http://blackagendaradio.podbean.com/mf/web/e6rcva/BAR030215.mp3
Eight hundred people attended the funeral for Jessica Hernandez, an unarmed transgender 17 year-old shot down by Denver police. The problem isn’t just a few “bad apple” cops. “The whole damn rotten system is the problem, and must be thrown out,” said Kerry “Shakaboona” Marshall, a correspondent for Prison Radio and editor of The Movement magazine, who has served 25 years of a life sentence imposed when he was still a juvenile, in Pennsylvania.
“The Dark Side of American Exceptionalism”
That’s the title of a commentary by Kenneth E. Hartman, executive director of The Other Death Penalty Project, who is serving life without possibility of parole in a California prison. Hartman believes that most Americans are willing to make prisons more humane. “It really is past time for all of us trying to fix this mess to stop kowtowing and start standing up to power,” said Hartman.
Chicago Torture Cop Freed from Custody
Jon Burge, the former Chicago police commander who oversaw the torture of hundreds of mainly Black “suspects” in the Seventies and Eighties, was released from a halfway house after serving 4 ½ years for lying under oath. Some of Burge’s victims were later proven innocent, including Shadeed Mu’min, who was convicted of murder based on a false confession. After being nearly choked to death three times, Mu’min said to Burge, “I’ll tell you anything you wanna know, just don’t do this no more.” The audio was provided by Democracy Now!
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. Click here to download the show.
Ntozake Shange reminds us that whether we come from Haiti, Savannah, Luanda, or Palestine, we may not speak the same language, but “we fight the same old men.”
I spoke to Eugene Puryear, who traveled to the November 2024 Conference in Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahel.
"Owl Poem (Nod to Amiri)" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
Only 3 months into his term, there is a growing discontent among Trump’s white supporters as his policies harm their economic interests. There is potential for backlash if he continues to alienate…
Ecuador was once a safe country with some of the best economic prospects in the region. Today, Ecuador has a nearly 500% increase in violent crimes and a marginalized population of poor, African, and…
