Filter Commentaries
Sex Wars
In the wake of a spate of scandals bursting out of Hollywood, names–names of the rich and famous-are dropping like ripe fruit from a bush. This latest eruption stems from the growing claims against super-director/bank… Full Transcript
It Should Tell You This
I am Reginald Sinclair Lewis, and this piece is called “It Should Tell You This.” I first learned about Larry Krasner’s campaign running for office for this Philadelphia district attorney in the Philadelphia Sun, a… Full Transcript
Mexico’s Non Candidate
In Mexico, the existing political structure is a dizzying patchwork of corruption. Government is sometimes indistinguishable from the notorious drug cartels (if you think this is mere rhetoric, consider the recent massacre of students in… Full Transcript
Dennis Banks
In the late 1960s and early ‘70s, two names emerged from the Native American and Indigenous community that stood for resistance to white repression and assaults on Native life: Russell Means and Dennis Banks. They… Full Transcript
Are We Willing To Imagine?
My name is Charles Karim Diggs. I’m calling from Graterford Prison in Pennsylvania. The title of my little, uh, speech, is “Are We Willing to Imagine?” Try to imagine a prison system that uses its… Full Transcript
Education
“Education.” You cannot expect many, let alone all of us, to be rehabilitated over the decades. It takes for legal relief. Be it through the courts or commutation, if we have no continuing education avenues… Full Transcript
Huey for the Love of the People
“Huey for the Love of the People.” Dr. Huey P. Newton, the founder of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, CA, began the organization along with Bobby Seale as a body focused on the people,… Full Transcript
Love and Economics
Charles Karim Diggs. I’m in Graterford, Pennsylvania, Graterford State Correctional Institution. Um, my topic for this evening is “Love and Economics.” Wealth should help more than the wealthy. Riches should enrich the community. Success should… Full Transcript
How Convicted Women Are Treated
Hi, this is Terri Harper calling from SCI Muncy in Pennsylvania. This piece is about a conversation that I had with one of my sisters about how I am looked upon as a woman who… Full Transcript
Billboard Project for Parole
My name is, uh, my given name is Edward Sistrunk. My Islamic name is Omar Askia Ali which I’m knowing more by. My topic this day is about a billboard set up in Pennsylvania, across… Full Transcript
Frackville’s Systemic Water Crisis
On October 26, 2017, the town of Frackville, Pennsylvania sat down to Schuylkill County Water, Municipal water source, and switched over to SEI fright mill prison’s water preserve tank. Staff indicated the Schuylkill municipality was… Full Transcript
Is There a Fear To Love?
Charles Karim Diggs, and I’m calling from Pennsylvania, Graterford. And, uh, my, uh, title for the subject tonight is, “Is There a Fear to Love?” You may ask yourself, what does love have to do… Full Transcript
The Plight of Political Prisoners in America
“The Plight of Political Prisoners in America” by Delbert Africa. On A Move! This is Delbert Africa from Dallas Prison speaking about the plight of political prisoners here in America – especially in light of… Full Transcript
Long Term Solitary Confinement
“It will be six years this October when my son has been locked up. He’s not the same person he was when he first went in. I don’t know who’s done what to him, but… Full Transcript
Puerto Rico: A Colony By Any Name
“Puerto Rico: A Colony By Any Name.” On Christopher Columbus’s second voyage to what was called the West Indies, he visited Puerto Rico, called Borinquen by the Arawak natives of the island. Columbus docked in… Full Transcript
PSA
In 1992, the brilliant law professor Derrick Bell published Faces at the Bottom of the Well, a series of potent essays on the sustained efforts of America to assign the bottom of the well to… Full Transcript
Are We Letting The Great Moment Vanish
My name is Charles Karim Diggs. I’m calling from, uh, Pennsylvania Graterford state prison, and the, uh, topic for my, uh, little essay here is, uh, “Are We Letting a Great Moment Vanish?” This nation… Full Transcript
The Deadliest … So Far
The sounds of gunfire crackle through the night air, but few seem to realize its import. Some think it’s firecrackers; some, the thump, thump of helicopter blades chopping through the air; some even think its… Full Transcript
Kneeling for Justice
“Kneeling for Justice: Kaepernick’s Demonstration.” For former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick, his knee struck a nerve across America. Kaepernick, a talented quarterback, decided months ago to take a knee during the national anthem to… Full Transcript
My name is Omar Askia Ali, AKA Edward Sistrunk. I’m reading an article from a dear friend of mine. It doesn’t need to be repeated because it speaks for us all. It starts off: “Prisoner’s… Full Transcript