therealnews--2020-05-22--Can Public Education Survive COVID-19?

Can Public Education Survive COVID-19?

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Jaisal Noor : Welcome to The Real News .
I ’ m Jess Lenore .
The COVID-19 outbreak is up ended life as we know it .
And one of the places it ’ s having the greatest impact , that ’ s received less attention than it deserves , is public education .
Teaching that was once done in a classroom has been moved online .
While this transition poses challenges for all students and educators , the impact is most extreme in school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and opportunity gaps across racial and class lines .
Well now joining us to discuss this are two guests who have been studying this closely , Khalilah Harris is the managing director for K-12 Education Policy at the Center for American Progress .
And Rebecca Jacobsen is associate professor at Michigan State University .
Thank you both for joining us .
Jaisal Noor : So Khalilah , we ’ ll start with you .
You live here in Baltimore and we know that that ’ s one of the districts with some of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study found that 40 % of Baltimore public school students lack devices to access the internet or broadband access .
What kind of impact is that going to have on education ?
A lot of wealthier families and households , lacking broadband access and lack of internet devices is not something that they have to worry about or have to think about .
Khalilah Harris : There are a number of critical issues that those statistics tell us .
One of the 60 % of students who have access to devices is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will continue learning and not experience deeper gaps in opportunity .
For the students who don ’ t have devices or having to share devices in a household with a number of siblings .
Or a parent who ’ s trying to work , you really have a situation where we will see impact for a decade or more .
Because you have a set of young people who even if they were motivated to learn , even if they were excited about schooling , now are having to figure out how to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of that is with that 40 % of students , and depending on the data we have for those families , some of those students may be in crisis .
Some of those students may be English language learners .
Some of those students may be students with disabilities .
And the question begets why are they not having access to their services ?
When will they get access to their services ?
And in what ways can the school district ramp up to make sure every child who ’ s on their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s also the issue of increased domestic violence , increased reports of suicide , increased reports of child abuse at this time .
Let me take a step back , actually decrease in reports of child abuse , which is extremely troubling .
It means that young people are experiencing things behind closed doors due to stay at home orders that no one can see .
And oftentimes the school would be the reporter if they saw abuse .
So 40 % is unacceptable .
It ’ s a huge number .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ One is the 40 % who don ’ t have access to the devices or broadband .
The other issue is of the 60 % , how many of those students have actually connected with the school system ?
And that ’ s true across the country as well .
There are a number of superintendents and state chiefs who are reporting districts where 40 , 50 % of the students have not been in contact with the district .
And that is troubling .
You could have a student who ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parents lost their job .
They ’ ve had to pick up and move suddenly .
That is really going to be a crisis that we ’ re dealing with long beyond finding a vaccination or developing a herd immunity .
Jaisal Noor : And Rebecca , I wanted to ask you to weigh in on that question .
What concerns you most about this situation ?
Rebecca Jacobse… : I couldn ’ t agree more with what Khalilah has already shared .
I think that I share those same exact concerns .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to what she said .
I think one of the issues that we also have to consider is the level of stress that kids are experiencing .
We certainly know that when you are stressed , it is much harder to process information .
It ’ s much harder to learn .
It ’ s harder to take in new information .
So even for the best case scenario where students are highly motivated and have access , we have an added level of stress .
Especially in disinvested communities where parents jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unpredictable , and there can be no doubt that there ’ s higher levels of stress in the household that the children are experiencing .
I ’ d also say we need to think about the quality of instruction .
So even if kids are able to get online , and able to log in and participate , I don ’ t think that what we currently have comes anywhere near to replacing the kinds of learning interactions that take place in real time .
Where students do something , they get immediate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Teachers have a relationship with kids .
They know how to motivate them .
All of those things are lost in this online virtual format .
Jaisal Noor : And Khalilah , I wanted to ask you about Baltimore specifically .
What have you heard ?
I know you ’ re involved with groups that are advocating on behalf of students , parents , and teachers here .
I ’ ve heard good stories .
I ’ ve heard some good and bad , but talk about what you ’ ve heard and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are going right now in Baltimore .
Khalilah Harris : It ’ s really tough .
I ’ ve been in contact with the leaders of the Parent and Community Advisory Board .
They are trying their hardest to make sure they have up to date information from both the school board and the CEO back to Santa Lisa ’ s has been extremely engaging and in close contact and updating them regularly .
And more than regularly .
So that ’ s great to hear .
The challenges if there are students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a rate of 40 % , you also have that number of families who may not be hearing anything from the school district or not sure how to support their students .
Also want to think about not only are the stress of the children , but the stress of the educators .
And so the idea of not only many , if not most of them not being trained to deliver a distance learning model .
That they are now thrust in front of a camera , allowing access into their homes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wanted to protect before as much as they love their children .
And asking those people to bridge divides that were not created by them that were instead created by systemic inequity .
So we have heard from Santa Lisa ’ s to say that there was a high percentage of students , somewhere around 80 % , who started coursework when distance learning began .
That slowly but surely began to fade away .
So you have teachers with one student , three students , five students reporting here in Baltimore .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ country .
So this is not unique to Baltimore City , but it is a stressful situation .
You do have teachers that I talked to who are extremely concerned again about abuse and students who they knew were in volatile living situations .
We have a high number of students in Baltimore City who are either experiencing homelessness or living in foster care .
And so the question becomes , what kind of supports are those children having ?
And then you have students who were in a juvenile justice situation or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re due to come back to school or back home.And there ’ s a break in a linkage between they ’ re returned to home or they ’ re returned to school .
I must say also the same is true for young people who might have been suspended from school long term or even short term .
What was put in place to bridge their supports that they would ’ ve gotten if school were back in session .
It might ’ ve been a 30 day plan to get them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their classmates .
Did any of that happen ?
And those are some of the things that go unseen because it ’ s not in an IEP or it ’ s not in a support plan for English language learners .
So we definitely are seeing parents and families rallying around their children , I must say .
The other day I was able to view a concert from Orkid and those amazing young people learning to play instruments were able to display their talents in what would have been normally their presentations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I was able to participate in Lilly May , Caroll Jackson ’ s eighth grade presentations of learning .
Which is a rite of passage for students in an expeditionary learning school model .
So I ’ ve been interacting with educators from across the city who are trying to maintain the semblance of normalcy and rigor and quality for their students .
The challenge is when you live in communities that have been disinvested for so long , you have teachers who are in many ways bearing the brunt of closing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the city instead of just in their classrooms .
Jaisal Noor : And Rebecca , I wanted to build off that , but also ask you during the great recession , our previous economic hardships that we faced a decade ago .
Many States cut education funding .
And part of that is because we fund schools in this country based on property taxes .
Which creates systemic inequities and what wealthier districts get then districts that have less wealth .
Can you build off what clueless saying , but also talk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think we already did already talk about school budgets being cut .
Now in wake of this what impact did that have especially for districts that already are under-resourced ?
Rebecca Jacobse… : Yeah .
And the reference to the previous crisis in 2007 , 2008 is really important .
Because when we look back at the cuts that took place , even after our economy rebounded , and there was more money .
We never caught up .
Those were districts that had been disinvested actually never caught up .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think that this is going to be an even more severe example of that happening when we make big cuts .
And it is those communities with the least amount of investment , the least internal resources to draw upon who then can not simply make up the difference .
Whereas those communities that have the resources either make up those differences publicly through increased taxes or privately with parents making donations to their personal schools .
Parents making donations to the classrooms that their students are in .
So there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ differences .
And when we see the public cuts , it ’ s really those least able to make up the difference who suffer the most .
I think we ’ re going to end up even further behind and exacerbate the inequality that we already have .
I also wanted to mention , I ’ m really glad that Khalilah has said several times now the importance of the number of kids that are just simply no longer being seen .
And I think that is a real concern that has not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foster parent and now an adoptive parent from the foster care system , I know extremely intimately what it ’ s like to work with children that have experienced abuse .
I think when kids go back into the shool system , not only will teachers be facing those gaps from learning , but they ’ re going to have a lot more students that have high levels of trauma .
And we are not providing our teachers .
We ’ re not equipping them with the resources , the support and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ traumatized children .
And until we work with their emotional wellbeing , we ’ ll never be able to continue to push forward and meet their ability in an academic setting .
Jaisal Noor : And Khalilah , I wanted to get you to weigh in on that , but I know that when you were at The Real News , we worked together on covering The Kirwan Commission .
Which was this historic education plans , or revamp public schools across the State of Maryland .
Which has a huge deficit in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of the wealthiest districts , an entire country .
Well , we also have , you know , areas that have been greatly disinvested like Baltimore .
Essentially our governor Larry Hogan , who was opposed this since its inception , as we all know .
He vetoed it basically saying that we can ’ t raise taxes during this pandemic .
And that was the reason he gave .
I wanted to get your response .
Khalilah Harris : First of all , I want to reiterate that 50 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returned up until last year to pre-recession funding .
In Maryland was one of those States .
Okay .
So it ’ s not just a couple of States or a few States .
Half of the States never returned to pre-recession funding from the 2007 , 2008 recession period .
Larry Hogan said before the legislative session ended that he would veto the carbon bill .
That he was not for it .
Larry Hogan had a $ 20,000 a plate fundraisers to get money to build a campaign against The Kirwan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roll out for what it would cost to provide quality education per Maryland ’ s constitution for Maryland ’ s children .
So at the end of the legislative session , which was truncated because of the pandemic , the current bill passed through the legislature .
There was an amendment added in there that said if state receipts fell below seven and a half percent , which they absolutely will .
It ’ s being projected that Maryland ’ s receipts will be 15 to 20 % lower .
And that ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support the government .
There was no reason for him to veto the legislation with that amendment in place .
So sometimes he will do smoke and mirrors where he ’ ll say , “ I support education .
I ’ m the education governor.
” But there ’ s no real evidence of it .
He talked about the lockbox for the casino money as if he put forward the lockbox .
And that was actually democratic members in the legislature .
Then he campaigned for governor on being the education governor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowed the bill to pass .
So it ’ s really unfortunate .
This had the potential to be an astronomical improvement on the quality of education for all of Maryland students .
The state legislature now has the question in front of them on whether or not they call a special meeting so that we can do a couple of things .
Overturn his veto of the current legislation .
Overturn his veto of the HBCUs legislation to settle that case .
Overturn his legislation related to women having access to post-incarceration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he regressively veto and said that it was because of his unwillingness to raise taxes .
But again , throughout that period , he was saying he would do that .
I ’ m also a senior fellow with the Maryland Center on economics and budget .
We talk a lot about all of the ways he could have supported closing corporate loopholes in the tax code , as well as focusing on the 1 % .
The 1 % still is able to pay more taxes because they ’ re not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of us are .
It ’ s unfortunate .
I think he ’ s played this role of a moderate Republican .
He ’ s in no way more moderate when it comes to the policies that he tends to pass .
And it ’ s really going to be up to our legislature to stand up and say , “ We will not allow the current commission legislation to die based on a veto.
” We need to override that and make sure that we are putting our money where I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And in fact , now the time to really double down on equity .
When we ’ re in a situation like this where so many communities are continuing to be impacted and gaps in opportunity are growing .
Now ’ s not the time to pull away from equity .
Equity has to be at the center and the front end , not an add on .
Which is how we find ourselves here to begin with .
Jaisal Noor : Well , I want to thank you both for joining us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this pandemic .
We didn ’ t even know what the full impacts are .
And as you both raise the issue of the students that no one has heard from for months .
So there ’ s something we ’ re going to definitely keep following up on .
And also talk about what solutions look like and what we can all do to help make public education a more just institution in this country .
Khalilah Harris , managing director at K-12 Education Policy cap Center for American Progress .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University .
Thank you both for joining us .
Jaisal Noor : Thank you for joining us at The Real News Network .

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted apartheid conditions in US public schools.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Jaisal Noor: Welcome to The Real News. I’m Jess Lenore. The COVID-19 outbreak is up ended life as we know it. And one of the places it’s having the greatest impact, that’s received less attention than it deserves, is public education. Teaching that was once done in a classroom has been moved online. While this transition poses challenges for all students and educators, the impact is most extreme in school districts where public policy has created wealth and opportunity gaps across racial and class lines.
Well now joining us to discuss this are two guests who have been studying this closely, Khalilah Harris is the managing director for K-12 Education Policy at the Center for American Progress. And Rebecca Jacobsen is associate professor at Michigan State University. Thank you both for joining us.
Khalilah Harris: Thank you.
Rebecca Jacobse…: Thank you.
Jaisal Noor: So Khalilah, we’ll start with you. You live here in Baltimore and we know that that’s one of the districts with some of the most extreme inequality. A recent study found that 40% of Baltimore public school students lack devices to access the internet or broadband access. What kind of impact is that going to have on education? A lot of wealthier families and households, lacking broadband access and lack of internet devices is not something that they have to worry about or have to think about.
Khalilah Harris: There are a number of critical issues that those statistics tell us. One of the 60% of students who have access to devices is the quality of instruction, such that they will continue learning and not experience deeper gaps in opportunity. For the students who don’t have devices or having to share devices in a household with a number of siblings. Or a parent who’s trying to work, you really have a situation where we will see impact for a decade or more.
Because you have a set of young people who even if they were motivated to learn, even if they were excited about schooling, now are having to figure out how to even access schools. The other piece of that is with that 40% of students, and depending on the data we have for those families, some of those students may be in crisis. Some of those students may be English language learners. Some of those students may be students with disabilities. And the question begets why are they not having access to their services? When will they get access to their services?
And in what ways can the school district ramp up to make sure every child who’s on their role is accounted for? Because there’s also the issue of increased domestic violence, increased reports of suicide, increased reports of child abuse at this time. Let me take a step back, actually decrease in reports of child abuse, which is extremely troubling. It means that young people are experiencing things behind closed doors due to stay at home orders that no one can see. And oftentimes the school would be the reporter if they saw abuse. So 40% is unacceptable. It’s a huge number.
So there are two issues there. One is the 40% who don’t have access to the devices or broadband. The other issue is of the 60%, how many of those students have actually connected with the school system? And that’s true across the country as well. There are a number of superintendents and state chiefs who are reporting districts where 40, 50% of the students have not been in contact with the district. And that is troubling. You could have a student who’s really interested in school, but their parents lost their job. They’ve had to pick up and move suddenly. That is really going to be a crisis that we’re dealing with long beyond finding a vaccination or developing a herd immunity.
Jaisal Noor: And Rebecca, I wanted to ask you to weigh in on that question. What concerns you most about this situation?
Rebecca Jacobse…: I couldn’t agree more with what Khalilah has already shared. I think that I share those same exact concerns. So I just want to add on to what she said. I think one of the issues that we also have to consider is the level of stress that kids are experiencing. We certainly know that when you are stressed, it is much harder to process information. It’s much harder to learn. It’s harder to take in new information. So even for the best case scenario where students are highly motivated and have access, we have an added level of stress. Especially in disinvested communities where parents jobs are now unstable. Parents jobs are unpredictable, and there can be no doubt that there’s higher levels of stress in the household that the children are experiencing.
I’d also say we need to think about the quality of instruction. So even if kids are able to get online, and able to log in and participate, I don’t think that what we currently have comes anywhere near to replacing the kinds of learning interactions that take place in real time. Where students do something, they get immediate feedback and can make those corrections. Teachers have a relationship with kids. They know how to motivate them. All of those things are lost in this online virtual format.
Jaisal Noor: And Khalilah, I wanted to ask you about Baltimore specifically. What have you heard? I know you’re involved with groups that are advocating on behalf of students, parents, and teachers here. I’ve heard good stories. I’ve heard some good and bad, but talk about what you’ve heard and what sense you have on how things are going right now in Baltimore.
Khalilah Harris: It’s really tough. I’ve been in contact with the leaders of the Parent and Community Advisory Board. They are trying their hardest to make sure they have up to date information from both the school board and the CEO back to Santa Lisa’s has been extremely engaging and in close contact and updating them regularly. And more than regularly. So that’s great to hear. The challenges if there are students without access to broadband and technology at a rate of 40%, you also have that number of families who may not be hearing anything from the school district or not sure how to support their students.
Also want to think about not only are the stress of the children, but the stress of the educators. And so the idea of not only many, if not most of them not being trained to deliver a distance learning model. That they are now thrust in front of a camera, allowing access into their homes in a way that they may have wanted to protect before as much as they love their children. And asking those people to bridge divides that were not created by them that were instead created by systemic inequity.
So we have heard from Santa Lisa’s to say that there was a high percentage of students, somewhere around 80%, who started coursework when distance learning began. That slowly but surely began to fade away. So you have teachers with one student, three students, five students reporting here in Baltimore. I hear the same things around the country. So this is not unique to Baltimore City, but it is a stressful situation. You do have teachers that I talked to who are extremely concerned again about abuse and students who they knew were in volatile living situations. We have a high number of students in Baltimore City who are either experiencing homelessness or living in foster care.
And so the question becomes, what kind of supports are those children having? And then you have students who were in a juvenile justice situation or in a juvenile detention situation who we’re due to come back to school or back home.And there’s a break in a linkage between they’re returned to home or they’re returned to school. I must say also the same is true for young people who might have been suspended from school long term or even short term. What was put in place to bridge their supports that they would’ve gotten if school were back in session. It might’ve been a 30 day plan to get them back on track and moving along with their classmates. Did any of that happen?
And those are some of the things that go unseen because it’s not in an IEP or it’s not in a support plan for English language learners. So we definitely are seeing parents and families rallying around their children, I must say. The other day I was able to view a concert from Orkid and those amazing young people learning to play instruments were able to display their talents in what would have been normally their presentations at this point in the school year.
I was able to participate in Lilly May, Caroll Jackson’s eighth grade presentations of learning. Which is a rite of passage for students in an expeditionary learning school model. So I’ve been interacting with educators from across the city who are trying to maintain the semblance of normalcy and rigor and quality for their students. The challenge is when you live in communities that have been disinvested for so long, you have teachers who are in many ways bearing the brunt of closing gaps in opportunity for young people all over the city instead of just in their classrooms.
Jaisal Noor: And Rebecca, I wanted to build off that, but also ask you during the great recession, our previous economic hardships that we faced a decade ago. Many States cut education funding. And part of that is because we fund schools in this country based on property taxes. Which creates systemic inequities and what wealthier districts get then districts that have less wealth. Can you build off what clueless saying, but also talk about if you’re concerned. I think we already did already talk about school budgets being cut. Now in wake of this what impact did that have especially for districts that already are under-resourced?
Rebecca Jacobse…: Yeah. And the reference to the previous crisis in 2007, 2008 is really important. Because when we look back at the cuts that took place, even after our economy rebounded, and there was more money. We never caught up. Those were districts that had been disinvested actually never caught up. They ended up even further behind. I think that this is going to be an even more severe example of that happening when we make big cuts.
And it is those communities with the least amount of investment, the least internal resources to draw upon who then cannot simply make up the difference. Whereas those communities that have the resources either make up those differences publicly through increased taxes or privately with parents making donations to their personal schools. Parents making donations to the classrooms that their students are in. So there’s many more opportunities to make up those differences.
And when we see the public cuts, it’s really those least able to make up the difference who suffer the most. I think we’re going to end up even further behind and exacerbate the inequality that we already have. I also wanted to mention, I’m really glad that Khalilah has said several times now the importance of the number of kids that are just simply no longer being seen. And I think that is a real concern that has not received nearly enough attention.
As a foster parent and now an adoptive parent from the foster care system, I know extremely intimately what it’s like to work with children that have experienced abuse. I think when kids go back into the shool system, not only will teachers be facing those gaps from learning, but they’re going to have a lot more students that have high levels of trauma. And we are not providing our teachers. We’re not equipping them with the resources, the support and the training that they need to work with traumatized children.
And until we work with their emotional wellbeing, we’ll never be able to continue to push forward and meet their ability in an academic setting.
Jaisal Noor: And Khalilah, I wanted to get you to weigh in on that, but I know that when you were at The Real News, we worked together on covering The Kirwan Commission. Which was this historic education plans, or revamp public schools across the State of Maryland. Which has a huge deficit in terms of what resources wealthier… We have some of the wealthiest districts, an entire country. Well, we also have, you know, areas that have been greatly disinvested like Baltimore.
Essentially our governor Larry Hogan, who was opposed this since its inception, as we all know. He vetoed it basically saying that we can’t raise taxes during this pandemic. And that was the reason he gave. I wanted to get your response.
Khalilah Harris: First of all, I want to reiterate that 50% of the States who cut education funding never returned up until last year to pre-recession funding. In Maryland was one of those States. Okay. So it’s not just a couple of States or a few States. Half of the States never returned to pre-recession funding from the 2007, 2008 recession period. Larry Hogan said before the legislative session ended that he would veto the carbon bill. That he was not for it.
Larry Hogan had a $20,000 a plate fundraisers to get money to build a campaign against The Kirwan Commission. As the numbers started to roll out for what it would cost to provide quality education per Maryland’s constitution for Maryland’s children. So at the end of the legislative session, which was truncated because of the pandemic, the current bill passed through the legislature. There was an amendment added in there that said if state receipts fell below seven and a half percent, which they absolutely will.
It’s being projected that Maryland’s receipts will be 15 to 20% lower. And that’s tax receipts collection of revenues to support the government. There was no reason for him to veto the legislation with that amendment in place. So sometimes he will do smoke and mirrors where he’ll say, “I support education. I’m the education governor.” But there’s no real evidence of it. He talked about the lockbox for the casino money as if he put forward the lockbox.
And that was actually democratic members in the legislature. Then he campaigned for governor on being the education governor through this lockbox just because he simply allowed the bill to pass. So it’s really unfortunate. This had the potential to be an astronomical improvement on the quality of education for all of Maryland students. The state legislature now has the question in front of them on whether or not they call a special meeting so that we can do a couple of things.
Overturn his veto of the current legislation. Overturn his veto of the HBCUs legislation to settle that case. Overturn his legislation related to women having access to post-incarceration facilities. There are so many things that he regressively veto and said that it was because of his unwillingness to raise taxes. But again, throughout that period, he was saying he would do that. I’m also a senior fellow with the Maryland Center on economics and budget.
We talk a lot about all of the ways he could have supported closing corporate loopholes in the tax code, as well as focusing on the 1%. The 1% still is able to pay more taxes because they’re not being impacted in the way the rest of us are. It’s unfortunate. I think he’s played this role of a moderate Republican. He’s in no way more moderate when it comes to the policies that he tends to pass. And it’s really going to be up to our legislature to stand up and say, “We will not allow the current commission legislation to die based on a veto.”
We need to override that and make sure that we are putting our money where I’m out this for our children. And in fact, now the time to really double down on equity. When we’re in a situation like this where so many communities are continuing to be impacted and gaps in opportunity are growing. Now’s not the time to pull away from equity. Equity has to be at the center and the front end, not an add on. Which is how we find ourselves here to begin with.
Jaisal Noor: Well, I want to thank you both for joining us. We’re still early in this pandemic. We didn’t even know what the full impacts are. And as you both raise the issue of the students that no one has heard from for months. So there’s something we’re going to definitely keep following up on. And also talk about what solutions look like and what we can all do to help make public education a more just institution in this country.
Khalilah Harris, managing director at K-12 Education Policy cap Center for American Progress. And Rebecca Jacobson associate professor at Michigan State University. Thank you both for joining us.
Khalilah Harris: Thank you.
Rebecca Jacobse…: Thank you.
Jaisal Noor: Thank you for joining us at The Real News Network.
Production: Genevieve Montinar, Taylor Hebden
Studio: Taylor Hebden
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therealnews--2020-05-23--Correction Officers And Inmate Advocates Prepare For Action At Jessup Prison

Corrections officers and prison abolitionists will join together Saturday to protest the lack of PPE and testing , and the @ @ @ @ @ the COVID-19 pandemic .

Corrections officers and prison abolitionists will join together Saturday to protest the lack of PPE and testing, and the need for parole, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Eddie Conway: Welcome to this episode of Rattling the Bars. I’m Eddie Conway coming to you from Baltimore for the Real News Network. Over the past few months, we have been following the cases of COVID-19 in the prison systems in Maryland and around the nation. Two months ago in April, Governor Hogan was pressured into declaring that he would release at least 2000 prisoners. The criteria was that they had to have less than four months or they had to be in such critical shape that they would require getting in the hospital. Since that time, very few of those 2000 prisoners have been released. And because of that, grassroots movements and civic organizations have joined together to protest this month in Jessup, Maryland. Joining me today to give us an update and an overview of what’s happening in the prison system is Nicole Hanson, who is the executive director of Out for Justice, Monica Cooper, the executive director of Maryland Justice Project, and Joe Cox, who is the field representative of ASME, that’s representing the correctional officers union.
Before I start, I’d like to say this. There’s been 290 cases of COVID in the prison system so far that’s been reported. 200 of those cases are correctional officers, 77 of those cases are prisoners and 13 of those cases are civilian employees within the correctional system. So if you could, Monica, give me an overview of what’s going on in the prison system and update us.
Monica Cooper: Well, since the last time we talked, there does seem to be some improvement in terms of video visitations in the women’s institution, and some other things that’s going on that should’ve been going on all along. But we still feel like those things are slow and late in coming. One of the things that even though the system and the correctional facilities are trying to now start to accommodate people, we still hear stories about people who are not being tested. Once a person is perceived to may have some symptoms or whatever, they put these people inside a space by themselves, isolate them, and call themself putting them there for isolation. It’s only until the person is really, really bad off do they decide, okay, well maybe we should take this person out, rather than not wait until they’re that bad off that they got to go out 911.
We just recently heard that a young … well she’s elder. Her name Amelia [Rahrahs 00:03:39]. She’s about 80 years old. She just tested positive for COVID supposedly. We don’t know, because again, they keep so much secret. It’s hard to find out what’s really going on because they listen in on phone calls. They screen people’s mail. So it’s really hard to find out what’s going on when just like other persons in our country, they are trying to keep their numbers low. I guarantee you, if people are tested, those numbers would be off the chart.
Eddie Conway: Joe, if you could, please tell us what’s going on within the correctional officers staff. Over 200 officers has tested positive for COVID-19. What’s the status now?
Joe Cox: That we know about Eddie, because I just want to echo a lot of what Monica said about how hard it is to get good and timely information on anything going on. So everything she said is accurate. There are some things that the department has done well, but it’s taken them too long, and we weren’t able to keep the virus out of the jails. Officers now have N95 masks, which they should have had three, four weeks ago at the latest. They now have those. And as Monica said, the department’s done some good things, doing video visits so we don’t have a lot … We’re limiting the number of people coming in and out of the institutions to control the virus. And the department did start screening officers at the door for symptoms, all of which is good. But she’s absolutely right that there are some very important things that they are not doing.
Three weeks ago, more than three weeks ago, on April 27th, Public Safety Secretary Robert Greene promised our membership in a meeting that he agreed with our demands that are the same as Monica’s demands, that every inmate, every officer, every employee in a correctional institution needs to get tested for the virus because otherwise any attempt to quarantine people is just guesswork based on who has symptoms, and we all know people spread it without having symptoms. As of this date, none of that has happened. I’ve been told from the department that we will soon, as soon as maybe today, get some protocol in expanding testing for officers. I have heard nothing about expanding tests among inmates. And as you guys know, officers should be tested at work, but they also have the option of going to their doctor, and inmates can’t get tested unless the department tests them.
And so we very much support the call to test every inmate now because inmates deserve to be protected and officers deserve to be protected, and our membership is not safe if we don’t know which inmates have coronavirus and which ones don’t. And the only way we can know is that they get tested.
Eddie Conway: Okay. Nicole, I understand you’re looking at women, not only in the state prison system, but in the jails, the county jails and city jails across the state. Give us an update on what’s happening with women that are being incarcerated.
Nicole Hanson: So, as of today, our women are not reporting being tested. They’re only reporting that they have to show all three signs in order to go into an isolated space with no real … not no real, but we need medical professionals who are equipped to deal with a pandemic like COVID. Currently, there are not enough doctors, not enough physician assistants, not enough nurses in our facilities to accommodate the requests that our women are having to be tested. We know the Department of Corrections is not testing our loved ones. We like to refer to them as incarcerated citizens, and our families and friends, they’re not testing. And so there’s no real way to get any accurate numbers. The only number that the department is able to push out is the numbers of when that person is transported to a civilian hospital. And that is when they know that the individual has COVID. They don’t know that the individual has COVID unless they’re transported out to an outside civilian hospital. So, that’s one.
And as we all know, if you’ve been formally incarcerated, there’s this level of honor system that happens even in the institution, where people who are closer to administration get access to things that other people who don’t have certain relationships don’t. So not everybody is getting access to these screening visits. On a local level, we are dealing in a crisis right now. We have women and men, but my area of focus is women, that are sitting in jail, pre-trial with no bail. And these are offenses that pre-COVID, folks would have at least gotten a bail, or folks would have been dismissed on their own recognizance. However, at the first stage of incarceration, the commissioners are giving them a no bail. And then the judges are standing on the no bail. But then when folks are able to get back into court through what is called the habeas process, through which the attorneys are now having to file emergency motions for release under COVID-19.
When they all getting back in court, there’s this wave of everybody going on home detention. And as you know, everybody cannot afford home detention, especially in a situation like we are now, where people are losing their job. The family members and friends of those that are incarcerated, which was typically the support system of our folks, they don’t have the monetary support that they would have in a normal situation to support these home detention costs. To set up home detention, it’s around $300. And so we are finding our people are paying the sum of $400 to $500 a month to be on home detention. Those are fees that can go towards food, shelter and even preparing for your legal defense. And so there’s this wave of home detention recommendations, even by our office of public defender, because there’s this idea that this is the only way I can get out. And it’s a problem. It’s becoming a real problem that the only way that we can get our people free that makes the judge “comfortable” is that home detention is recommended.
The other thing is our governor put out an executive order that would allow for people to be released on home destruction. And we have many people qualify for the indigent home detention through the state. So what that means is if you cannot afford home detention, the state has to now supplement the fees, but we don’t have enough staff in the prisons and in the jails to qualify for the state home detentions are forced to sit in jail an additional four to six weeks. So somebody that works in the jail comes to verify their home plan and the like. So then people are forced to say, “Well, I’m just going to try to go with the private home detention,” in an effort to get out sooner. We have judges who have gone on the record saying even when the [inaudible 00:12:20], that client cannot afford home detention. You have a judge on the record saying, “Well, they’re going to have to figure it out. They’re going to have to figure it out.”
And then when you cannot pay those fees, you are immediately, a warrant for your arrest is immediately issued and you’re ushered back into the institution.
Eddie Conway: Okay. Monica, you have been organizing a protest action for this weekend with a coalition of groups. Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Monica Cooper: We are planning a direct action in the Jessup region for all of the facilities that’s in that region. We’re going to start at the women’s facility and we’re going around to Clifton T. Perkins and we’re going around to the facilities that’s in the area because all of those people are directly impacted by COVID. And for the first time in history, I am proud to say that we are linking up with the correctional officer’s union. And like I had mentioned earlier, that is really a unlikely pair, myself, being a formerly incarcerated person. People coming and participating are formerly incarcerated people. And we are representing incarcerated people, as well as correctional officers. We’re all in this thing together. We all see that testing is the absolute most important thing that could happen right now, besides the governor considering releasing people who are having underlying conditions, people who are 60, 70, and 80 years old that are at risk of losing their lives. People who are dag-gone, they’re out the door.
They’re holding folks up. There’s people who are sitting there that made parole, that’s still sitting there. There’s people who’s sitting there that’s supposed to be transferred to a pre-release unit. They’re still sitting there. So everything is just, it’s not moving as usual and it’s just even worse than what it would be. They’re already slow. The system is already slow to release people. They quick to put you in there, but it’s hard to get out. They slow to release people. So we are expecting to put some pressure on them and say, “You have to do more.” Saying that you’re going to release people that’s four months within their release date, 2000 people, and you’ve only maybe released 70, 80 people. The number is extremely low. Saying that the Health Department is going to come up with this protocol for testing, and it still hasn’t happened. That’s not acceptable.
My guess is that the administration and a correctional personnel is actually trying to wait until this thing dies down before they actually do anything. They’re buying their time. They’re trying to just wait and see, the cases are going to go down, so they think, and they think that it’s going to be okay, but we are looking at the fall. We are looking at an even worse infection rate when the fall rolls around. The CDC have already warned us that this is going to be a really tough time when we get into the flu season. So we need to continue to do those necessary things right now to help protect people. Nobody should have to go to work for eight hours and end up in a coffin. Nobody should be sentenced to five years, seven years, 10 years, and end up dead.
They didn’t get sent to a prison or didn’t get sentenced to death. And that seems like what’s happening is that people don’t understand the severity of what’s going on. So we are definitely going to be there. We’re going to have this caravan of justice. We’re going to stop traffic. We’re going to get the attention that we need. We’re trying to get the media out. So if anybody’s in the media that want to be there, we’ll be in Jessup and we put that information out. I think you have the information. We got it all on Facebook. We might go ahead. I think we got a press release scheduled within the next 24 hours, because we really, really want people to understand that it’s everybody that’s involved in this situation that we need some action and we need it now. Nobody should have to die from COVID inside these institutions where something can be done about it.
Eddie Conway: Joe, okay, I understand that you, ASME, as part of this protest, what demands are you all making on the governor or government officials?
Joe Cox: So, we’re echoing Monica’s demand that the governor test all detainees, whether they’re inmates or detainees, staff, whether they’re correctional officers or other staff or contractual staff, everybody inside of correctional institutions, inside of juvenile detention facilities, inside of Maryland state hospitals to keep people safe. And to echo back on what Monica said about what a new coalition this is and how formidable it is, in response to our caravan yesterday, and I think with knowledge that we’re moving forward on this thing for Saturday together, the governor just announced to the Baltimore Sun during this interview about 10 minutes ago that he will be testing all the inmates, all of the [inaudible 00:17:35], but I’m sure Monica agrees with me that that’s great. We’ve heard that before. Like I said, we heard this from secretary Robert Greene more than three weeks ago.
So I’m glad that the governor has said that now. And we’re going to keep going forward until everybody at all correctional institutions is tested. It’s just like Nicole said, just like Monica said, we don’t know anything about how to control these viruses inside a correctional institution until we know who has it and who does not have it. And testing is the only way to get there.
Eddie Conway: Nicole, I’m seeing Out for Justice has been going down to Annapolis to the capital, dealing with the delegates in the Senate. Is there any support for this action? Is there any calls or demands on the governor?
Nicole Hanson: We do. We have the support of elected officials like Deborah Davis. We have support from elected officials like Senator Jill Carter, Delegate Erek Barron. Who else? Delegate Crutchfield out in Montgomery County. And all those elected officials who supported reentry bills last session. We have Delegate Bagnall, all of the black women who sit on the House Judiciary Committee, we have their support, but they are not enough. We need the Senate president to step up, Bill Ferguson, we need his voice in this game. We need our house speaker, a black woman, Adrienne Jones, out of Baltimore County, we need her stepping up calling for the governor to not only release individuals who are within the governor’s timeframe of four moms, but also individuals who are close to being released. We’ve got women who are on pre-release status eligible to come into communities every day and work. These women should be released.
But also we need the speaker of the house and the Senate president to call on the Department of Corrections to test, because we know through the work of Delegate Mosby to call for the ratio equity lens in the report, the black and brown individuals who are getting tested and could be. Our communities are the most impacted. We need those individuals to step up. It cannot just be us. It cannot be the few black women who sit on the Judiciary Committee. It cannot be the few black men who have stepped up when policies were formed, like Erek Barron and like Nick Mosby. That’s a small few. And so while we do have their support, we need the support of the whole legislature. I remember an article where a group of Republicans talked about the need to test behind those walls to ensure that when we are coming back into communities, we’re safe and we’re able to quarantine.
I’m currently sitting in a house right now that Out for Justice is a part of, that is paying the rent for specifically women coming out of prison to ensure that they have a place to come, because we can call for the release of our women and men, but then the other part is where do they go? And where is a safe space for them to go that they can quarantine for 14 days under the CDC guidelines and under the governor’s guidelines? So, in addition to ensuring that we get the testing, we need to also get support on how we’re going to place our loved ones when they get out and how we’re going to place them in a safe way and for them to have the ability to quarantine.
So just to answer your question, we have a few supporters. I know the Coalition for Safe and Just Maryland also stands with us at this rally to test individuals. We’ve got partners, as far as Prince George’s County Life After Release, that will be there with Monica to support. So we have a lot of support, but we really, really need those legislators to make a specific call to support those folks behind those walls getting tested.
Eddie Conway: Monica, can you tell us what date, what time and location this rally will be?
Monica Cooper: A brief update. I guess about an hour ago, I received a letter from Delegate Crutchfield of Montgomery County, and the letter has a lot of the lawmakers signed onto it, but it’s specific for the release of Eraina Pretty. That letter is going on to the governor. The lawmakers are asking that the governor consider releasing Eraina Pretty, a young lady that’s been incarcerated for 42 years and she unfortunately fell victim to COVID-19. Thank goodness, she’s doing a little bit better, but you don’t want to keep subjecting yourself to that. It’s almost like if you have anaphylactic shock, you had an allergy to something, and you come in contact with it again, it’s 10 times worse. So we don’t want to run that chance. But to get back to your question is the address where we’re meeting at is 7371 Assateague Drive, Jessup, Maryland, 20794. We’re going to meet that at two o’clock. And that is right across the street from MCE in Jessup, Maryland. Again, that’s 7371 Assateague Drive, Jessup, Maryland, 20794. We’re going to meet that in the parking lot at two o’clock.
Eddie Conway: Joe, do you have any final words?
Joe Cox: Sure. Just 7371 Assateague is the International House of Pancakes down there. So look for that, right there on 175, like Monica said, Also, yeah, please come out. If you aren’t even connected to an organization, but you care about keeping inmates healthy, keeping correctional staff safe, or keeping your neighborhood safe, because like Nicole was saying, like Monica was saying, inmates come home, staff from correctional institutions come home. If you want to keep your neighborhood safe, we know that the hotbed of the virus in every state is these 24/7 facilities. And so let’s keep them safe. Let’s get everybody tested.
Eddie Conway: Monica, do you have any final words?
Monica Cooper: Well, I guess some parting words I would just like to impart on the listening audience is that we are faced with a time that most of us haven’t seen before. We are living and walking in history. In years to come, when we look back on this thing, like people look back on the 1918 flu pandemic, and all of those different things that challenge humanity. We are now being challenged with things that threaten our very existence. And I don’t think that we can ill afford to look at each other and say, “That one deserve to live. That one deserves to die.” We shouldn’t put ourselves in those situations because if it’s your elderly mother inside a nursing home, you will want her to live. You don’t look at your nursing home settings and say, “Well, they old. They lived their lives already. So who cares of 60 people die at this nursing home facility because they old. Who cares?” And we don’t want people to look at folks who are incarcerated and say, “Well, they did something wrong. They did something bad. Then who cares what happens to them?”
Because the correctional facilities is the same type of setting that you find in nursing homes. And we need to treat it as such. And I just want to, again, impart on the listening audience that we are living in some serious times. We have some serious times that we have to really consider how we are interacting with one another. Whether you’re wearing your mask, not wearing your mask, want to open up the city, want to leave the city closed. We have to consider how we are interacting with each other because we have a serious threat, and that threat will be realized one way or the other.
Eddie Conway: All right. Well, we will continue to follow this story and we’ll try to get back with a report about the rally next week. So thanks for joining me, Nicole, Monica and Joe. And thank you for joining this episode of Rattling the Bars through the Real News.
Studio: Cameron Granadino
Production: Cameron Granadino, Ericka Blount Danois
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therealnews--2020-05-24--Climate Crisis: EU Green Stimulus, Meat Apocalypse, Public Lands, Climate Music

Welcome back to TRNN ’ s Climate Crisis News Roundup .
In recent weeks , this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis , and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps through the world .
But climate change and the politics of surrounding this monumental issue are still happening outside of the context of COVID-19 , and we will use this space to tell those stories too .
If you have a story you think deserves a spot in the roundup or story pitches in general , get in touch with me at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at @ SteveAHorn .
You can read the previous edition here .
With little success to date , progressive climate activists in the United States have pushed congressional Democrats to adopt a Green Stimulus package in response to the economic crisis—and potential looming Great Depression—which has arisen in response to COVID-19 .
This has happened despite President Donald Trump showering the fossil fuel industry with various stimulus levers and environmental deregulation gifts .
By comparison , the European Commission—the governing body of the European Union—is actually advancing a Green Stimulus package .
Bloomberg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will propose the world ’ s greenest economic recovery package on May 27 : “ European Commission President Ursula Von Den Leyen is set to transform her Green Deal strategy to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 , into a coronavirus economic rescue plan that ’ ll rapidly drive private investment and create jobs across the continent , ” Bloomberg reported .
According to a draft of the plan obtained by Bloomberg , the European Commission would offer 60-80 billion euros to incentivize the production and sales of electric cars , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ networks for them .
The commission would also offer 91 billion euros annually in grants to make buildings more energy efficient and thus , more climate friendly , while giving 10 billion euros to new renewable energy projects over the next two years .
There would also be another 10 billion euros per year to go into a fund the European Investment Bank “ to boost renewables and hydrogen infrastructure.
” The news comes as one of the EU ’ s biggest countries and its second hardest hit by COVID-19 from a public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has proposed a ban of all new permits for oil , gas and coal .
The country has also pledged to hit zet zero carbon emissions by 2050 , while going 23 % below 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2030 .
Spain has also proposed to use 25 % of its annual budget , mirroring that of the European Commission , to go to the economic transition needed to respond to the climate crisis .
And the country ’ s leadership has stated a goal of forging a just transition for fossil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ approval of a transition strategy for communities dependent on fossil fuel industries for their livelihood every five years , ” the UK-based outlet Climate Home News reported .
The outlet added , “ Specific transition agreements to promote alternative economic activities should be developed in affected areas.
” “ At a time when we have to address the COVID-19 recovery process , the energy transition is going to become an important driving force for generating economic activity and employment in the short term , and in a manner consistent with what we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medium and long term , ” Spain ’ s Vice President and Economic Transition Minister Teresa Ribera told Climate Home News of the plan .
Spain ’ s plan still requires parliamentary passage , as does the European Commission ’ s .
Mijin Cha , a professor of urban and environmental policy at Occidental College and a proponent of a Green New Deal in the U.S. and a co-signer of a March open letter calling for a Green Stimulus , praised the EU developments .
“ The EU is showing real leadership in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be economically stronger in the long run , ” she told The Real News .
“ The policies the EU are investing in are not just good for the climate , they are fundamentally jobs programs that will put people back to work quickly.
” Pointing to the Democrats and their response to the COVID-19 economic crisis , with 38.6 million people having filed for unemployment since March , she added “ it is really a missed opportunity not just because we also are in a climate crisis , but the way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and build a strong economy is through climate investments .
Not only is it a missed opportunity , but the Democrats are ignoring the priorities of a majority of voters.
” The meat industry supply chain in the United States has reached a point of total crisis in the United States as COVID-19 has worsened .
Slaughterhouses have become coronavirus hotspots for their workers , putting a damper on the industrial process of meat production and leading some animal agriculture production sites to find it more profitable to do mass killings of pigs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” The Guardian reported .
COVID-19 , in turn , has put the horrific practices and inhumane existence of the industry under the national microscope .
In the midst of the daily stomach-churning headlines about slaughterhouses during the novel pandemic , a new study has also put the climate impact of meat production and consumption under the magnifying glass .
Published by scholars from the University of Michigan and Tulane University , the study funded by the environmental advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity has concluded that “ replacing 50 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States would prevent more than 1.6 billion tons of greenhouse gas pollution by 2030.
” In response to the initial Green New Deal proposal , conservative pundits and Republican Party apparatchiks bemoaned that the plan means the end of eating cheeseburgers as we know it .
Though the Green New Deal calls for nothing of the sort , and Democrats awkwardly addressed the issue in the June 2019 presidential debate , the talking point actually had some accidental truth to it .
The Center for Biological Diversity explained how diets must change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ If beef consumption were reduced by 90 % alongside the 50 % reduction in other animal products , it would prevent more than 2 billion tons of greenhouse gas pollution , ” they wrote .
“ That ’ s roughly equivalent to taking nearly half the world ’ s cars off the roads for a year.
” The Real News has previously covered the climate impacts of the meat industry , and the climate movement ’ s reluctance to discuss it , interviewing the people behind the documentary film “ Cowspiracy.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Center for Biological Diversity has released a report titled “ Appetite for Change : A Policy Guide to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions of U.S. Diets by 2030 , ” which lays out practical steps individuals , the federal government , state government and local governments can take to radically reduce meat production and consumption .
A new analysis published by the Center for American Progress has put forward a bold thesis : President Donald Trump is the worst president on protecting U.S. public lands in history .
And it ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commander-in-chief in history to remove more public lands from protection than vice versa .
The Center for American Progress wrote that “ over the past three years , the Trump administration has attempted to remove protections from nearly 35 million acres of public lands—approximately 1,000 times more land than his administration has protected.
” The group added that though many of these proposals face court battles , “ these actions equate to stripping protections from an area the size of Florida.
” These maneuvers , first and foremost , are in the service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , various types of mining and oil and gas drilling as center to many of the proposals to gut federal lands designations .
The proposal to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall , too , is cited as having “ damaging effects on America ’ s natural and cultural heritage , ” including bulldozing through “ 150 miles of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
” In addition to the attempt to strip away public land designations , Trump has leased off more than 24.4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil and gas industry .
The administration is also attempting to open and remove protections from 1.5 billion acres of U.S. oceans , which is 94 % of U.S. offshore waters and roughly three times the size of Greenland .
This is not just a story of ecological devastation of public lands , though , because it also links straight to the climate crisis—and COVID-19 .
Scientists have linked the wiping out of natural habitats of species to increased risks of spreading global pandemics .
The process of climate change , too , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Doing industrial activities like oil drilling , extractive mining and logging on designated public lands that preserve biodiversity , then , is a threat multiplier times infinite .
Lastly , a bit of levity .
This week , our new climate reporter Aman Ahzar released a new multimedia package on the ClimateMusic Project .
Aman interviewed several people who practice the craft , asking them why they do what they do and how they do what they do .
Via artistic practice that is above my pay grade and experience , one music @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ science-guided ” song titled “ Icarus in Flight.
” That piece uses “ environmental datasets spanning two centuries , ” Aman wrote in introducing his video interview with Richard Festinger .
Festinger told The Real News that in writing “ Icarus in Flight , ” he wanted to “ emotionally convey the problems that climate change poses and motivate people to take action.
” San Francisco ’ s Telegraph Quartet recently performed “ Icarus in Flight , ” a 30-minute composition , for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the the National Academy of Sciences , with Aman also speaking to the members of the quartet .
If you missed it , the package is titled , “ Climate Music To Soothe And Terrify You.
” Check it out and do watch all the interviews .

Welcome back to TRNN’s Climate Crisis News Roundup. In recent weeks, this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis, and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps through the world. But climate change and the politics of surrounding this monumental issue are still happening outside of the context of COVID-19, and we will use this space to tell those stories too.
If you have a story you think deserves a spot in the roundup or story pitches in general, get in touch with me at steve@therealnews.com or on Twitter at @SteveAHorn. You can read the previous edition here.
EU Green Stimulus
With little success to date, progressive climate activists in the United States have pushed congressional Democrats to adopt a Green Stimulus package in response to the economic crisis—and potential looming Great Depression—which has arisen in response to COVID-19. This has happened despite President Donald Trump showering the fossil fuel industry with various stimulus levers and environmental deregulation gifts.
By comparison, the European Commission—the governing body of the European Union—is actually advancing a Green Stimulus package. Bloomberg Green has reported that the governing body will propose the world’s greenest economic recovery package on May 27: “European Commission President Ursula Von Den Leyen is set to transform her Green Deal strategy to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, into a coronavirus economic rescue plan that’ll rapidly drive private investment and create jobs across the continent,” Bloomberg reported.
According to a draft of the plan obtained by Bloomberg, the European Commission would offer 60-80 billion euros to incentivize the production and sales of electric cars, including doubling investment levels in charging station networks for them. The commission would also offer 91 billion euros annually in grants to make buildings more energy efficient and thus, more climate friendly, while giving 10 billion euros to new renewable energy projects over the next two years. There would also be another 10 billion euros per year to go into a fund the European Investment Bank “to boost renewables and hydrogen infrastructure.”
The news comes as one of the EU’s biggest countries and its second hardest hit by COVID-19 from a public health perspective behind Italy, Spain, has proposed a ban of all new permits for oil, gas and coal. The country has also pledged to hit zet zero carbon emissions by 2050, while going 23% below 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2030.
Spain has also proposed to use 25% of its annual budget, mirroring that of the European Commission, to go to the economic transition needed to respond to the climate crisis. And the country’s leadership has stated a goal of forging a just transition for fossil fuel industry workers, calling for the “approval of a transition strategy for communities dependent on fossil fuel industries for their livelihood every five years,” the UK-based outlet Climate Home News reported. The outlet added, “Specific transition agreements to promote alternative economic activities should be developed in affected areas.”
“At a time when we have to address the COVID-19 recovery process, the energy transition is going to become an important driving force for generating economic activity and employment in the short term, and in a manner consistent with what we will need as a country in the medium and long term,” Spain’s Vice President and Economic Transition Minister Teresa Ribera told Climate Home News of the plan.
Spain’s plan still requires parliamentary passage, as does the European Commission’s.
Mijin Cha, a professor of urban and environmental policy at Occidental College and a proponent of a Green New Deal in the U.S. and a co-signer of a March open letter calling for a Green Stimulus, praised the EU developments.
“The EU is showing real leadership in pivoting towards a clean energy future that will be economically stronger in the long run,” she told The Real News. “The policies the EU are investing in are not just good for the climate, they are fundamentally jobs programs that will put people back to work quickly.”
Pointing to the Democrats and their response to the COVID-19 economic crisis, with 38.6 million people having filed for unemployment since March, she added “it is really a missed opportunity not just because we also are in a climate crisis, but the way to put people back to work quickly and build a strong economy is through climate investments. Not only is it a missed opportunity, but the Democrats are ignoring the priorities of a majority of voters.”
Meat Apocalypse, Climate Crisis
The meat industry supply chain in the United States has reached a point of total crisis in the United States as COVID-19 has worsened. Slaughterhouses have become coronavirus hotspots for their workers, putting a damper on the industrial process of meat production and leading some animal agriculture production sites to find it more profitable to do mass killings of pigs by ”suffocation, drowning and shooting,” The Guardian reported.
COVID-19, in turn, has put the horrific practices and inhumane existence of the industry under the national microscope. In the midst of the daily stomach-churning headlines about slaughterhouses during the novel pandemic, a new study has also put the climate impact of meat production and consumption under the magnifying glass.
Published by scholars from the University of Michigan and Tulane University, the study funded by the environmental advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity has concluded that “replacing 50% of animal products with plant-based foods in the United States would prevent more than 1.6 billion tons of greenhouse gas pollution by 2030.”
In response to the initial Green New Deal proposal, conservative pundits and Republican Party apparatchiks bemoaned that the plan means the end of eating cheeseburgers as we know it. Though the Green New Deal calls for nothing of the sort, and Democrats awkwardly addressed the issue in the June 2019 presidential debate, the talking point actually had some accidental truth to it.
The Center for Biological Diversity explained how diets must change in a press release summarizing the study: “If beef consumption were reduced by 90% alongside the 50% reduction in other animal products, it would prevent more than 2 billion tons of greenhouse gas pollution,” they wrote. “That’s roughly equivalent to taking nearly half the world’s cars off the roads for a year.”
The Real News has previously covered the climate impacts of the meat industry, and the climate movement’s reluctance to discuss it, interviewing the people behind the documentary film “Cowspiracy.”
In addition to the study, the Center for Biological Diversity has released a report titled “Appetite for Change: A Policy Guide to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions of U.S. Diets by 2030,” which lays out practical steps individuals, the federal government, state government and local governments can take to radically reduce meat production and consumption.
Trump: Worst Ever on Public Lands
A new analysis published by the Center for American Progress has put forward a bold thesis: President Donald Trump is the worst president on protecting U.S. public lands in history. And it’s not even close, sitting as the only commander-in-chief in history to remove more public lands from protection than vice versa.
The Center for American Progress wrote that “over the past three years, the Trump administration has attempted to remove protections from nearly 35 million acres of public lands—approximately 1,000 times more land than his administration has protected.” The group added that though many of these proposals face court battles, “these actions equate to stripping protections from an area the size of Florida.”
These maneuvers, first and foremost, are in the service of industrial interests. CAP names logging, various types of mining and oil and gas drilling as center to many of the proposals to gut federal lands designations. The proposal to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, too, is cited as having “damaging effects on America’s natural and cultural heritage,” including bulldozing through “150 miles of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.”
In addition to the attempt to strip away public land designations, Trump has leased off more than 24.4 million acres of public lands to the oil and gas industry. The administration is also attempting to open and remove protections from 1.5 billion acres of U.S. oceans, which is 94% of U.S. offshore waters and roughly three times the size of Greenland.
This is not just a story of ecological devastation of public lands, though, because it also links straight to the climate crisis—and COVID-19. Scientists have linked the wiping out of natural habitats of species to increased risks of spreading global pandemics. The process of climate change, too, further devastates ecosystems and biological diversity. Doing industrial activities like oil drilling, extractive mining and logging on designated public lands that preserve biodiversity, then, is a threat multiplier times infinite.
Climate Music
Lastly, a bit of levity. This week, our new climate reporter Aman Ahzar released a new multimedia package on the ClimateMusic Project. Aman interviewed several people who practice the craft, asking them why they do what they do and how they do what they do.
Via artistic practice that is above my pay grade and experience, one music composer and educator he interviewed actually wrote a “science-guided” song titled “Icarus in Flight.” That piece uses “environmental datasets spanning two centuries,” Aman wrote in introducing his video interview with Richard Festinger.
Festinger told The Real News that in writing “Icarus in Flight,” he wanted to “emotionally convey the problems that climate change poses and motivate people to take action.”
San Francisco’s Telegraph Quartet recently performed “Icarus in Flight,” a 30-minute composition, for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. They did so in a virtual event convened by the the National Academy of Sciences, with Aman also speaking to the members of the quartet.
If you missed it, the package is titled, “Climate Music To Soothe And Terrify You.” Check it out and do watch all the interviews.
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therealnews--2020-05-26--Comcast Ignores Calls To Improve Internet Access During Pandemic

Lead by student group Students Organizing a Multicultural and Open Society ( SOMOS ) , Baltimore City Public Schools students held a socially-distanced press conference in front of City Hall on May 26 .
They demanded internet service provider Comcast make high speed internet access available to students across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic .
“ In Baltimore alone , 40.7 % don ’ t have broadband access , the third worst connectivity rate for cities with over 500,00 people , ” said Baltimore City College High School junior Kimberly Vasquez as three Baltimore lawmakers stood at a distance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the digital divide , ” low income and communities of color are able to access high speed internet at far lower rates than wealthy communities .
Around 200,000 Baltimore households with school-aged children lack access to high speed internet or a computer , a May 2020 Abell Foundation report found .
“ Every day I see the racial gap in internet access .
Around 70 % white households have access compared to 50 % of African American households and 46 % latino households , ” Baltimore City Schools teacher and advisor to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press conference .
“ If Comcast doesn ’ t take a stand today , they are taking a stance to not educate Black and Brown students.
” Comcast , which holds a monopoly over residential internet access in Baltimore , said it has already taken steps to expand access during the pandemic by making its $ 9.95 Internet Essentials package available for free for two months to new customers who qualify for public assistance programs .
It offers a speed of 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload—fast enough , Comcast says , to support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time .
“ To confront the COVID-19 epidemic , we proactively offered 60 days of free service to any new customers , ” Comcast spokesperson Jeff Alexander said in an email to The Real News .
Alexander initially said Comcast had “ waived all back due debt ” for families with unpaid Comcast bills but later acknowledged that was untrue .
Instead , families who owe Comcast will be eligible to apply for the service until June 30 .
Xfinity broadband access netted Comcast $ 4.72 billion in revenue in 2019 , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Teachers and students report that Comcast ’ s Internet Essentials package is insufficient and its real world application only supports only one high speed connection at a time .
For Vasquez , a member of SOMOS , each morning involves her family deciding which one of them gets to use the internet because they can ’ t use it all at once .
“ Comcast ’ s digital package isn ’ t enough , ” said Vasquez .
“ Currently Internet Essentials is only fast enough for one device.
” Vasquez warned that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ schools risk an unprecedented dropout rate.
” Vasquez co-authored a letter to Comcast dated May 22 demanding the speed of its Essentials package increase to 100Mbps download and 25Mbps upload , fast enough for five concurrent internet connections : “ Baltimore City ’ s young people are being denied their human right to learn and work .
The crisis in education began long before COVID-19 and we must keep the gap from widening.
” The letter also demands the free internet service be extended for 60 days after schools are reopened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internet hotspots for corporate clients : “ It is important for Comcast to provide the people of Baltimore with a fast and reliable internet plan during this challenging time .
Our families need time to save money after this unprecedented period of job loss.
“ First District Councilman Zeke Cohen , a former Baltimore City Schools teacher , signed the letter along with over 100 local organizations .
“ The reality is that we live in a city where the internet has been redlined .
If you look at how the federal government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to banks and asked them to not lend in black communities , that ’ s where we lack wifi today .
It ’ s a shame that 40 % of this city lacks high speed internet access , ” Cohen said at the press conference .
“ If you can ’ t get online , you can ’ t learn .
I hear horror stories all day long , of teachers desperately trying to track down their students , about parents who are overworked , overwhelmed , who are stressed out.
” Cohen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issue in Baltimore : “ This is not just a Baltimore fight , this is a Cleveland fight , a Philadelphia fight , West Virginia fight , ” he said .
Nationally , approximately 4 in 10 low income African-American and Latinx households lack broadband access , Pew Research found .
Only 70 % of rural areas have access to high speed access , according to a 2018 FCC report .
Cohen acknowledged municipal broadband could be a long-term solution to bridge the digital divide .
Over 500 municipalities offer broadband access either @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tend to be more affordable and more accessible to traditionally marginalized communities .
District 13 Councilwoman Shannon Sneed also spoke , and urged Comcast to make high speed internet available free for those who can ’ t afford it .
“ If we say education is important , if we say education matters , this is the way we can show them they matter , ” Sneed said .
Baltimore City Delegate Stephanie Smith , chair of Baltimore ’ s City ’ s State Delegation , also urged Comcast to act .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to information for your education your future is being stymied and that ’ s not an adequate response to COVID-19 , ” she said .
“ Corporate responsibility has a role in the COVID-19 response.
“

Lead by student group Students Organizing a Multicultural and Open Society (SOMOS), Baltimore City Public Schools students held a socially-distanced press conference in front of City Hall on May 26. They demanded internet service provider Comcast make high speed internet access available to students across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In Baltimore alone, 40.7% don’t have broadband access, the third worst connectivity rate for cities with over 500,00 people,” said Baltimore City College High School junior Kimberly Vasquez as three Baltimore lawmakers stood at a distance behind her wearing masks.
Known as “the digital divide,” low income and communities of color are able to access high speed internet at far lower rates than wealthy communities. Around 200,000 Baltimore households with school-aged children lack access to high speed internet or a computer, a May 2020 Abell Foundation report found.
“Every day I see the racial gap in internet access. Around 70% white households have access compared to 50% of African American households and 46% latino households,” Baltimore City Schools teacher and advisor to SOMOS Franca Muller Paz said at the press conference. “If Comcast doesn’t take a stand today, they are taking a stance to not educate Black and Brown students.”
Comcast, which holds a monopoly over residential internet access in Baltimore, said it has already taken steps to expand access during the pandemic by making its $9.95 Internet Essentials package available for free for two months to new customers who qualify for public assistance programs. It offers a speed of 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload—fast enough, Comcast says, to support three Zoom video conferencing calls at a time.
“To confront the COVID-19 epidemic, we proactively offered 60 days of free service to any new customers,” Comcast spokesperson Jeff Alexander said in an email to The Real News.
Alexander initially said Comcast had “waived all back due debt” for families with unpaid Comcast bills but later acknowledged that was untrue. Instead, families who owe Comcast will be eligible to apply for the service until June 30.
Xfinity broadband access netted Comcast $4.72 billion in revenue in 2019, an increase of 9.3% from 2018.
Teachers and students report that Comcast’s Internet Essentials package is insufficient and its real world application only supports only one high speed connection at a time. For Vasquez, a member of SOMOS, each morning involves her family deciding which one of them gets to use the internet because they can’t use it all at once.
“Comcast’s digital package isn’t enough,” said Vasquez. “Currently Internet Essentials is only fast enough for one device.”
Vasquez warned that if internet access isn’t expanded, “schools risk an unprecedented dropout rate.” Vasquez co-authored a letter to Comcast dated May 22 demanding the speed of its Essentials package increase to 100Mbps download and 25Mbps upload, fast enough for five concurrent internet connections: “Baltimore City’s young people are being denied their human right to learn and work. The crisis in education began long before COVID-19 and we must keep the gap from widening.”
The letter also demands the free internet service be extended for 60 days after schools are reopened, as well as access to Comcast internet hotspots for corporate clients: “It is important for Comcast to provide the people of Baltimore with a fast and reliable internet plan during this challenging time. Our families need time to save money after this unprecedented period of job loss.“
First District Councilman Zeke Cohen, a former Baltimore City Schools teacher, signed the letter along with over 100 local organizations.
“The reality is that we live in a city where the internet has been redlined. If you look at how the federal government carved out redline maps and gave them to banks and asked them to not lend in black communities, that’s where we lack wifi today. It’s a shame that 40% of this city lacks high speed internet access,” Cohen said at the press conference. “If you can’t get online, you can’t learn. I hear horror stories all day long, of teachers desperately trying to track down their students, about parents who are overworked, overwhelmed, who are stressed out.”
Cohen stressed that this is not only an issue in Baltimore: “This is not just a Baltimore fight, this is a Cleveland fight, a Philadelphia fight, West Virginia fight,” he said.
Nationally, approximately 4 in 10 low income African-American and Latinx households lack broadband access, Pew Research found. Only 70% of rural areas have access to high speed access, according to a 2018 FCC report. Cohen acknowledged municipal broadband could be a long-term solution to bridge the digital divide. Over 500 municipalities offer broadband access either directly or indirectly, and these providers tend to be more affordable and more accessible to traditionally marginalized communities.
District 13 Councilwoman Shannon Sneed also spoke, and urged Comcast to make high speed internet available free for those who can’t afford it.
“If we say education is important, if we say education matters, this is the way we can show them they matter,” Sneed said.
Baltimore City Delegate Stephanie Smith, chair of Baltimore’s City’s State Delegation, also urged Comcast to act.
“If you don’t have access to information for your education your future is being stymied and that’s not an adequate response to COVID-19,” she said. “Corporate responsibility has a role in the COVID-19 response.“
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therealnews--2020-05-26--Grassroots Organizers Continue To Move The Needle For Change Despite Little Fanfare

Activists like Cameron Miles , Vonya Quarles , Erica Smith , and Amber Rose-Howard discuss organizing tactics that work in @ @ @ @ @ justice and prison abolition .

Activists like Cameron Miles, Vonya Quarles, Erica Smith, and Amber Rose-Howard discuss organizing tactics that work in the continued fight for social justice and prison abolition.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Student Audienc…: I will survive.
Speaker 2: I am a king.
Student Audienc…: I am a king.
Speaker 2: I have self worth.
Student Audienc…: I have self worth.
Speaker 2: If it is to be.
Student Audienc…: If it is be.
Speaker 2: It is up to me.
Student Audienc…: It is up to me.
Speaker 2: Can we welcome Mr. Conway with a hand clap?
Speaker 3: Okay. How you all doing?
Student Audienc…: Good.
Speaker 3: Okay. What I would rather do is answer any questions you might have.
Student Audienc…: Was the Black Panther Party in your family?
Speaker 3: Was the Black Panther my family? It became a family, yes.
Student Audienc…: Have you ever been in a war?
Speaker 3: Yes. I’ve been in a war, but I was in the army for three years. But no, the war I’ve been in has been here in the United States as being a member of the Black Panther Party, the government actually launched the war against us. So I was in that particular war.
Speaker 4: Hundreds of grassroots organizations are working on every level to prevent incarceration in black and brown communities. When you hear about their efforts, the media’s focus is never on the solution. A number of organizations are taking action that have led to real change. Groups like Californians United for a Responsible Budget known as CURB, operate as a coalition of 70 grassroots groups, California spends 80,000 per year per person in prison. Los Angeles County has the largest jail system in the world.
Speaker 5: California decided decades ago, around the seventies, that they were going to answer what they identified as social problems with prison. Our treatment centers and resources and communities were yanked up and destroyed, really, and then they were all replaced with prisons. In a matter of 20 years, California went from 12 prisons to 34 prisons. They just decided the prisons was going to be the answer, and of course, targeting specifically black and brown communities.
CURB: No more stolen lives.
No more stolen lives.
No more stolen lives.
No more stolen lives.
Speaker 4: CURB has been successful in many areas, stopping 140,000 new prison and jail beds proposed since 2004.
CURB Speaker: CURB was founded in 2003 when a bunch of organizers, sandpipers and organizers, were getting together because there was an opportunity to close one of the prisons here in Southern California. It’s called California Correctional Center. It’s in Norco, California. And so in 2003, there was an opportunity to close it. The opportunity fell through, but those organizers decided that it was important to continue to build anti-prison work, so they formed Californians United for Responsible Budget, which is CURB, helping folks realize that the budget is really what determines what the state is going to do socially. So pulling in folks from environmental justice, union organizers, climate justice folks, racial justice, gender justice, and helping folks realize that incarceration was sort of the intersection for all of the oppressive issues that we face.
Speaker 4: Members include men and women that are currently incarcerated, whom they consult on their actions, and they are working on several new campaigns, including a racial justice act for people who are able to clearly identify racial discrimination and sentencing.
CURB Speaker: There’s this enhancement, you can get an extra year for every prior felony conviction that you’ve had, and that’s wide range of felonies from nonviolent, nonserious, nonsexual to serious, violent, and sexual crimes. And so, realizing that some folks had 10 extra years on their sentence because of this one year enhancement. Right now in California prisons, there is an extra 15,000 years being served on this one year enhancement. That’s informed by people inside, that’s them telling us their stories and that’s them telling us what the real problems are. And so, we were able to successfully repeal that enhancement last year, but they definitely inform all of our policies. We include them in our media. When we’re doing press releases, we’re giving quotes from folks inside. We are trying to help move them into these organizing spaces with us from the inside.
One very important campaign that we have going on right now statewide is DROP LWOP. We’re looking at a time right now where governor Gavin Newsom has said, you know what? I’m going to put a moratorium on the death penalty. No more deaths in California by prison. But what we fear is because we know life without parole was created as an alternative to the death penalty, we fear that life without parole is going to be set as, it’s going to be etched in stone and we’ll never be able to reverse it if we don’t fight to reverse it now. So we have a campaign called DROP LWOP. We’re trying to get the governor to commute all 5,000 plus sentences of folks who have life without parole in the state of California and we want it removed from the penal code.
Speaker 4: Coalitions with other grassroots organizations are also key to their success aligning for instance, with environmental justice activists around poor conditions inside of prisons and the communities around them.
No new jails, New York City, and name and movement are keeping it to the point. Galvanized by Kalief Browder’s brutal treatment in Rikers and eventual death. The group has been fighting to shut down Rikers and prevent new billion dollar jails being built in New York.
Speaker 8: Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “Hey, I’m going to close Rikers Island and I’m going to build four new jails in replacement, but the catch is there is no legal binding agreement to close Rikers Island, but there is a legal binding agreement through this [inaudible 00:05:50] process, that’s happening to build four new jails.
Speaker 9: In fact, community members in all these boroughs have been asking for improvements to NYCHA for public transportation or childcare for decades, and there’s always an excuse of, oh, we don’t have that money, but here we have $11 billion for these jails and it’s good for your community, like this is what you wanted, right? And so, there’s a call to action with activists, organizers, community members to say, is this really what you want? It’s not what we want, and we’re just trying to get city council to hear us. And they are funding a lot of criminal justice organizations that are advocating for new jails, but also calling themselves abolitionists and co-opting the abolition movement.
Speaker 4: As the proposal for a $14 million new jail plan is being pushed in Baltimore, Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood run by Cameron Miles works on keeping young people out of the system by providing them with positive role models, engaging them in debates, and taking them on trips to places around the country. Miles’ was mentoring program is taking steps towards engaging young minds.
Eddie Conway: I’m Eddie Conway. I’m excited to be here in Matthew Henson’s elementary school. I’m meeting with the grassroots organization today to talk about the work that he does. It’s clear that this school is encouraging young people to look at college. That’s a good sign. That from the elementary school, people should be learning to go into college. Cameron Miles, you have been working as a mentor for young men and teenagers for a long time. What was your situation early on?
Cameron Miles: So I had a hard head.
Eddie Conway: Okay.
Cameron Miles: Been locked up.
Eddie Conway: Okay. How long?
Cameron Miles: I don’t like to listen. Too long.
Eddie Conway: Too long. Okay, any amount of time is too long.
Cameron Miles: Yes, sir.
Eddie Conway: Okay, and so what happened as a result of that?
Cameron Miles: I begun to get some positive people around me and I began to listen to what many of them were saying to me about getting my life together. And once you start to listen, you begin to focus and realize that it’s not just about you, but it’s about helping others. I got a job in the department of social services in East Baltimore. I wrote up a proposal asking to use their cafeteria on Saturdays. They allowed me to do that. We started with five young men and we’ve grown. We’ve served over 3000 since that time, trying to help young men stay out of the criminal justice system and ultimately stay out of the cemetery. Each June, we take a trip out of state. We’ve gone to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Morehouse, Hampton, Delaware State, Columbia, Syracuse, and on and on.
Eddie Conway: Do you encounter any of these young guys, like five, six, seven, ten years later?
Cameron Miles: Absolutely.
Eddie Conway: That’s out there, and do they show some appreciation?
Cameron Miles: Absolutely, absolutely. They come to me, Mr. Miles, thank you for having me in the mentoring program. Thank you for the trips that you took me on. Thank you for believing in me. All of them are not stellar candidates today, but they’re free. They’re not locked up. We’ve lost several to gun violence. They’ve lost their lives, but we continue to pour in and we want the older young brothers to come back, Mr. Conway, so that the young people can see, he was in the program, and then they talk to the group and it helps them to realize this is a good program. I need to continue to come. If they don’t already know that.
Student Audienc…: When you said that you was trying to show them that you can understand and control your problem, were you trying to get the government to [inaudible 00:09:48] you?
Eddie Conway: No, we were trying to build a better community without the help of the government. We were trying to show people that we could control what happens in our community and we could make the community work better for everybody there. I got to leave you all. I’ll come back.
Student Audienc…: Yes sir.
Eddie Conway: All right.
Speaker 2: Can we thank Mr. Conway for coming?
Student Audienc…: Thank you, Mr. Conway.
Speaker 4: Hundreds of grassroots organizations are working on every level to prevent incarceration in black and brown communities. They are not alone. As the prison industrial complex continues to grow, people on the ground will continue to fight.
Studio: Will Arenas
Production: Will Arenas, Ericka Blount Danois
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