Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective, including the massive protests continuing all across the country, the police brutality that shocked the nation on Monday night at the white house for a photo opp, what’s different about these protests compared with the large-scale protests of years past, and more.
Protests against police violence continued across the country last night but were largely more peaceful than the night before. In New York, police arrested a handful of demonstrators who they say violated the city’s 8:00 pm curfew. And police stopped a large crowd from crossing the Manhattan bridge after a lengthy standoff. But earlier in the day, Gov. Andrew Cuomo pointedly and publicly criticized Mayor DeBlasio’s handling of the demonstrations. Police were very aggressive against peaceful demonstrators, attacked members of the media, and used the technique of “kettling” against marchers. The New York Times reports that there was little overall violence because it was the marchers discouraging it, not the police. Sasha Murphy, a long-time activist against police brutality and an organizer with the Justice Center, joins the show.
Huge crowds of thousands of people marched through Denver yesterday in solidarity with George Floyd, who was murdered by a policeman in Minneapolis nine days ago. For the most part, the police kept their distance, and there were no reported incidents. This was in contrast to the marches in Denver over the weekend, where Denver Police used riot gear and SWAT units to corral marchers in what became a night of repeated clashes. Brian and John speak with Lilian House, an organizer with the Denver Liberation Center, and by Bruno, an activist against police brutality, who have both been deeply engaged in the protests in the city.
Protests are nothing new in American society. And protests for racial justice are certainly nothing new. But has America not learned any lessons from the civil rights movement? Have we learned nothing from decades of the police clashing with peaceful marchers? Why is this still happening in America in the year 2020? Why are our police departments militarized and so willing to use violence against citizens? Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and the author of many books, including “Race to Revolution: The US and Cuba during Slavery and Jim Crow,” joins the show.
Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.
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