Sojourner Truth Radio

Haiti crisis update: with guest Jeff Sprague, Pierre LaBossiere by Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod

Today on ST an update on Haiti. Well-armed death squads in Haiti, are continuing their campaign of terror against impoverished Haitians. Meanwhile some of the left in the US are confused and are promoting some of the key death squad leaders Guy Phillipe and Jimmy Cherizier (known as Barbque) as revolutionary leaders. And the agreement brokered by CARICOM, the Caribbean heads of state, to establish a Transitional Council after which the much hated Ariel Henry would step down, has yet been finalized. Another name we hear reported on the media is Moise Jean Charles whose political party Petit Dessaline formed an alliance with Guy Phillipe and Barbecue. Jean Charles is said to have ambitions to be President of Haiti. Moise Jean Charles first agreed to be part of the Transitional Council, then changed his mind and said he would not be on the council. He has yet again changed has now said yes his that party would be part of the Council. This has created confusion and further division. Our guest are journalist and Haiti expert Kevin Pina and Haitian human rights campaigner and co-founder of Haiti Action Committee Pierre Labossiere.

Welcome to ST as the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and increasing attacks on Palestinians on the West Bank, an on-line event was held on March 10th 2024. The program uplifted the stories and voices of women living in Palestine, they participated in an event that marked IWD entitled “we stand with Palestinian women, children, and their families against the Israel/US genocide including bombing and starvation”. The program also included the voice of a Palestinian American woman on the impact of the on-going genocide in Gaza on Palestinian children and families living in the US. The event was called by the Global Women’s Strike and Women of Color/GWS. We were joined by a wide-ranging planning group that brought women and men across movements standing in solidarity with and offering practical support via the Middle East Children’s Alliance to women, children and their families in Palestine. We worked directly with the Middle East Children’s Alliance in organizing the event. In addition to the planning group sponsoring organizations included: Alexandria House; Rev. Annie Chambers; Black Alliance for Just Immigration; Black Lives Matter/LA; Every Mother is a Working Mother Network; Haiti Action Committee; Indigenous Environmental Network; International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network; Katea Stitt Program Director of Pacifica Radio’s WPFW, La Resistencia, Long Beach Area Peace Network; Los Angeles Baby Cooperative; Military Families Speak Out; Movement for Family Power; Orange County Peace Coalition; Payday men's network; Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW!; Pete White, Founder of LA CAN; Robin D. G. Kelley; San Pedro Neighbors for Peace & Justice; Social Welfare Action Alliance; Social Workers Ending Poverty Together; US PROStitutes Collective; Veterans for Peace Chapter 110; Veterans for Peace LA; We Stand Up for All; Welfare Warriors; Women's March Foundation Los AngelesThe voices of Palestinian women are rarely heard, so we are glad to bring you their voices on today’s program.

Today on Sojourner Truth: A member of the military has died after setting himself on fire outside the White House in protest of the genocide in Gaza. The US rejected yet another cease fire proposal at the UN and instead has offered a watered-down version of a temporary pause for humanitarian aid. And despite an outcry from governments around the world with the notable exception of the US and UK, the Israeli PM Netanyahu has pledged to move forward with his threat to step up attacks on Rafah which is where thousands of Palestinians had fled following Israel’s call for Palestinians to flee the North of Gaza. South Africa is continuing to push for Israel to be charged with genocide. And in the US Congress is set to send 14.1 billion more to Israel including support for US military operations in the region. As protests against the genocide continue unabated in countries around the world, today we focus on what you the ST listener can do. We are raising funds for both your local Pacifica station as well as for the Middle East Children’s Alliance/MECA who are concretely addressing the humanitarian crisis as best they could with volunteers on the ground in Gaza. Our guest is Zeiad Abbas, executive director of MECA.

Today on Sojourner Truth for our Weekly Broadcast, we take a deep dive into the situation on the ground in Haiti. Next month will mark the 20th anniversary of the US/Canada/France supported coup against Haiti’s first democratically elected President, Jean Bertrand Aristide. The crisis facing Haiti today from death squads referred in the media as gangs, to an unelected government cannot be separated from the 2004 coup. The instability that followed the coup is deeply connected to the US aiming to control the Presidency of Haiti, and so the efforts across political parties and civil society activists in Haiti to implement a Haiti led solution to the present crisis has been undermined by western powers every inch of the way. And now Guy Phillippe one of the CIA trained leaders of the 2004 coup was released from the US prison and within weeks of his release, the international main-stream media are hailing Phillippe as the leader of the opposition in Haiti! Who is Guy Phillippe, what role has he played over the past decades in Haiti? Why is he now being heralded by the forces that be? Meanwhile the Supreme Court in Kenya has blocked Kenya from sending Kenya police to lead a US financed force in Haiti. The President of Kenya is appealing the court’s decision. Why is the US, while not committing its own troops, pressing so hard for yet another occupying force to be sent to Haiti, this time led by Black nations? Our guest is Norluck Dorange a senior journalist in Haiti.

As what is being dubbed a genocide going on in Gaza, with now over 25,000 killed the majority of whom are women and children, and with over 62,000 injured. The US anti-war movement is struggling to impact the US Congress and President Biden to actively call for and work for a ceasefire, as well as to stop funding Israel’s military operation. The US historically provides over $3 billion in aid each year to Israel, the largest to any other country. Additionally, the Biden administration bypassed Congress through an emergency provision in the Arms Export Control Act to sell Israel $106 million worth of tank ammunition. Biden’s unilateral support for Israeli policies in Gaza has earned him the moniker “Genocide Joe”. Our guest is Kevin Martin, President of Peace Action and Peace Action Education Fund. And there is news on the Child Tax Credit. After millions of families were disappointed when Congress allowed the popular expanded CTC to expire after one year, there is new hope for a bi-partisan deal to bring back some elements of the expanded CTC. But who will be left out of the credit? The Expanded CTC lifted at least 4 million children out of poverty and cut child hunger by ¼. In contrast the new bipartisan proposal under pressure from the GOP would roll back some of the earlier gains of the Expanded CTC. The new proposal would lift 400,000 children out of poverty leaving behind millions of the most impoverished. Congresswoman DeLauro who has championed the CTC for over two decades said that the bi-partisan CTC proposal “will keep millions of children in preventable poverty.” Most NGO advocates on Capitol Hill including the Children’s Defense Fund, Economic Security Project and others are supporting the bi-partisan compromise though they admit it doesn’t go far enough out of fear of no action in this Congress on the CTC and with the hope that it can be improved on in 2025. We will hear remarks by Congresswoman Gwen Moore a champion in Congress against poverty, as she spoke during the House Ways and Means Committee Hearing this past Friday on the proposed compromise. And our guest is Phoebe Jones Schellenberg who has been actively supporting bringing back the expanded CTC. Phoebe is with Care Income Now and is a co-coordinator of the Global Women’s Strike in the US.

Amidst the ongoing attack on Gaza, MECA team and partners are providing emergency assistance to families who have fled their homes to seek shelter with relatives as well as procuring emergency medical supplies for hospitals and clinics. They are procuring food and hygiene supplies from stores, warehouses, factories and farmers and delivering them directly to displaced families every single day. Their grassroots network are able to reach displaced families who are with friends, relatives, neighbors and in informal shelters. They have a remarkable and courageous team on the ground made of staff, volunteers, and partner organizations who are responding to the urgent needs of children and families under attack.

Censorship is increasing on university campuses across the nation against those who speak out in support of Palestinians or critiques the Israeli government policies. Also, from the film to other industries people are being penalized for speaking out in support of Palestinians even on social media. Our guest is Arun Kundnani author of “ What is Anti-Racism” and “The Muslims are Coming”. And Dr. Gerald Horne is back on ST to discuss his views on what is increasingly being called a genocide happening in Gaza, also attacks on the West Bank. He will also weigh in on what is happening in Sudan, where thousands of lives have been lost due to conflict there.

Today on our ST weekly broadcast, we continue our coverage of what millions of people around the world is calling a genocide happening in Gaza, this as we discuss the support for the Israeli actions by of conservative religious fundamentalists including some within the Black church. Our guest is Lawrence Ware, co-director of the Oklahoma State University Africana Studies Program, he is also a journalist and commentator. And breaking news from south of the border. Argentina has overwhelmingly elected a new President who is a fan of Donald Trump who promises, he is extreme even to some on the right. How did this happen, what is he promising to do, what are the implications for Argentina as well as for other governments and countries in the region. Our guest is Mexico City based journalist Laura Carlsen.

Today on our Weekly Broadcast we continue our coverage of Israeli’s invasion of Gaza, its impact on Palestnian civilians including children and growing protests around the world calling for a cease !re. Our guests are Zeiad Abbas of the Middle East Children’s Alliance and Phyllis Bennis a Jewish writer and political commentator based in the US. She is an expert on the Middle East. Let us go to sound from one of the thousands of protests that have been going on around the world calling for a cease !re and a stop to the slaughter now going on in Gaza, this one from Chicago on Monday Nov a13th

Palestinian rights groups say about 1.5 million people are internally displaced in Gaza amid unrelenting Israeli bombardments, “the largest mass displacement of Palestinians in such a short period of time since the 1948 Nakba”. United Nations says no life-saving fuel has been allowed into Gaza since October 7, risking the lives of 2.3 million Palestinians as essential services close.

March 1st marks the anniversary of the US backed 2004 coup vs Haiti’s first democratically elected government under Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide was ousted in the 2004 coup after right-wing ex-army paramilitaries invaded the country from across the Dominican border. The United States helped orchestrate the coup against him. Aristide was later forced into exile in the Central African Republic and South Africa. The tactics that were used to remove Aristide from power twice are almost identical to the ones being used against Venezuela’s Maduro today. Today 19 years later, Haiti continues to be destabilized under de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry, the country is facing a resurfacing of cholera and an uptick in gang crime. We speak to organizers on the ground in Haiti to hear their perspectives: including Edouard “Pacha” Vorbe, founder and co-director of Fanmi Lavalas. Since 1998, Pacha Vorbe has been an active member of Fanmi Lavalas, the political organization headed by former President Jean Bertrand Aristide and supported by the vast majority of impoverished people in Haiti. As well as Pierre Labossiere, one of the most respected progressive voices on Haitian politics. Pierre Labossiere has dedicated his entire adult life advocating for the working poor in Haiti. Through the Haiti Action Committee, an organization that he co-founded, Labossiere has tirelessly championed grassroots efforts to improve education, bring about social justice, and develop a stable democracy for the people of his native country.

Workshop with Vijay Kumar: How Nature Regulates the Climate & How Natural Farming Can Help. International Gathering: END WOMEN'S POVERTY - A Guaranteed Care Income for all caregivers for people & planet

In the wake of Georgia’s indictments of 61 people targeted for allegedly being part of the movement to #StopCopCity, we look at the intersection of the Black and Palestinian struggles.

Part #1 Rev. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, led a discussion with economists and public health policy practitioners on poverty and hunger in America during a three-day summit in Washington, D.C. They discussed a variety of issues, including the causes for poverty in America, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on low-income and minority populations, economic drivers of inflation, and how best to mitigate poverty in the country

Rev. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, led a discussion with economists and public health policy practitioners on poverty and hunger in America during a three-day summit in Washington, D.C. They discussed a variety of issues, including the causes for poverty in America, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on low-income and minority populations, economic drivers of inflation, and how best to mitigate poverty in the country

Today, we are bringing you a special broadcast on the environment: Hoodwinked in the Hothouse: Would Build Back Better Burn Billions? This is the third panel of a series that builds on the momentum created by the most recent report on the impact of climate change on indigenous and frontline communities titled, Hoodwinked in the Hothouse (Third Edition) : Resist False Solutions to Climate Change. As part of President Bidens infrastructure plan, federal and state governments are providing billions in so-called climate subsidies, policy incentives and tax breaks to dangerous and dirty energy industries. These include: biomass and waste incinerators; nuclear power, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure for fossil-fuel facilities; frontline and environmental justice communities are facing increased pollution burdens and toxic threats. Todays panel discussion highlights emergent threats of climate false solutions across U.S. federal and state policy landscapes. Panelists are community campaigners, community leaders, researchers, and frontline organizations who are fighting the myths associated with carbon capture and storage, nuclear, hydrogen, biofuels and waste incineration. Along with debunking what they see as false climate crisis solutions, they also highlight inspiring stories of success led by environmental justice communities. They point out that to effectively move money away from dangerous policy directions and towards real climate justice solutions, coalition building is needed amongst national green groups, labor unions, climate philanthropy, and policymakers who should work with frontline communities in opposing these schemes.

Harry Belafonte, the singer, actor and civil rights activist who broke down racial barriers, has died aged 96. As well as performing global hits such as Day-O (The Banana Boat Song), winning a Tony award for acting and appearing in numerous feature films, Belafonte spent his life fighting for a variety of causes. He bankrolled numerous 1960s initiatives to bring civil rights to Black Americans; campaigned against poverty, apartheid and Aids in Africa; and supported leftwing political figures such as Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. The cause of death was congestive heart failure, his spokesman told the New York Times. Figures including Joe Biden, the rapper Ice Cube and Mia Farrow paid tribute to Belafonte. The US president said Belafonte was a “groundbreaking American who used his talent and voice to help redeem the soul of our nation”.

Sojourner Truth continues its coverage of Black History Month coverage with our one-hour special broadcast on Stokely Carmichael, also known as Kwame Ture. He is known by a generation that popularized the cry of "Black Power." We speak with Dr. Peniel Joseph about his book, "Stokely: A Life. And discuss several questions including: how the concept of Black Power as a political strategy developed. How and why did Stokely Carmichael move from civil rights worker to U.S. based Black Power leader, to Pan-Africanist and socialist. What price did he pay in making this move? Stay tuned for a wide-ranging conversation on Stokely's life, impact and contributions with host Margaret Prescod.

Today on Sojourner Truth, we share excerpts from the Alliance for Global Justice Eco Solidarity series titled: “Climate change disasters in the Caribbean and around the world,”moderated by Aminta Zea and James Jordan. Panelist speakers include: Camilo Matos of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Banbose Shango of the National Network on Cuba, and Camille Landry, co-director of AFGJ's Human Rights School, as well as a highlights interview with Peruvian Journalist Lucho Garate, and an interview with Jayeesha Dutta of the Climate Justice Alliance. In 2022 alone, climate related disasters took place in Vietnam, Pakistan, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Florida, Japan, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Alaska. A series of heavy rains, hurricanes, typhoons, and floods that have hit these areas have all been attributed to climate change. These global warming catastrophes began even as leaders from across the world gathered for the annual Cop 27 conference. Today you will hear a bit more on these climate change disasters including the privatization of private utilities in Puerto Rico. Camilo Matos of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party will explain why Puerto Ricans are calling for the immediate reinstatement of the PREPA public utility company, and its union, which was busted as a result of this privatization.