Black Agenda Radio

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. The United States has embedded itself in Syrian territory, after six years of arming Islamic jihadist fighters to overthrow that government. Russia is also in Syria, but that’s at the request of the recognized Syrian government. There is no legal justification for the U.S. presence in Syria, according to Dr. Francis Boyle, the professor of international law at the University of Illinois. The Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations will hold a national conference in Chicago, August 12 and 13. The theme of the gathering is “The Ballot AND the Bullet: War and Peace in the Era of Donald Trump.” We spoke with Black is Back chairman Omali Yeshitela, and asked, What’s so different about the Donald Trump era? The nation’s best known political prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal, was a radio journalist before he was locked up in the death of a Philadelphia policeman. In an essay for Prison Radio, Abu Jamal speaks of Franz Fanon, the “Revolutionary Journalist.” Diane, Rwigara, the 35-year old daughter of a businessman believed to have been assassinated by the regime of Paul Kagame, in Rwanda, is perservering in her presidential bid. People that challenge dictator Paul Kagame most often wind up dead, in prison, or in exile. David Himbara is journalist who fled Rwanda to avoid assassination. Himbara says Diane Rwigara has given Rwandans hope. He appeared on Phil Taylor’s radio program, “Unusual Sources,” in Toronto, Canada. WBAI-FM Radio, in New York City, is being sued by the Empire State building, from whose towers it has been broadcasting since 1965. But the Empire State Building management claims WBAI owes more than 2 million dollars in back rent. The suit threatens not only WBAI, but other Pacifica stations in Texas and California, according to WBAI interim executive director Bill Crosiere And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Coming up: Black people gathered in East St. Louis, Illinois, and nearby Ferguson, Missouri, to mark one of the nation’s most deadly racist assaults, 100 years ago. Mumia Abu Jamal challenges the prosecutorial racism that put him in prison, 35 years ago. And, the Green Party puts forward a candidate for mayor of New York City. But first – Rev. Edward Pinkney, the veteran community leader from mostly Black Benton Harbor, Michigan, is breathing free air for the first time in two-and- a-half years. Rev. Pinkney was released from prison after serving 30 months of a maximum ten year sentence for trying to recall a mayor allied with the giant Whirlpool Corporation, which has long dominated his city. The newly released political prisoner recalled his ordeal in the Michigan prison system. A century ago, white mobs killed hundreds of Black people in East St. Louis, Illinois, in a slaughter that shaped Black politics for much of the remainder of the 20 th century. Back in 1917, when the white media spoke of “race riots,” they meant mass white assaults on Black communities. Many historians now refer to attacks like the one on East St. Louis, as pogroms -- organized racist bloodbaths. Dr. Randy Short was a principal organizer of three days of actions marking the massacre. He says these rituals of mass murder were standard white political behavior, for many generations. The Green Party’s candidate for mayor of New York City, Akeem Browder, thinks his fight to get on the ballot will be successful, despite the difficulties that small parties face in challenging the rule of the duopoly, corporate parties. Akeem is the brother of Kalief Browder, the young man who spent one thousand days locked up in New York’s infamous Rikers Island jail, before charges against him were dropped for a crime he didn’t commit. Kalief Browder then fell into a deep depression and committed suicide. His brother Akeem’s challenge to Mayor Bill Deblasio is an uphill climb. Diblasio was once seen by many as the great progressive white hope for New York. But, fewer people feel that way now that he’s up for re-election. The 4 th of July is just another day behind bars if, like Mumia Abu Jamal and many others, you are a political prisoner in the United States. Mumia’s 35 years in prison, much of it on death row, in the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer, has been marked by many courtroom dramas, punctuated by massive mobilizations of his worldwide supporters. There was encouraging news on the legal front, last month. Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Fraser spoke with Dr. Johanna Fernandez, a professor of history and African American Studies at Baruch College, and a key organizer in the Campaign to Bring Mumia Home. Dr. Fernandez explained the complex legal issue that is now before the Pennsylvania courts. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Coming up: The nations leading anti-war organization held its national conference in Richmond, Virginia. And, James Baldwin, the great author, essayist, playwrite, and political thinker, is the subject of a three-day celebration, at the Saturday Free School, in Philadelphia. The activists of the United National Anti-War Coalition, UNAC, certainly have their work cut out for them. The War Party is firmly in charge on both sides of the political aisle, among the Republicans in Congress and the White House, and the Democratic so-called opposition. Nevertheless, three hundred activists gathered in Richmond, Virginia, to explore strategies for peace  including a sizeable delegation from Black Agenda Report. This year’s conference was the most heavily Black in the history of UNAC, with Blacks making up about a third of the speakers. This week, we’ll bring you ten of those speakers from the conference in Richmond, beginning with Charo Mina-Rojas, a Black community organizer from the South American nation of Colombia. In Philadelphia, the Saturday Free School, a favorite venue for progressive activists, thinkers, and students of all ages -- and where Dubosian Scholar Dr. Anthony Monteiro can often be found – will hold a three-day celebration of the Life of James Baldwin. The event takes place July 7, 8 and 9 at Philadelphia’s historic Church of the Advocate, where the Saturday Free School is located. Artists, entertainers, educators and activists from around the region will honor Baldwin, who died in 1987. Baldwin wrote essays, articles, books and plays, but he didn’t write political manifestos, and was not active in conventional movement organizations. So, why is James Baldwin so important, historically and politically? We asked two members of the Free School collective: Elias Gonzalez and Kayla Watkins. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Earlier this month, Black Agenda Report was well-represented at the Left Forum, in New York City, the nation’s largest yearly gathering of leftwing activists, organizers and thinkers. This week, we continue our coverage of the presentations made at the Left Forum by the Black Agenda Report team, and those who work closely with us. Black Agenda Radio host Nellie Bailey served as moderator for two of our panels. She’ll be introducing BAR managing editor Bruce Dixon, and BAR editor and columnist Ajamu Baraka, who ran for vice president on the Green Party ticket in 2016. We’ll also have presentations by Dr. Anthony Montiero, the Duboisian scholar based in Philadelphia, on the theme, “Understanding Our Resistance,” and Kevin Zeese, of Popular Resistance, who discusses ways to prevent the Co-Opting of the Left. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. This week, and next week, we’re dedicating the whole program to the Black Agenda Report team’s activities at the Left Forum, in New York City. The Left Forum is the nation’s biggest yearly gathering of leftwing activists. The Black Agenda Report panel is always well-attended. You’ll hear presentations by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley, contributing political analyst Danny Haiphong, and Haitian community activist Daoud Andre. We’ll also bring you my presentation to the opening plenary session of the Left Forum. Next week, we’ll have presentations by BAR managing editor Bruce Dixon, BAR editor and columnist Ajamu Baraka, who ran for vice president on the Green Party ticket, last year, and from Dr. Anthony Monteiro, the Duboisian scholar and a longtime comrade of BAR. Black Agenda Radio’s Nellie Bailey was host for the panel discussion. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

This is Black Agenda Radio, a weekly hour of African American political thought and action The American Civil Liberties Union says the sheriff’s department in Madison County, Mississippi, has turned the jurisdiction into a “Constitution-free zone” for Black people, who are systematically targeted for illegal stops, searches and arrests. ACLU staff attorney Joshua Tom says the Madison County Sheriff enforces a racial regime that resembles the worst aspects of inner city policing, PLUS Mississippi-style repression. Kevin Alexander Gray, author and veteran activist from Columbia, South Carolina. Gray has gone to a lot of funerals, lately, with the passing of giants of the southern human rights movement. For almost two generations, the People’s Organization for Progress, POP, has been challenging the powers that be from their base in Newark, New Jersey. POP has been described as one of the foremost grassroots community organizations in the country. Larry Hamm has been chairman of POP since its founding. Last week, POP held its 70 th weekly “Justice Monday” protest at the Federal Building in Newark. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Coming up: Why Russians have a healthy dislike for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton; Afro-Colombians have launched a general strike in the mostly Black city that serves as the country’s largest port; and, for the first time in a very long time, supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal think there may be a way to get him a new trial. But first – voters in the majority Black city of Jackson, Mississippi, the state capital, go to the polls on June 6, to pick a new mayor. The front-runner is Antar Lumumba, son of former mayor Chokwe Lumumba, the radical Black activist and lawyer who died during his first year in office in 2014. Kali Akuno is a key activist in Lumumba’s campaign, and a veteran of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. The Lumumba team has run and won, in Jackson, and run and lost. But the current race doesn’t feel like deja vu, to Akuno. Activist and author David Swanson, publisher of the influential web site “War Is A Crime,” recently returned from a trip to Russia. Since many Americans, especially Democrats, have been tripping out ON Russia, we thought we’d ask Swanson what he discovered on his trip. Black people in the South American nation of Colombia are on a general strike in the port city of Buena-venTURA. Charo Mina-Rojas is an activist with Black Community Process, part of a broad spectrum Afro-Colombian organizations that are protesting racism and poverty in the region.   Supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, are demanding release of documents related to the conduct of a former prosecutor and judge who was instrumental in getting Mumia sentenced to death, in 1982, in the killing of a Philadelphia cop. That sentence was later reduced to life in prison. Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Fraser spoke with Gwendolyn Debrow, an activist with the Campaign to Bring Mumia Home. Mumia is a regular commentator for Prison Radio. In his latest essay, Abu Jamal says he hears the sound of something collapsing -- not just in Washington, but throughout the U.S. Empire. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

This is Black Agenda Radio, a weekly hour of African American political thought and action. Obamacare remains in a kind of limbo in the U.S. Congress, having been repealed in the House but with no action pending in the Senate. On the single payer health care front, a majority of House Democrats have finally signed on to Congressman John Conyers’ Medicare for All bill. However, Democratic Party leaders have not gotten behind the measure, and Bernie Sanders has not introduced a single payer bill in the Senate. In Chicago, we spoke with Dr. Susan Rogers, a board member of Physicians for a National Health Program. Black Agenda Report editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley recently wrote an article titled “The Democratic Party Death Spiral.” Kimberley maintains that the Democrats know what they have to do to win back the presidency and the Congress: that they must support health care for all, higher wages and affordable education. But, the Democrats refuse to do those things, because the party is tied to the bankers and the 1 Percent. In Philadelphia, we spoke with Duboisian scholar Dr. Anthony Monteiro, one of the few Black public intellectuals that predicted Donald Trump would win last November’s election. President Trump has tried to make his peace with the War Party by bombing Syria and threatening North Korea, but the attacks on his presidency have only increased. Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, recently appeared on Chris Hedge’s “On Contact” program on RT Radio. Abu Jamal spoke by telephone from the state prison in Mahanoy, Pennsylvania. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. Coming up: A new report shows that one out of every five Black prison inmates in the U.S. is serving a life sentence; Why in the world would an organization that calls itself leftist demonstrate on behalf of the former head of the FBI?; and, This week marks Malcolm X’s 92 nd birthday. But first – veteran human rights activist and 2016 Green Party vice presidential candidate Ajamu Baraka is busy pulling together BAP, the Black Alliance for Peace. The Alliance recently issued a joint statement with UNAC, the United National Anti-War Coalition, denouncing U.S. subversion against the socialist government of Venezuela. Baraka will be one of the speakers at UNAC’s national conference in Richmond, Virginia, on June 16 through 18 th . He says UNAC and the Black Alliance for Peace are a perfect fit. Sarah Flounders, of the United National Anti-War Coalition, says Donald Trump’s victory has caused great confusion in the land, as we witness the spectacle of people that call themselves leftists demonstrating in support of James Comey, the recently fired head of the FBI. A new report by the Washington-based Sentencing Project shows that one out of every seven prisoners in the United States is serving a life sentence. Lifers make up one out of every five Black prison inmates. More and more, prisons are places for warehousing old people, the legacy of a “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” criminal justice system that has abandoned all pretense of rehabilitation. We spoke with Ashley Nellis, senior research analyst for the Sentencing Project. Mumia Abu Jamal is the nation’s best known political prisoner. Abu Jamal was an accomplished journalist before his conviction in the death of a Philadelphia policeman. Mumia presented this essay for Prison Radio, on Neoliberal Utopias and Nightmares. Malcolm X would have turned 92 years of age, this week, if he had not been cut down by assassins. The event will be marked in many places, including the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Educational and Memorial Center, in New York City. Imam Talib Abdul Rashad is a member of the center’s advisory board. He says the event is titled, “What Malcolm Means to Us.” And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

This is Black Agenda Radio, a weekly hour of African American political thought and action. A judge has ordered Harris County Texas, which includes the city of Houston, to stop keeping low level offenders in jail because they are unable to pay bail. The case was brought by the Washington-based Civil Rights Corp. Executive director Alec Karakatsanis says his firm is working to eliminate the bail system, entirely. Haitian activists in Brooklyn, New York, are vowing to prevent Hillary Clinton from giving the commencement speech at mostly Black Medgar Evers College, next month. Dahoud Andre is with Komokoda, the Committee to Mobilize Against Dictatorship in Haiti. The Trump Administration continues to insist, without any convincing evidence, that the Syrian military is responsible for a chemical weapons attack in Idlib Province, last month. The U.S. bombed a Syrian military base, supposedly in retaliation for the chemical attack. But Theodore Postol, a professor emeritus of science, technology and national security issues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, debunked the allegations against Syria, showing the attack could not have happened the way the U.S. said it did. However, the American corporate media completely ignored Professor Postol’s findings. He says, the press no longer care about the truth.  Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, shares a long history with the MOVE organization, which was also savagely targeted by the Philadelphia police, and many of whose members are also serving long terms in the Pennsylvania prison system. MOVE last week held a conference, in Philadelphia, marking its 45 th anniversary. MOVE Minister of Communications Ramona Africa asked Mumia to recollect his memories of MOVE in the old days. The former head of New York City’s Police Reform Organizing Project, Robert Gangi, is running for mayor on a broadly progressive platform. Incumbent mayor Bill de Blasio still has some people convinced that he is a progressive, but Robert Gangi says there’s nothing progressive at all about de Blasio. The mothers of victims of police violence and intra-community crime will gather for a Free Mothers Day event a Hostos College, in The Bronx section of New York, on Saturday. Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Fraser spoke with Juanita Young, whose son was killed by New York City cops. Her group is called The Motherhood. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

This is Black Agenda Radio, a weekly hour of African American political thought and action.  Last Monday was a very important date in the life of Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner. Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Fraser spoke with Dr. Johanna Fernandez, a professor of History and African American Studies at New York’s Baruch College, and founder of the Campaign to Bring Mumia Home. Danny Haiphong is an activist and social worker in Boston, and a weeklyn contributor to Black Agenda Report. In a recent article, Haiphong explored the state of radical politics in this country. The piece was titled, “The Left’s State of Purgatory.” We asked Haiphong if what passes for the Left in the United States would even be recognizable to leftists in most of the world. The Donald Trump administration has joined with the Democrats in blaming the Russians for every crime under the sun. The latest tall tale is that the Russians are providing weapons to the Taliban, in Afghanistan. We spoke with Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black Is Back Coalition, which has opposed U.S. warmongering since its founding, in 2009. For the first time ever, a majority of Democratic Members of the U.S. House of Representatives now support Medicare for All. Dr. Margaret Flowers, a Baltimore-based activist with Popular Resistance, says the fight for single payer health care has passed another milestone. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Coming up: More Black activists than ever are expected to travel to Richmond, Virginia for a national conference of UNAC, the United National Anti- War Coalition, in June. And, Cynthia McKinney, the Black former congresswoman and presidential candidate, explains how the Democrats became the loudest advocates of war. Ajamu Baraka, the Green Party’s 2016 vice presidential candidate, is spearheading a campaign to revive the anti-war movement in Black America. Baraka is a co-founder of the U.S. Human Rights Network, and an editor and columnist for Black Agenda Report. He says the time is right to launch BAP -- Black Alliance for Peace.  Ana Edwards - Co-founder, Virginia Defenders, one of the founding organizations of UNAC, the United National Anti-War Coalition, which is holding its national conference on her home turf, Richmond, Virginia, on June 16-18. UNAC organizers say this conference will have its biggest Black presence in the history of the Coalition. Cynthia McKinney was one of the most consistent advocates of peace during her six terms as a Congresswoman from Georgia. She’s now teaching political science, overseas. McKinney says her former party, the Democrats, have become the most aggressive advocates of war. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

This is Black Agenda Radio, a weekly hour of African American political thought and action.  Coming up: People that are sent to prison are supposed to be given back their freedom when they’ve served their time. But that doesn’t seem to apply to Black political prisoners, many of whom are now elderly and sick    the Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations held a two-day school on electoral politics, earlier this month, in St. Petersburg, Florida. One of those on hand was Charles Barron, a former member of the Black Panther Party, who was elected to the New York City Council, and then to the state legislature. Assemblyman Barron says there’s no contradiction between his Black Panther politics and running for office. Kamm Howard also spoke to the Coalition’s electoral politics school. Howard is part of the leadership of NCOBRA, the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, as well as a member of the Black Is Back Coalition’s executive board. Last year, Black is Back approved a 19-point National Black Political Agenda for Self-Determination. At the St. Petersburg school, Kamm Howard argued that skillful use of voter initiatives and referendums is a good way to push for reparations and Black community control the police and other issues on the agenda for Black self-determination. It also could be useful in challenging the legitimacy of the sell-outs of the Black Misleadership Class. Prison abolitionists from across the country are gearing up for a Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March, in Washington, on August 19 th . But, for right now, Anne Lamb, co-chair of the Jericho Movement in New York City, is focused on freeing political prisoner Jalil Muntaqim. He’s the former Black Liberation Army member, once known as Anthony Bottoms, now serving his 46 th year behind bars. Ann Lamb spoke with Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Fraser. She said the State wants Muntaqim to die in prison. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Coming up: Haitians in the United States protest a speech by the former U.S. ambassador, a key player in the rigging of Haitian elections: Brazil turns back the clock on its Black and poor population; and, a Free School, in Philadelphia, celebrates five years of radical politics. The United States bombed a Syrian airbase last week on the unproven allegation that the Syrian government was behind a chemical attack on civilians. Black Agenda Report editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley went on Sputnik Radio, to talk about the consequences of the U.S. attack. Haitian community activists held a demonstration outside Brooklyn College, in New York, recently, to protest a speech by Kenneth Merten, the former U.S. ambassador to Haiti. Merten has been accused of being instrumental in rigging elections that put the U.S. backed candidate, Michel “Sweet Mickey” Martelly, in the presidency, in 2010. Daoud Andre was an organizer of the protest. We asked him why Haitian Americans would honor a man who committed crimes against their homeland?   The United State welcomed the impeachment proceedings that deposed the left-wing Workers Party from the presidency of Brazil, last year. In Washington, we spoke with Alexander Main, of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He says the right-wing government that threw out the Workers Party has the approval of less than ten percent of the public, but has cut social programs to the bone, as if it had a mandate from the people. Senior associate for international policy, Center for Economic and Policy Research, DC. Wrote a piece for The Hill, Congress Must Take Attacks on Brazilians Democracy Seriously.” Brazil’s right-wing government has the approval of barely 10 percent of the population, but has cut social programs to the bone, as if it had a mandate from the people. In Philadelphia, the Saturday Free School will celebrate its fifth anniversary on April 15, at its home in the historic Church of the advocate. The Free School began operations at Temple University, but soon found out that elite educational institutions were part of the problem, not the solution. Nandita Chaturvedi is a student, teacher and organizer at the Saturday Free school. The nation’s best known political prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal, finally forced prison officials in Pennsylvania to treat his life-threatening Hepatitis C infection. He produced this commentary for Prison Radio, titled, “The Illusion of Correctional Medicine.” And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left. I’m Nellie Bailey. Our thanks to the good people at the Progressive Radio Network.

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host, Nellie Bailey. Coming up: The Greens charge the Democrats with stealing them blind in a special election in Philadelphia; Black self-determination is an election issue in St. Petersburg, Florida; and, a lesson, on how to denounce and shame sell-out Black politicians. But first, there seems no end to the anti-Russian hysteria Democrats have been spreading since they lost the election, in November. We spoke with Dr. Gerald Horne, the professor of history and African American studies at the University of Houston, who’s written extensively on the McCarthyism of an earlier era. Dr. Horne calls the current scare campaign “the Putin derangement syndrome.” The Pennsylvania Green Party thought they had an excellent chance to win a special election for a state legislative seat from the Kensington section of Philadelphia, last week. But, the Greens say, the Philadelphia Democratic machine blatantly stole the election in broad daylight. Sheri Honkala, the Green Party candidate, has been activist in Kensington for decades. Both she and her Democratic opponent, Emilio Vázquez, were write-in candidates -- Honkala, the Green, because officials rejected her voter signature petitions, and Vazquez because the original Democratic candidate was charged with corruption. Hardly anybody in Kensington votes for Republicans. . But, despite the Greens running a vigorous campaign, with lots of boots on the ground, the Democrat was awarded the election by a huge margin of votes. Honkala says, it’s a fraud and a crime. In St. Petersburg, Florida, 20 year old Eritha Akile Cainion is running for the City Council on a platform of Black Self-Determination. She’s putting into practice some of the 19 points of the Black Is Back Coalition’s National Black Agenda for Self Determination. The Coalition this weekend holds a two day electoral political school in St. Petersburg, to help train a new breed of Black political activists and candidates. City Council candidate Cainion explains the message that she brings to her campaign. Black community activists in New York City recently disrupted a speech that Bronx city councilman Andy King was trying to give before an audience at the Schomburg Center for Research on Black Culture, in Harlem. Shannon Jones is a co-founder of the organization “Why Accountability,” which is working in solidarity with the 120 young men swept up in a huge police raid of a public housing project in The Bronx. Andy King is the councilman for that district, but rather than come to the aid of his constituents, King cozied up to the cops. And then KIng went to the Schomburg Center, according to Shanon Jones, and tried to pose as a criminal justice system reformer. In an interview with Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Fraser, Jones explained why councilman King.needed to be shamed and made accountable, to the people of Harlem and the Bronx. And that it’s for this edition of Black Agenda Radio. Be sure to visit us at BlackAgendaReport.com, where you’ll find a new and provocative issue, each Wednesday. That’s www.BlackAgendaReport.com. It’s the place for news, commentary and analysis, from the Black Left.