Sojourner Truth Radio

We are joined by civil rights icon Zoharah Simmons who will be discussing the response from educators and civil rights organizers to the rejection of an advanced placement course on African American studies for high school students last month by Florida's department of education, under the leadership of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Initially Florida tried to ban the course entirely, but after weeks of backlash and even a potential lawsuit the College Board released the official curriculum for a new Advanced Placement course in African American studies on Wednesday, the first day of Black History Month. However, critics point out that the newest iteration of the course is now missing several themes and voices from Black scholars that were originally presented in a pilot program already being taught at dozens of schools this year across the country.

Our Global Justice Ecology Project Earth Watch guest joining us to delve into a deeper discussion of carbon offset and its impact on climate change is researcher Jutta Kill, whose current research focuses on analyzing the role of carbon markets in the emergence of the Green Economy concept where natural complexity and diversity are transformed into "natural capital" – the re-defined "nature" of the Green Economy. Her recent writings explore how in the process, rules-based environmental legislation and fines for violation of environmental regulation are being replaced with incentive-based regulation and fees that buy the right to destroy or pollute.

Today on Sojourner Truth we begin by paying homage to the life of Tyre Nichols as civil rights leaders including: Reverend Al Sharpton, speak at his funeral on Wednesday, contextualizing the significance of his death at the hands of black police officers. We are joined by civil rights icon Zoharah Simmons who will be discussing the response from educators and civil rights organizers to the rejection of an advanced placement course on African American studies for high school students last month by Florida's department of education, under the leadership of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Initially Florida tried to ban the course entirely, but after weeks of backlash and even a potential lawsuit the College Board released the official curriculum for a new Advanced Placement course in African American studies on Wednesday, the first day of Black History Month. However, critics point out that the newest iteration of the course is now missing several themes and voices from Black scholars that were originally present

Today on Sojourner Truth, we kick off Black History Month hearing the words of James Baldwin and WEB Dubois. Hakeem Jeffries is causing quite a stir in his new leadership position in the Democratic Party, so why are some worried about his positions on foreign policy, in particular controversy on his positions re the Israeli Palestinian conflict? Our guest is Stephen Zunes Professor of politics at the University of San Francisco who will be elaborating on this. And Anna Aurilio with the Federal Campaign Director of Economic Security Project Action joins host Margaret Prescod to discuss the latest on the expanded Child Tax Credit on Federal and State levels providing an update on the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) and the movements for a guaranteed income and a basic income.

Today on Sojourner Truth we discuss the wrongful killing of Tyre Nichols, a 29 year old black man who was beaten up and tased by five black police officers and later died in the hospital. According to the family attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, an independent autopsy was done by a forensic pathologist, which determined that Nichols died of “excessive bleeding caused by a severe beating.” Police claim to have stopped Nichols for a traffic violation and that he became aggressive and tried to reach for one of the officers' guns, however video footage showed that police lied in their report. Videos of the beating that involved five black officers who at one point laid on top of Nichols all at once, was released Friday January 27th, leading to widespread national protests and putting a national spotlight on Memphis,TN police and the wider conversation around systemic failures and racism in policing. A 6th police officer, Preston Hemphill, who is white, has been let go from the police force as the invest

Today on Sojourner Truth with host Margaret Prescod our Friday roundtable is back with our panelists: foreign correspondent Laura Carlsen, Los Angeles school board member Jackie Goldberg and historian Dr. Gerald Horne. Only one month into 2023 and the nation is experiencing an uptick in state and gun violence. We begin with the recent police killing and brutality of a young black man in Memphis Tennessee, and as well as three back to back killings by police of black men in California. We are also facing a series of mass shootings happening in America in the month of January 2023. We then turn our conversation to international affairs: the continued war between Ukraine and Russia. Russia launches over 50 missiles in response to Germany and the U.S. decision to send war tanks to Ukraine to continue militarized action vs Russia in what many experts refer to as the newest US ‘"proxy war." We also discuss the latest Israeli police attacks in Palestine and the ongoing protests in Peru since the replacement of Pr

Today on Sojourner Truth with host Margaret Prescod we delve into the nurse protests going on around the country and internationally. Joining us to tell us more about the largest nurse strike in recent NY history at New York City hospitals Mount Sinai and Montefiore Medical Center is Mount Sinai Hospital Emergency Room registered nurse and union delegate Erin Hogan.

Is the CA desert tortoise going to make it to the 22nd Century? The desert tortoise that has been called the closest species to the dinosaur is at serious risk of becoming extinct, joining Sojourner Truth host Margaret Prescod to discuss the factors behind this growing extinction risk and what can be done, is naturalist educator Pat Flanagan. In her current position as Desert Naturalist at The 29 Palms Inn, Oasis of Mara, she educates an international audience on the local history going back 9,000 years and desert ecology.

Today on Sojourner Truth with host Margaret Prescod we delve into the nurse protests going on around the country and internationally. Joining us to tell us more about the largest nurse strike in recent NY history at New York City hospitals Mount Sinai and Montefiore Medical Center is Mount Sinai Hospital Emergency Room registered nurse and union delegate Erin Hogan. And is the CA desert tortoise going to make it to the 22nd Century? The desert tortoise that has been called the closest species to the dinosaur is at serious risk of becoming extinct, joining us to discuss the factors behind this growing extinction risk and what can be done is naturalist educator Pat Flanagan. In her current position as Desert Naturalist at The 29 Palms Inn, Oasis of Mara, she educates an international audience on the local history going back 9,000 years and desert ecology.

As the Biden Administration approaches its halfway mark. We know that Blacks put this Administration in office just off of the South Carolina primary alone. But they expected to see something from the Biden Administration in the areas of: voting rights, reparations, and addressing white supremacist violence, yet very little if anything in these areas has come from the Biden Administration. We are joined by two members of the Movement for Black Lives, Dr. Amara Enyia and Montague Simmons who will share their take on these shortcomings and what the Movement for Black Lives is doing to build the power to get these priorities accomplished, in spite of a conservative House.

On Wednesday January 18th, Atlanta Law enforcement officers shot and killed Atlanta forest defender and activist Manuel Tortuguita Terá. Atlanta Police — including a SWAT team — were violently evicting protesters who had occupied a wooded area outside a proposed $90 million training facility known as “Cop City,” inside Weelaunee Forest, a public forest in Georgia. Kamau Franklin, the founder of Community Movement Builders, a grassroots organization dedicated to creating sustainable Black communities through organizing and cooperative development, joins guest host Nana Gyamfi to discuss the opposition from community members to “Cop City” and what organizers and community members are calling for since this violent raid.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made it clear from press conferences from NYC to Texas and back that he doesn't want any more asylum-seekers coming to the City. New York City has seen 36,400 asylum seekers arrive as of Jan. 4th this year, but keeping asylum seekers out of NY is not a real solution so what can be done? Guest host Nana Gyamfi is joined by Carl Hamad Lipscombe, the Executive Director of Envision Freedom Fund, an organization committed to dismantling and transforming the immigration and criminal legal systems in NYC. We discuss this issue and contextualize past and present immigration reforms that disqualify recent arrivals from Africa and African descent from being able to acquire asylum or fix their immigration status in the U.S.

Today on Sojourner Truth hosted by guest host Nana Gyamfi, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made it clear from press conferences from NYC to Texas and back that he doesn't want any more asylum-seekers coming to the City. New York City has seen 36,400 asylum seekers arrive as of Jan. 4th this year, but keeping asylum seekers out of NY is not a real solution so what can be done? We are joined by Carl Hamad Lipscombe, the Executive Director of Envision Freedom Fund, an organization committed to dismantling and transforming the immigration and criminal legal systems in NYC. We discuss this issue and contextualize past and present immigration reforms that disqualify recent arrivals from Africa and African descent from being able to acquire asylum or fix their immigration status in the U.S. On Wednesday January 18th, Atlanta Law enforcement officers shot and killed Atlanta forest defender and activist Manuel Tortuguita Terá. Atlanta Police — including a SWAT team — were violently evicting protesters who had occ

Today on Sojourner Truth we start with a brief update on the present political and civil crisis in Peru. And time is running out on the public comment period to give feedback on the distribution of genetically engineered (GE) trees in U.S. forests. The USDA has put out a draft impact statement asking permission to deregulate the distribution of a GE American Chestnut Tree, with a draft decision approval that requires little to no monitoring from agencies. We spend the rest of the hour Global Justice Ecology Project executive Director Anne Petermann who has traveled all over the globe speaking to UN delegations and community groups about the social and ecological dangers of GE Trees and industrial tree plantations, including the exacerbation of climate change. We discuss the role of GE trees in preserving forests, who the forces pushing for GE Trees are and the true dangers of what some are calling a massive irreversible experiment for U.S. forests.

Today on Sojourner Truth, activists and co-founders of the Shawnee Forest Defense John Wallace and Karen Frailey join host Margaret Prescod for the hour to discuss recent developments in their campaign towards making the Shawnee Forest a national park and climate preserve. The Shawnee National Forest is located in Southern Illinois. The Shawnee National Forest encompasses a 289,000 acre area in southern Illinois stretching from the Mississippi River to the Ohio River which contains some of the most ecologically bio-diverse areas in the United States. Three decades ago, in the summer of 1990, activists from Earth First! occupied the Fairview Timber sale site in the Shawnee Forest which is located in Southern Illinois for 79 days — using their bodies to block the logging equipment and using legal strategies to challenge the harvesting of the lumber in court. This historic action has come to be known as the Shawnee Showdown. This relatively small group of activists were successful in stopping commercial loggi

Today on Sojourner Truth, we are joined by father and son duo David Trujillo and David Edward Reyes who will share details about the play they've directed and produced titled, "Vincent" that has just added a final week of shows due to its popularity. Breaking out of the norm, this play is staged inside Margaret Garcia's art studio. The play is a one man show starring David Edward Reyes on the the famous Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh. Their depiction of this renowned tortured artist touches on a side of van Gogh rarely discussed, the poverty that Vincent van Gogh endured in addition to his battle with depression and mental health, and the role of his brother Theo as his caretaker.

In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reclassified the bald eagle from endangered to threatened in the lower 48 states. Populations continued to recover enough that, in 2007, the bald eagle was officially removed from the federal Endangered Species List. The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America and appears on its seal. This majestic species of birds generally represent strength, pride, and courage. The fierce beauty and proud independence of this great bird was the reason it was selected as a symbol of the strength and freedom of America when European settlers first came across one. For indigenous people the bald eagle represents the strongest and bravest of all birds. For this reason, Native Americans have chosen the eagle and its feathers as a symbol of what is highest, bravest, strongest and holiest. The bald eagle is indigenous to North America. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bo

Today on Sojourner Truth what is the caretakers survey and how is it impacting the narrative around care-taking around the globe? We hear testimonials from caretakers in Myanmar, Scotland, Canada and the U.S. Our guest is Peggy O' Mara an independent journalist, and the editor and publisher of Mothering Magazine for over 30 years. Her work can be found at peggyomara.com. O'Mara joins us to delve into the importance of care-taking and viewing it as a global effort.

Today on Sojourner Truth what is the caretakers survey and how is it impacting the narrative around care-taking around the globe? We hear testimonials from caretakers in Myanmar, Scotland, Canada and the U.S. Our guest is Peggy O' Mara an independent journalist, and the editor and publisher of Mothering Magazine for over 30 years. Her work can be found at peggyomara.com. O'Mara joins us to delve into the importance of care-taking and viewing it as a global effort. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reclassified the bald eagle from endangered to threatened in the lower 48 states. Populations continued to recover enough that, in 2007, the bald eagle was officially removed from the federal Endangered Species List. The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America and appears on its seal.This majestic species of birds generally represent strength, pride, and courage. The fierce beauty And proud independence of this great bird was the reason it was selected as a symbol of the strength

Today on Sojourner Truth we bring you our King Day special program paying homage to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s radicalism. Dr. Martin Luther King became increasingly vocal about his views against the war the U.S. was waging at the time– the war in Vietnam. He delivered a speech entitled, “Beyond Vietnam: Time to Break the Silence,” exactly one year before his assassination. Dr. Martin Luther King declared: “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” He went on to name the U.S. government as the greatest purveyor of violence in the world and preached that nonviolent direct action is our greatest hope and the best tool to bring about change. Over 54 years later, in this powerful speech, Dr. King provides both a diagnosis and a cure that remains fully relevant today. As the U.S. finds itself encroached in yet another war enabling the continued war between Russia and Ukraine. Today, in partnership wi