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When Good People Do Nothing, Tyranny Reigns
Dontie Mitchell
When good people do nothing, tyranny reigns. Let us analyze why people are looting and rioting in the wake of George Floyd’s death. It’s because people lose respect for law when the very people responsible… Full Transcript
George Floyd: What Do You Expect To Happen
Dontie Mitchell
George Floyd and state power: what do you expect to happen? The death of George Floyd is on a long list of unarmed black people murdered by the police. His death is sad and tragic.… Full Transcript
Phone Wars 4: Organizing Against Mass Incarceration
Dontie Mitchell
Organizing against mass incarceration. I was reading the interview of Ruth Wilson Gilmore, who I never heard of until now. She wrote a book entitled “Golden Gulag,” which analyzes the buildup of the California prison… Full Transcript
Phone Wars 3
Dontie Mitchell
I was in the prison yard this morning, trying to get my young [] together to have a discussion about their future, when two of them were pulled away by guys from their town to… Full Transcript
The Fight to Staying Alive
Dontie Mitchell
There are those who think I should give up my fight for UFD, and I should just accept the fact that these people who run the New York state prison system don’t want UFD to… Full Transcript
A Message to Black, Brown, and Poor People in Age of COVID-19
Dontie Mitchell
A message to Black, Hispanic, and poor people in this age of COVID-19 from Mfalme Sikivu, Executive Minister of UFD. Here we are, in 2020, still faced with the reality of racism and classism. The… Full Transcript
My New Message to No New Jails
Dontie Mitchell
My new message to No New Jails. I did a previous commentary about the organization called No New Jails, NYC, which is a grassroots campaign committed to closing Rikers Island. Now, without building new jails… Full Transcript
Born On The Move
Boom! That’s the sound of a hydraulic cherry picker smashing through the side of a house. A house filled with men, women, children, and animals. (Imitates automatic rifle gunshot sounds.) Gunshots firing. Hundreds of rounds… Full Transcript
Free Dontie Mitchell: More Clemency
Dontie Mitchell
“#FreeDontieMitchell: More Clemency.” Once again, Governor Cuomo has passed me over for clemency, and many other deserving men and women who have more than paid their debt to society, but have been in prison excessively… Full Transcript
A Message to No New Jail NYC
Dontie Mitchell
“A Message to No New Jails NYC.” In September, New York city prison abolitionists organized the coalition known as No New Jails NYC. One of the group’s goals is to promote a vision of a… Full Transcript
Free Louisa Hanoune
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Does anyone remember the Arab Spring? Many Arab nations were swept by a massive wave of hope. In many countries, people took to the streets to support an end to corruption, an end to government… Full Transcript
Free Lamar Johnson Now
Keith Malik Washington
This piece is entitled “Free Lamar Johnson Now.” My name is Keith Malik Washington, and I’m the chief spokesperson for the End Prison Slavery in Texas movement. Peace and blessing, sisters and brothers. For 24… Full Transcript
Women of the Revolution: Janine & Janet Africa
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Women of MOVE.” Several days ago, after discussion with sister Suzanne, I began thinking about a piece on the women of MOVE. This seemed especially timely after the recent release of several MOVE sisters: Debbie,… Full Transcript
Toxic Prisons
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Toxic Prisons.” Several years ago, the Workers World newspaper publihed an article of mine entitled “Jailhouse Environmentalist.” It told the tale of a prisoner named Bryant Arroyo, a man who responded to the planned placement… Full Transcript
The Power of Movements
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“The Power of Movements.” When people join together, their power is multiplied. This simple fact has animated every popular movement in Black American history. That means the only time black folks in America have made… Full Transcript
Another Struggle
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Another Struggle.” My beloved friends, I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to mention my dear big brother Keith Cook. Happy birthday, brother. We gather again another day in another year,… Full Transcript
Moving Toward Justice
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Moving Toward Justice.” We are right. For the first time in years, our forces are building again, cohering again, marching again. In California, an all-star roster of activists, writers, and revolutionaries are coming together, marking… Full Transcript
Rapping with a Rapper
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Rapping with a Rapper.” For the last few years, in light of the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, then the arresting images from Ferguson, MO, rappers have created songs that rap not about… Full Transcript
When The Oppressed Support The Oppressed
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“When the oppressed support the oppressed.” In recent weeks, prominent black leaders have been labeled quite unjustly with a tag of anti-Semitism. The best known is perhaps the iconic radical figure Dr. Angela Yvonne Davis… Full Transcript
How do you fight an unjust and racist system? Definitely not by being their good nigga. How do you find an unjust and racist system that uses the power of the state to grind people… Full Transcript