Wednesday Night

Program Notes Somethings Happening 10 31 24

12 AM
For the Record with David Emory
Conversations with Monty #
Dave continues his protracted conversation with his new cohost, Monty, a former military man who saw combat in US wars in southwest and central Asia and became a researcher into Nazi elements in the US national security state apparatus.

1 AM
Grayzone Radio with Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate'
The Torture Never Stops (Part II)
Jeremy Loffredo joins The Grayzone to discuss his disturbing and abusive detention by the Israeli police for the crime of journalism. Then Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate provide a war report from Gaza, where Israel embarks on a horrific plan to conquer the north, to Lebanon, where the Biden-Harris admin colludes with Israel to crush the country's sovereignty, to Iran, where a new leak shows the US spying on Israeli plans to attack Tehran, and back to the US, where the presidential campaign grows more absurd by the day.

2 AM
Final Straw Radio
Prisons and Prisoner Solidarity
This week they're sharing a discussion recorded some months back in the pacific northwest featuring former political prisoners Eric King, who went in for actions in solidarity with the Ferguson Uprising in 2014, and Jake Conroy, who was convicted for coordinating successful anti-vivisection divestment campaigns against Huntington Life Sciences as one of the SHAC7. They are joined by Erics co-author of Rattling The Cages, Josh Davidson. We hope you appreciate the wisdom and passion of the discussion. You can check out a slightly longer version at their website. https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org thefinalstrawradio@riseup.net

3 - 4:45 AM
Out-FM from sister station WBAI
A nearly two-hour fund drive special with an exclusive interview with Mumia Abu-Jamal
a special two-hour, fund-drive edition of Out-FM, WBAI and KPFK's anti-racist LGBTQ-plus program. Youll hear Bob Lederer's exclusive interview with Mumia Abu-Jamal, the brilliant Black revolutionary journalist unjustly serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. It's the first time in Brother Mumia's almost 43 years in prison that he has spoken at length about LGBTQ issues in a public forum. Mumia will describe his decades-long evolution to open solidarity with queer and trans liberation.

In the interview, Mumia covered many fascinating topics, including a deep dive into the day-to-day functioning of the Black Panther Party. Just a few teasers:

In 1970 Black Panther Party (BPP) leader Huey Newton gave groundbreaking public support to the then-strong movements for womens and gay liberation, criticizing homophobia and calling for the BPP to build an alliance with both movements. At the time, Mumia was the 16-year-old Communications Minister of the Philadelphia Chapter of the BPP. A taste of what Mumia told me:

When you think about what Huey said about gay folks and lesbian and queer folks, I must be honest with you, it was not well received by members of the party....But as usual, this was Huey at his finest.

Mumia pays tribute to the women of the BPP, whom he describes as "the glory of the party, the hardest workers, the most disciplined members and leaders." In particular, he cites the key roles of former political prisoners Afeni Shakur, who (although not an attorney) brilliantly self-represented in the Panther 21 conspiracy frameup case -- all were acquitted -- and Ericka Huggins, a BPP leader who beat yet another conspiracy frameup, and whose husband, BPP member John Huggins, along with Bunchy Carter, were murdered in an FBI-induced plot. (Ericka, an out-queer woman who continues her lifelong community activism, has been a periodic guest on Out-FM.)

Mumia explains how his thinking has significantly evolved since 1991, when he responded to a letter from Queers United in Support of Political Prisoners (QUISP) about our then-upcoming lesbian/gay forum to support him, by writing, As a MOVE person, we see Heterosexual Hookups as natural and inherently right, while also thanking and encouraging us to hold the event (we did). This started a long-term dialogue with Mumia by LGBTQ activists nationwide that played a role in his later evolution.

Mumia cites the leading role of the late Delbert Africa, a member of the MOVE 9 (a frameup murder case) and political prisoner for 42 years, in arguing for support of the lesbian and gay community.

Dhoruba Bin Wahad, former Black Panther Political Prisoner

Mumia also mentions the public support for lesbian and gay liberation by yet another ex-political prisoner, former BPP and Black Liberation Army member Dhoruba Bin Wahad. (We'll play a short clip from Dhoruba's powerful 1991 speech at the above-mentioned QUISP event.)

Mumia speaks movingly about his first-hand knowledge of the "hell within a hell" suffered by gay and trans incarcerated men, mistreated by both staff and other prisoners. He mentions having witnessed attempted suicides.

Other components of the special:

A short clip from the film "Manufacturing Guilt: - A Short Film About Mumia Abu-Jamal's Case," by First Run Features.

Two of Mumia's audio commentaries, from 2000 and 2019, decrying the murders of white gay men and Black trans women, respectively, and putting both in the context of a violent, racist society.

A brief excerpt of a recent phone dialogue between Mumia and students who had organized various Palestine/Gaza solidarity encampments, where he answers questions about strategy and tactics to build a strong movement.

What's happening now with Mumia's legal case and the importance of movement organizing to free him and other political prisoners.

What you can do to help free Mumia and demand he (and all incarcerated people) get proper health care and nutrition while he's still held. (For more, visit bit.ly/MAJUpdates.)

4:45 AM
Free Leonard Peltier Now
Peltier has just been sent to a prison hospital. The longest-held Indigenous political prisoner in the world, now 80, must be released immediately from incarceration to medical care outside prison walls and to his family. President Biden just apologized for the removal of Native people to oppressive boarding schools. Peltier was a victim of and resister to that from his childhood, which led him to his role as a leader of the American Indian Movement and defender of Indigenous people and lands.

5-6:00 AM
The Thom Hartmann Program
Final hour from Hartmann's non-commercial broadcast yesterday.