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Wealth and Change
Dontie Mitchell
The problem is that rich keep getting richer while the rest of us barely make ends meet. People must work two, three jobs just to live the American Dream. Many of you will have to… 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
The Struggle of UC Grad Students
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Several years ago, I read a masterful and remarkable book titled Hammer and Hoe by the acclaimed historian Robin Kelley. It’s a fascinating history of black workers in the 1930s working in Alabama who tried… Full Transcript
The Justice System
Omar Askia Ali
The title of this topic is the justice system. In the Philadelphia Tribune, 11-24-19, page one, Mr. Maurice Hudson was jailed for being poor. Philadephia Supreme Court freed him, calling the sentence an “egregious error.”… Full Transcript
A Smarter Approach To Prison Abolition
Dontie Mitchell
A smarter approach to prison abolition. In my last commentary I reported on this new coalition of prison abolitionists called No New Jails NYC. They advocate a vision where incarceration is wiped from the American… Full Transcript
We Got Tablets
Dontie Mitchell
“We Got Tablets.” Yesterday, October 1st, we were issued free tablets by JPay, a company owned by Securus Technologies. I remember when the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision first announced in… Full Transcript
Big Pharma: Big Money = No Blame
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Big Pharma: Big Money = No Blame.” In recent days, we’ve heard of settlements and civil suits involving big pharmaceutical companies, the very sources of opioid products like Oxycontin for example, that has left tens… Full Transcript
Dorian
Mumia Abu-Jamal
The wind comes spinning like a cosmic top, spinning, spinning, its arms ripping, ripping, ripping. The Bahamas islands lay in the Caribbean sea, trembling in manic terror. But Dorian does not leave. It sits and… Full Transcript
Immigration Nation
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Immigration Nation.” Say one thing about the Trump presidency. From day one, issue one has been immigration, more specifically, the issue has been American anxiety about the rising tide of immigrants, especially Mexican or other… Full Transcript
But What Is Justice?
Dontie Mitchell
I just got finished watching the TV show We The People. This particular episode moved me deeply because it dealt with the question of bail and redemption. Rodney was being held on a 100,000 dollar… Full Transcript
Manafort Rises
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Manafort Rises.” Much of the nation waited with bated breath on the eminent sentencing of Paul Manafort, the once powerful operator of a foreign representation firm and ally of an American president. According to the… Full Transcript
Explosion of the Yellow Vest
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Greetings comrades friends, brothers, sisters. As the new year dawns, it is important to view developments happening in the west with new, cool eyes. Socialists often see each critical event as a crisis in capitalism.… Full Transcript
Operation Shutdown
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Operation Shutdown.” As government offices shut their doors and government workers continue to work despite no paychecks for weeks, the U.S. government shutdown marches on. If ever there was an opportunity to show the sharp… Full Transcript
Cracks In The Walls of Empire
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Cracks In The Walls of Empire.” Legates: as we gather today, we do so amid the fire and smoke of chaos both figuratively and literally. In France, the city of light, Paris, is surrounded by… Full Transcript
Why White Supremacy Means White Male Supremacy
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Why white supremacy means white male supremacy.” When Donald Trump lamented at the loss of one of his employees’ career, a bomb of females protest erupted, for he not surprisingly ignored the suffering of his… Full Transcript
War Against the Poor and Workers
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“War against the poor and workers.” It is an era of imperial freefall, and in support, the government is openly attacking Latino immigrants from Guatemala and Honduras, lobbing tear gas canisters at moms and babies.… Full Transcript
President Chaos
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“President Chaos.” This country is a complex place. This world is a complex world. To govern such a place, indeed such an empire, takes wisdom, insight, and knowledge from the finest minds. And even then,… Full Transcript
Linking Movements
Kerry “Shakaboona” Marshall
“Linking Movements and Daring to Be Free” by Kerry “Shakaboona” Marshall. What does the Black Lives Matter, immigration movement, J20 protesters, Poor People’s Campaign, and Occupy movement have in common? Their commonality is that the… Full Transcript
The Business of Prisons
Omar Askia Ali
The name of my topic is “The Business- The Business of Prisons.” Picture a multi-billion dollar industry with corporate ties ranging from Boeing, Macy’s, Nintendo Starbuck, and Victoria’a Secret. Picture an industry [inaudible] with sizeable… Full Transcript
“The Summer of our Discontent.” As the numbers of the dead inexorably rise from those who succumb to the rigors of COVID-19, so too does the social discontent with the state of governmental incompetence. As… Full Transcript