movement.

They include: Mrs. Solange Aristide, mother of President Jean Bertrand Aristide; Terry Collins, a community leader and co-founder of KPOO-FM; and Jacques Antoine Gwo Lobo, a Haitian DJ, community leader, and activist with the Lavalas movement. The Sojourner Truth Team, myself and Assistant Producer Ramiro Funez, had the honor of meeting Gwo Lobo in 2019, when we traveled to Haiti to cover the grassroots uprising. We bid farewell to these beloved and highly revered elders. Today on Sojourner Truth, we bring you exclusive audio from this historic event, Poetry for Haiti. The event was co-sponsored by the Haiti Action Committee, the Ecumenical Peace Institute, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, and St. Johns Presbyterian Church Mission and Justice Commission.

Welcome to Sojourner Truth. Thank you for staying with us. This is your host, Margaret Prescod.

Today: Poetry for Haiti, the worlds first Black republic, which is struggling to overcome neo-colonialism, imposed poverty, state violence, and natural disasters produced by climate change. In the early morning hours of August 14, 2021, a powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southern Haiti, killing at least 2,200 people and injuring over 12,000 others, according to France 24. These figures, however, are expected to be much higher and many people remain unaccounted for. The Associated Press reported that at least 136,800 buildings were damaged or destroyed.

The August 2021 earthquake that struck Haiti was the deadliest natural disaster of 2021; and it was the worst natural disaster to strike Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. Just two days later, on August 16, 2021, Haiti experienced a direct hit from Hurricane Grace, which poured over 10 inches of rain on the nation. There was further damage from flash flooding and landslides that led to more casualties, especially among those hundreds of thousands of Haitians left homeless by the earthquake. According to the United Nations, at least 1.2 million people, including 540,000 children, had been impacted by the twin devastations of the earthquake and the hurricane. Meanwhile, all of this took place within the context of COVID-19, state violence, political instability, and attacks on the poor.

In the Summer of 2021, a benefit for the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund (known as HERF) was organized by longtime Haiti solidarity campaigners. HERF provides concrete material aid directly to the people of Haiti, such as water, food, shelter, medicine, housing, and more. The benefit, dubbed Poetry for Haiti, was an afternoon of soul-nourishing poetry and an opportunity to support Haitis movement for democracy. The event featured Devorah Major, San Franciscos Third Poet Laureate, Tongo Eisen-Martin, San Franciscos current Poet Laureate, and Shanga Labossiere. It also featured a heart-warming tribute by longtime Haiti human rights activist Pierre Labossiere, to beloved elders of the Haiti solidarity movement.

They include: Mrs. Solange Aristide, mother of President Jean Bertrand Aristide; Terry Collins, a community leader and co-founder of KPOO-FM; and Jacques Antoine Gwo Lobo, a Haitian DJ, community leader, and activist with the Lavalas movement. The Sojourner Truth Team, myself and Assistant Producer Ramiro Funez, had the honor of meeting Gwo Lobo in 2019, when we traveled to Haiti to cover the grassroots uprising. We bid farewell to these beloved and highly revered elders. Today on Sojourner Truth, we bring you exclusive audio from this historic event, Poetry for Haiti. The event was co-sponsored by the Haiti Action Committee, the Ecumenical Peace Institute, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, and St. Johns Presbyterian Church Mission and Justice Commission.

Today on Sojourner Truth, our weekly roundtable. Our panelists are Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg, and Dr. Gerald Horne.

From the devastation of Hurricane Idea leaving a swath of suffering from Louisiana and sweeping across the nation to the East Coast, and with wildfires continuing in California and across the West Coast, climate change is upon us. Is the nation prepared? What is the responsibility of government to protect the planet? Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is in Louisiana. But how serious is his administration about getting to the root of the climate crisis? Why are people of color hardest hit by the climate crisis? What are the global implications of the crisis, with devastation floods in Germany and Spain and massive wildfires in Greece and Italy?

The battle lines are drawn on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, sweeping the United States. Hospitalizations are at the highest point in the United States since last winter. What's going on? As schools reopen, the battle is now focused on school board meetings, where school board members are coming under attack by anti-vaxers and by other parents who do not want their children either vaccined or masked. Increasingly, children are getting the virus and are being hospitalized. This, as Donald Trump is planning a "Liberty Tour" of the nation, which will include anti-vaxers.

Roe vs. Wade is facing its most serious threat yet as Texas implements a draconian anti-abortion law as the Supreme Court allows the law to move forward.

What are the global implications of the U.S. defeat in Afghanistan? As Biden's approval rating falls in the polls, is he trying to shift the U.S. away from a war economy to a caring economy?

Today on Sojourner Truth, our weekly roundtable. Our panelists are Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg, and Dr. Gerald Horne.

From the devastation of Hurricane Idea leaving a swath of suffering from Louisiana and sweeping across the nation to the East Coast, and with wildfires continuing in California and across the West Coast, climate change is upon us. Is the nation prepared? What is the responsibility of government to protect the planet? Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is in Louisiana. But how serious is his administration about getting to the root of the climate crisis? Why are people of color hardest hit by the climate crisis? What are the global implications of the crisis, with devastation floods in Germany and Spain and massive wildfires in Greece and Italy?

The battle lines are drawn on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, sweeping the United States. Hospitalizations are at the highest point in the United States since last winter. What's going on? As schools reopen, the battle is now focused on school board meetings, where school board members are coming under attack by anti-vaxers and by other parents who do not want their children either vaccined or masked. Increasingly, children are getting the virus and are being hospitalized. This, as Donald Trump is planning a "Liberty Tour" of the nation, which will include anti-vaxers.

Roe vs. Wade is facing its most serious threat yet as Texas implements a draconian anti-abortion law as the Supreme Court allows the law to move forward.

What are the global implications of the U.S. defeat in Afghanistan? As Biden's approval rating falls in the polls, is he trying to shift the U.S. away from a war economy to a caring economy?

Today on Sojourner Truth, our weekly roundtable. Our panelists are Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg, and Dr. Gerald Horne.

From the devastation of Hurricane Idea leaving a swath of suffering from Louisiana and sweeping across the nation to the East Coast, and with wildfires continuing in California and across the West Coast, climate change is upon us. Is the nation prepared? What is the responsibility of government to protect the planet? Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is in Louisiana. But how serious is his administration about getting to the root of the climate crisis? Why are people of color hardest hit by the climate crisis? What are the global implications of the crisis, with devastation floods in Germany and Spain and massive wildfires in Greece and Italy?

The battle lines are drawn on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, sweeping the United States. Hospitalizations are at the highest point in the United States since last winter. What's going on? As schools reopen, the battle is now focused on school board meetings, where school board members are coming under attack by anti-vaxers and by other parents who do not want their children either vaccined or masked. Increasingly, children are getting the virus and are being hospitalized. This, as Donald Trump is planning a "Liberty Tour" of the nation, which will include anti-vaxers.

Roe vs. Wade is facing its most serious threat yet as Texas implements a draconian anti-abortion law as the Supreme Court allows the law to move forward.

What are the global implications of the U.S. defeat in Afghanistan? As Biden's approval rating falls in the polls, is he trying to shift the U.S. away from a war economy to a caring economy?

Today on Sojourner Truth, our weekly roundtable. Our panelists are Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg, and Dr. Gerald Horne.

From the devastation of Hurricane Idea leaving a swath of suffering from Louisiana and sweeping across the nation to the East Coast, and with wildfires continuing in California and across the West Coast, climate change is upon us. Is the nation prepared? What is the responsibility of government to protect the planet? Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is in Louisiana. But how serious is his administration about getting to the root of the climate crisis? Why are people of color hardest hit by the climate crisis? What are the global implications of the crisis, with devastation floods in Germany and Spain and massive wildfires in Greece and Italy?

The battle lines are drawn on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, sweeping the United States. Hospitalizations are at the highest point in the United States since last winter. What's going on? As schools reopen, the battle is now focused on school board meetings, where school board members are coming under attack by anti-vaxers and by other parents who do not want their children either vaccined or masked. Increasingly, children are getting the virus and are being hospitalized. This, as Donald Trump is planning a "Liberty Tour" of the nation, which will include anti-vaxers.

Roe vs. Wade is facing its most serious threat yet as Texas implements a draconian anti-abortion law as the Supreme Court allows the law to move forward.

What are the global implications of the U.S. defeat in Afghanistan? As Biden's approval rating falls in the polls, is he trying to shift the U.S. away from a war economy to a caring economy?

Today on Sojourner Truth, our annual Labor Day special. We honor all workers, those who are waged, as well as those who are unwaged.

This year, we uplift the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition, with whom we have partnered over the years for our Labor Day Special. This year will mark their 42nd annual Labor Day event. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coalition is unable to march the streets hand in hand with their union sisters and brothers, community, friends, and supporters. Furthermore, due to these unprecedented times, many union families have been economically affected and are in need of help.

With this in mind, the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition will join other labor unions to do a massive food distribution on Labor Day. On Labor Day, Monday, September 6, 2021, from 9 am to 12 pm, the Coalition will host its very first Labor of Love food distribution event to help feed those who are in need. Their goal is to distribute food to 3,500 families.

Our guests are Ramon Ponce De Leon, Armando Olivas, and Larry Barragan.

Ramon Ponce De Leon is president of ILWU Local 13. He is a third-generation longshoreman and has been in the industry for nearly four decades. Ramon has been dealing with the COVID pandemic amongst his members, who are very important essential workers that operate the Los Angeles-Long Beach Ports. These are the nation's largest ports that supply food and goods for the United States and the world.

Armando Olivas is Executive Director of Labor Community Services, an affiliation of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Armando and his team have been instrumental in organizing food distributions throughout Southern California during the COVID pandemic and continue to feed thousands of union and community members. Armando was a guest on last years Labor Day show.

Larry Barragan is a 32-year member of United Steelworkers Union Local 675 and Chairman of the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition.

Today on Sojourner Truth, our annual Labor Day special. We honor all workers, those who are waged, as well as those who are unwaged.

This year, we uplift the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition, with whom we have partnered over the years for our Labor Day Special. This year will mark their 42nd annual Labor Day event. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coalition is unable to march the streets hand in hand with their union sisters and brothers, community, friends, and supporters. Furthermore, due to these unprecedented times, many union families have been economically affected and are in need of help.

With this in mind, the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition will join other labor unions to do a massive food distribution on Labor Day. On Labor Day, Monday, September 6, 2021, from 9 am to 12 pm, the Coalition will host its very first Labor of Love food distribution event to help feed those who are in need. Their goal is to distribute food to 3,500 families.

Our guests are Ramon Ponce De Leon, Armando Olivas, and Larry Barragan.

Ramon Ponce De Leon is president of ILWU Local 13. He is a third-generation longshoreman and has been in the industry for nearly four decades. Ramon has been dealing with the COVID pandemic amongst his members, who are very important essential workers that operate the Los Angeles-Long Beach Ports. These are the nation's largest ports that supply food and goods for the United States and the world.

Armando Olivas is Executive Director of Labor Community Services, an affiliation of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Armando and his team have been instrumental in organizing food distributions throughout Southern California during the COVID pandemic and continue to feed thousands of union and community members. Armando was a guest on last years Labor Day show.

Larry Barragan is a 32-year member of United Steelworkers Union Local 675 and Chairman of the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition.