Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Coming up: It’s been almost 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King broke with a Democratic President over the Vietnam War, but talking peace is still politically risky; and, whether you want to reform the U.S. prison system, or abolish it altogether, you’ll want to be in Washington on August 19, for the Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March.
Lots of folks give lip service to the idea of community control of the police. But some people in Washington, DC, are doing something about it. Netfa Freeman is with Pan African Community Action, in the nation’s capital. Freeman’s organization supports a community control of the police plan similar to the system envisioned by the late Black Panther Party leader, Huey P. Newton. However, with all the political energy and outrage directed at President Donald Trump, or the Russians, there doesn’t seem to be as much focus as before on the issue of police terror in Black America.
The Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations is engaged in two main projects. One, is an upcoming, two-day Electoral Politics School, to be held April 8th and 9 th , in St. Petersburg, Florida. The other is the Coalition’s commitment to Black Community Control of the Police, a key item in the Coalition’s 19-point National Black Agenda for Self-Determination, adopted last year. In Philadelphia, Black Is Back Coalition organizer Diop Olugbala says the two issues are intertwined.
Prison reform and prison abolition groups across the country are gearing up for a Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March, set for August 19 th in Washington. Paster Kenneth Glascow is founder the “The Ordinary People Society,” comprised of formerly incarcerated persons. He’s also an “outside” spokesman for the Free Alabama Movement, which is run by prison inmates, themselves. One of the Free Alabama Movement’s key organizers is Kinetik Justice, also known as Robert Earl Council, a prisoner who was recently singled out for retaliation by Alabama prison authorities. Pastor Glascow explains.
On April 3 rd , peace activists will gather at the New York University School of Law for a discussion to mark the 100 th anniversary of the U.S. entrance into World War One, which was supposed to be the War to End All Wars. It’s also the day before the 50 th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s historic speech at New York’s Riverside Church, in which he broke with ] President Lyndon Johnson over the Vietnam War. We spoke with David Swanson, the author and activist who publishes the influential web site, War Is A Crime. He’s one of the organizers of the April 3 rd event at New York University. Half a century after Dr. King’s Riverside speech, it seems that even discussion of peace is considered politically suspect.
And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left. I’m Nellie Bailey.