Black Agenda Radio for Week of June 5, 2017
ACLU Sues “Constitution-Free Zone” Mississippi County
The sheriff in Madison County, Mississippi, runs the jurisdiction like a “Constitution-free zone,” stopping people “on the streets, asking them for IDs, searching them, asking them to take off their shoes, cuffing them,” based solely on the color of their skin, according to a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. Staff attorney Joshua Tom said the ACLU hopes the suit will lead to establishment of “national standards” for police behavior.
National Black Leadership is Largely Absent or Incoherent
In the current political climate, Black and progressive activists should focus on locally-based efforts, said author and veteran organizer Kevin Alexander Gray. “We don’t have anybody on the national scene that’s saying anything coherent,” said Gray, speaking from his hometown of Columbia, South Carolina. “They’re saying those sound bites to stay on TV, and smiling and skinnin’ and grinnin’,” but “they’re disconnected from the struggle, disconnected from their history. People see them as frauds, and that’s a good thing, as we organize at the local level.”
Media Interest in Police Brutality Waning
“In terms of the front pages of major newspapers in this country, police brutality has not been covered to the degree it was in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown and Eric Garner and others,” said Larry Hamm, chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress (POP), in Newark, New Jersey. POP, which was founded 37 years ago, last week held its 70th weekly protest against police brutality. “We have to keep demonstrating, we have to keep fighting, in order to keep public attention on the issue,” said Hamm.
Black Agenda Radio on the Progressive Radio Network is hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey. A new edition of the program airs every Monday at 11:00am ET on PRN. Length: one hour.
As the Dominican Republic escalates its brutal crackdown on Haitian migrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent, Red Malunga condemns the racist policies fueling systemic violence and human rights…
For two decades, draconian 1996 immigration laws have torn families apart—jailing long-term residents over minor offenses, fast-tracking deportations of asylum seekers, and fueling the cruel machine…
Trump’s brutality is just the latest flare-up of a bipartisan imperial evil—one that funds genocide in Gaza, war in Ukraine, and repression at home while both parties serve the same billionaire class…
In this week’s segment, we hear about police propaganda designed to make the public fearful and ready to exact severe punishment, regardless of any facts about crime.
Dr. Jemima Pierre is a Black Agenda Report editor and contributor.
