Filter Commentaries
84 commentaries found
Page 2 of 5
Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? An Introduction.” Does the title of this work seem provocative? If so, then good. That’s how it’s intended to be, for if the question is provocative, then what of the… Full Transcript
An Abolitionist Life
Mumia Abu-Jamal
What does it mean to call oneself an abolitionist? The word doesn’t mean today what it meant 150 years ago. Then, it meant an end to what some have called ‘America’s Original Sin’–Slavery. Today? Well,… Full Transcript
National Disaster and Prisoners
Charles Karim Diggs
Good evening. My name is Charles Karim Diggs. Once again, I’m at Graterford prison in Pennsylvania. My number is AK7945. I want to talk about, uh, the, the hurricane that’s going on in the country… Full Transcript
Mass Incarceration
Omar Askia Ali
My name is Omar Askia Ali, AKA Edward Sistrunk. I’m calling in reference to the, uh, mass incarceration. The United States imprisons more residents than any other nation in the world. Over 2.2 million individuals… Full Transcript
What Drives Mass Incarceration?
Charles Karim Diggs
Hello everyone, my name is Charles Karim Diggs. I’m at Graterford prison in Pennsylvania. My number is AK7945, Box 244, Graterford, PA 19426. And I wanted to speak to you today, and my little subject… Full Transcript
Prison Nation
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Prison Nation.” When I left Death Row, I could no longer use my signature sign off: “live from death row,” which incidentally was the title of my first book. I had to find a new… Full Transcript
Public Health
Charles Karim Diggs
My name is Charles Karim Diggs, calling from, uh, Pennsylvania, Graterford prison. And, uh, this additional, uh, topic I would like to talk about public health. There is a public health problem in America, which… Full Transcript
August 8th
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Early morning. A time of rest, quiet and repose. On August 8th, 1978, only the early birds in search of worms were stirring. Also, cops assembled, heavily armed. They attacked the MOVE House in Powelton… Full Transcript
The National Disease of America
Don’t Get Trapped
Wilbert Sanders
This is Wilbert Sanders, also known as Jazz the Poet with one I called “Don’t Get Trapped.” Since music calms the savage beast, let’s compose a song with lyrics so strong, violence actually comes to… Full Transcript
Crucial Times
Wilbert Sanders
“Crucial Times.” We reside inside a peculiar nation plagued by dark clouds of separation, overloaded from policies and restrictions deliberately causing disarray and confliction. Numerous walls are efficiently erected and showing the privilege remain protected… Full Transcript
The Return Of The Missing Citizens
Charles Karim Diggs
“Return of the Missing Citizens: Why So Many Citizens in Prison?” American prisons, on any given day, have over 3 million or more women and men in jail. These prisons are local, county, statewide—also the… Full Transcript
Lifers Do Better On Parole
Omar Askia Ali
Statistics show that 85 to 90 percent of those incarcerated are in prison for economically related crimes, mostly due to poverty and lack of education and lack of employable skills. Moreover, the recidivism rate among… Full Transcript
Excerpt 2 from “The Making and Unmaking of a Criminal”
Ozzie Mannwright
Hello Prison Radio. This is Ozzie Mann Wright again. I’m coming at you from Summit County Jail. I am reading another excerpt from my upcoming book, “The Making and Unmaking of a Criminal.” I hope… Full Transcript
Neoliberal Utopias and Nightmares
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Neoliberal Utopias and Nightmares.” Acclaimed science fiction writer Ursula K. LeGuin, in her book The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, crafts a tale that crackles with the electricity of life. This is not a… Full Transcript
There is a Storm a’Comin’
Khalfani Malik Khaldun
Hello. My name is brother Khalfani Malik Khaldun, Indiana political prisoner. I am calling from the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, a prison located in southern Indiana. I am presenting one of my personal pieces, “There… Full Transcript
Law & Liberation
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Law and Liberation.” From the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement now comes the rise of Law for Black Lives, a collective of lawyers, law students, jailhouse lawyers, and other legal workers in support… Full Transcript
Help Make 2017 My Last Year in Incarceration
Uhuru Rowe
This is Uhuru Rowe. Help make 2017 my last year of incarceration. Happy belated new year to all of you. I wish you all the best on your personal and professional endeavors. The beginning of… Full Transcript
Organized Crime
Wilbert Sanders
Hi, this is Wilbert Sanders, as Jazz the Poet, with a piece I call “Organized Crime.” After reviewing the situation of race relations within and out this complex nation, the disenfranchised hold United States guilty… Full Transcript
“Imagine.” Imagine living, eating, sleeping, relieving oneself, daydreaming, weeping, but mostly waiting, in the room the size of your bathroom. Now imagine doing all those things, but mostly waiting, for the rest of your life.… Full Transcript