democracynow--2020-07-24--Watch Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fire Back on House Floor After Rep. Yoho Calls Her An "F'ing Bitch"

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, Democracynow.org , The War and Peace Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
We begin today ’ s show with the stunning rebuke delivered by New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Florida Congressmember Ted Yoho Thursday after he was overheard by reporters calling the congresswoman from New York an “ f-ing b-word ” but he used the actual words .
He was standing on the steps of the Capitol earlier this week .
Her response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the House floor on Wednesday saying , “ I can not apologize for my passion , ” and never naming Ocasio-Cortez directly .
On Thursday , the New York congresswoman took to the floor of the House to respond .
This is her full fiery address .
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ : I would also like to thank many of my colleagues for the opportunity to not only speak today but for the many members from both sides of the aisle who have reached out to me in support following an incident earlier this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was walking up the steps of the Capitol when Representative Yoho suddenly turned a corner—and he was accompanied by Representative Roger Williams—and accosted me on the steps right here in front of our nation ’ s Capitol .
I was minding my own business , walking up the steps , and Representative Yoho put his finger in my face .
He called me disgusting .
He called me crazy .
He called me out of my mind .
And he called me dangerous .
And then he took a few more steps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comments as rude , he walked away and said , “ I ’ m rude .
You ’ re calling me rude.
” I took a few steps ahead , and I walked inside and cast my vote .
Because my constituents send me here each and every day to fight for them and to make sure that they are able to keep a roof over their head , that they are able to feed their families and that they are able to carry their lives with dignity .
I walked back out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Capitol .
And in front of reporters , representative Yoho called me—and I quote— ” a f [ beep ] ing bitch.
” These are the words that Representative Yoho levied against a congresswoman , the congresswoman that not only represents New York ’ s 14th congressional district , but every congresswoman and every woman in this country .
Because all of us have had to deal with this in some form , some way , some shape at some point in our lives .
And I want to be clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not deeply hurtful or piercing to me because I have worked a working-class job .
I have waited tables in restaurants .
I have ridden the subway .
I have walked the streets in New York City .
And this kind of language is not new .
I have encountered words uttered by Mr. Yoho and men uttering the same words as Mr. Yoho while I was being harassed in restaurants .
I have tossed men out of bars that have used language like Mr. Yoho ’ s .
And I have encountered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in New York City .
This is not new .
And that is the problem .
Mr. Yoho was not alone .
He was walking shoulder to shoulder with Representative Roger Williams .
And that is when we start to see that this issue is not about one incident .
It is cultural .
It is a culture of lack of impunity , of accepting of violence and violent language against women , and an entire structure of power that supports that .
Because not only have I been spoken to disrespectfully , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and elected officials in the Republican Party , not just here , but the president of the United States last year told me to go home to another country , with the implication that I don ’ t even belong in America .
The governor of Florida , Governor DeSantis , before I even was sworn in , called me a “ whatever that is.
” Dehumanizing language is not new .
And what we are seeing is that incidents like these are happening in a pattern .
This is a pattern of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ others .
So while I was not deeply hurt or offended by little comments that are made , when I was reflecting on this , I honestly thought that I was just going to pack it up and go home .
It ’ s just another day , right ?
But then yesterday , Representative Yoho decided to come to the floor of the House of Representatives and make excuses for his behavior .
And that , I could not let go .
I could not allow my nieces , I could not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home to , I could not allow victims of verbal abuse , and worse , to see that , to see that excuse , and to see our Congress accept it as legitimate and accept it as an apology and to accept silence as a form of acceptance .
I could not allow that to stand .
Which is why I am rising today to raise this point of personal privilege .
And I do not need Representative Yoho to apologize to me .
Clearly , he does not want to .
Clearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not .
And I will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology from a man who has no remorse over calling women and using abusive language toward women .
But what I do have issue with is using women , our wives and daughters , as shields and excuses for poor behavior .
Mr. Yoho mentioned that he has a wife and two daughters .
I am two years younger than Mr. Yoho ’ s youngest daughter .
I am someone ’ s daughter , too .
My father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter .
My mother got to see Mr. Yoho ’ s disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television .
And I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men .
Now , what I am here to say is that this harm that Mr. Yoho levied , tried to levy against me , was not just an incident directed at me .
But when you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Yoho did was give permission to other men to do that to his daughters .
In using that language in front of the press , he gave permission to use that language against his wife , his daughters , women in his community .
And I am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable .
I do not care what your views are .
It does not matter how much I disagree or how much it incenses me or how much I feel that people are dehumanizing others .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I will not allow people to change and create hatred in our hearts .
And so what I believe is that having a daughter does not make a man decent .
Having a wife does not make a decent man .
Treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man .
And when a decent man messes up , as we all are bound to do , he tries his best and does apologize .
Not to save face , not to win a vote .
He apologizes genuinely to repair and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can all move on .
Lastly , what I want to express to Mr. Yoho is gratitude .
I want to thank him for showing the world that you can be a powerful man and accost women .
You can have daughters and accost women without remorse .
You can be married and accost women .
You can take photos and project an image to the world of being a family man and accost women without remorse and with a sense of impunity .
It happens every day in this country .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nation ’ s Capitol .
It happens when individuals who hold the highest office in this land admit–admit -to hurting women and using this language against all of us .
AMY GOODMAN : New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez firing back at Florida Congressmember Ted Yoho after he called the congresswoman from New York “ an f-ing b-word , ” but he actually used the words .
This is Democracy Now !
One congressmember after another followed AOC to express their support for her .
When we come back , Professor Noam Chomsky .
@ @ @ @

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show with the stunning rebuke delivered by New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Florida Congressmember Ted Yoho Thursday, after he was overheard by reporters calling the congresswoman from New York an “f—ing B-word” — but he used the actual words. He was standing on the steps of the Capitol earlier this week. Her response came after Yoho offered a non-apology from the House floor on Wednesday, saying, quote, “I cannot apologize for my passion,” and never naming Ocasio-Cortez directly.
On Thursday, the New York congresswoman took to the floor of the House to respond. This is her full fiery address.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: I would also like to thank many of my colleagues for the opportunity to not only speak today, but for the many members, from both sides of the aisle, who have reached out to me in support following an incident earlier this week. About two days ago, I was walking up the steps of the Capitol when Representative Yoho suddenly turned a corner — and he was accompanied by Representative Roger Williams — and accosted me on the steps right here in front of our nation’s Capitol.
I was minding my own business, walking up the steps, and Representative Yoho put his finger in my face. He called me disgusting. He called me crazy. He called me out of my mind. And he called me dangerous. And then he took a few more steps, and after I had recognized his comments as rude, he walked away and said, “I’m rude. You’re calling me rude.” I took a few steps ahead, and I walked inside and cast my vote, because my constituents send me here each and every day to fight for them and to make sure that they are able to keep a roof over their head, that they’re able to feed their families and that they’re able to carry their lives with dignity.
I walked back out, and there were reporters in the front of the Capitol. And in front of reporters, Representative Yoho called me — and I quote — “a f—ing bitch.” These are the words that Representative Yoho levied against a congresswoman, the congresswoman that not only represents New York’s 14th Congressional District, but every congresswoman and every woman in this country, because all of us have had to deal with this in some form, some way, some shape, at some point in our lives.
And I want to be clear that Representative Yoho’s comments were not deeply hurtful or piercing to me, because I have worked a working-class job. I have waited tables in restaurants. I have ridden the subway. I have walked the streets in New York City. And this kind of language is not new. I have encountered words uttered by Mr. Yoho and men uttering the same words as Mr. Yoho while I was being harassed in restaurants. I have tossed men out of bars that have used language like Mr. Yoho’s. And I have encountered this type of harassment riding the subway in New York City. This is not new. And that is the problem.
Mr. Yoho was not alone. He was walking shoulder to shoulder with Representative Roger Williams. And that’s when we start to see that this issue is not about one incident. It is cultural. It is a culture of lack of impunity, of accepting a violence and violent language against women, and an entire structure of power that supports that. Because not only have I been spoken to disrespectfully, particularly by members of the Republican Party and elected officials in the Republican Party, not just here, but the president of the United States last year told me to go home to another country, with the implication that I don’t even belong in America. The governor of Florida, Governor DeSantis, before I even was sworn in, called me a “whatever that is.”
Dehumanizing language is not new. And what we are seeing is that incidents like these are happening in a pattern. This is a pattern of an attitude towards women and dehumanization of others. So, while I was not deeply hurt or offended by little comments that are made, when I was reflecting on this, I honestly thought that I was just going to pack it up and go home. It’s just another day, right?
But then, yesterday, Representative Yoho decided to come to the floor of the House of Representatives and make excuses for his behavior. And that, I could not let go. I could not allow my nieces, I could not allow the little girls that I go home to, I could not allow victims of verbal abuse, and worse, to see that, to see that excuse, and to see our Congress accept it as legitimate and accept it as an apology and to accept silence as a form of acceptance. I could not allow that to stand, which is why I am rising today to raise this point of personal privilege.
And I do not need Representative Yoho to apologize to me. Clearly, he does not want to. Clearly, when given the opportunity, he will not. And I will not stay up late at night waiting for an apology from a man who has no remorse over calling women and using abusive language towards women. But what I do have issue with is using women, our wives and daughters, as shields and excuses for poor behavior.
Mr. Yoho mentioned that he has a wife and two daughters. I am two years younger than Mr. Yoho’s youngest daughter. I am someone’s daughter, too. My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter. My mother got to see Mr. Yoho’s disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television. And I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.
Now, what I am here to say is that this harm that Mr. Yoho levied, tried to levy against me, was not just an incident directed at me. But when you do that to any woman, what Mr. Yoho did was give permission to other men to do that to his daughters. In using that language in front of the press, he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his community. And I am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable. I do not care what your views are. It does not matter how much I disagree or how much it incenses me or how much I feel that people are dehumanizing others. I will not do that myself. I will not allow people to change and create hatred in our hearts.
And so what I believe is that having a daughter does not make a man decent. Having a wife does not make a decent man. Treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man. And when a decent man messes up, as we all are bound to do, he tries his best and does apologize, not to save face, not to win a vote. He apologizes, genuinely, to repair and acknowledge the harm done, so that we can all move on.
Lastly, what I want to express to Mr. Yoho is gratitude. I want to thank him for showing the world that you can be a powerful man and accost women. You can have daughters and accost women without remorse. You can be married and accost women. You can take photos and project an image to the world of being a family man, and accost women without remorse and with a sense of impunity. It happens every day in this country. It happened here on the steps of our nation’s Capitol. It happens when individuals who hold the highest office in this land admit — admit — to hurting women and using this language against all of us.
AMY GOODMAN: New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez firing back at Florida Congressmember Ted Yoho after he called the congresswoman from New York “an f—ing B-word” — but he actually used the words. This is Democracy Now! One congressmember after another followed AOC to express their support for her.
When we come back, professor Noam Chomsky. Stay with us.


democracynow--2020-07-24--Headlines for July 24, 2020

Headlines for July 24, 2020

In a major reversal , President Trump has canceled the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville due to a surge in @ @ @ @ @ President Trump : “ The timing for this event is not right .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ what ’ s happened recently — the flare up in Florida — to have a @ @ @ @ @ s not the right time.
” Last month , Trump moved much of the convention @ @ @ @ @ North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper rejected requests from the president and the RNC to be @ @ @ @ @ convention without social distancing or face coverings .
Trump canceled the Jacksonville RNC on the @ @ @ @ @ than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases and a record 173 deaths , including a 9-year-old girl @

In a major reversal, President Trump has canceled the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville due to a surge in coronavirus cases in Florida.
President Donald Trump: “The timing for this event is not right. It’s just not right with what’s happened recently — the flare-up in Florida — to have a big convention. It’s not the right time.”
Last month, Trump moved much of the convention to Jacksonville from Charlotte after North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper rejected requests from the president and the RNC to be able to hold a full convention without social distancing or face coverings. Trump canceled the Jacksonville RNC on the same day Florida reported more than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases and a record 173 deaths, including a 9-year-old girl.


democracynow--2020-07-27--Make America White Again: Eddie Glaude on Trump and What James Baldwin Still Has to Teach Us

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
I ’ m Amy Goodman , The Quarantine Report .
We ’ re speaking with professor Eddie Glaude , chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University , his new book , just out , Begin Again : James Baldwin ’ s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own .
This is James Baldwin speaking in 1963 about federally backed urban renewal programs .
JAMES BALDWIN : A boy last week — he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told me , on television — thank God we got him to talk .
Maybe somebody will start to listen .
He said , “ I ’ ve got no country , I ’ ve got no flag.
” And he ’ s only 16 years old .
And I couldn ’ t say , “ You do.
” I don ’ t have any evidence to prove that he does .
They were tearing down his house , because San Francisco is engaging , as most Northern cities now are engaged , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means moving the Negroes out .
It means Negro removal .
That is what it means .
And the federal government is an accomplice to this fact .
Now , this — we ’ re talking about human beings .
There ’ s not such a thing as a monolithic wall or , you know , some abstraction called the Negro problem .
These are Negro boys and girls , who , at 16 and 17 , don ’ t believe the country means anything that it says , and don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the basis of the performance of the entire country .
AMY GOODMAN : That ’ s James Baldwin in 1963 .
1963 was also the year , as I said , of the Birmingham church bombing , four little girls killed , James Baldwin giving fiery addresses about what this meant .
He would eventually leave the United States .
Professor Eddie Glaude , he has been the backdrop of your life .
Talk about what he represented then and what it means for today .
EDDIE GLAUDE : Well , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and thinking about James Baldwin for about 30 years .
He ’ s been in my spirit , in my head , the foundation of my scholarly career , in some ways .
And what I wanted to do was to think about him as this poet who spoke the truth to our times .
And , you know , Amy , he had to come to terms with the fact that the country turned its back on the Black freedom struggle .
He had to come to terms with the fact that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. King .
And he collapsed after 1968 , and he had to pick up the pieces .
So what I wanted to do was to walk with James Baldwin as he , in some ways , grappled with his moment of betrayal , and find the resources for us in our moment , as we ’ re grappling with our own moment of betrayal .
And what I ’ ve learned is that he spoke truth .
He spoke truth .
He insisted that the nation confront the lie , the illusions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that became the basis of writing this book in this moment in which Trumpism overdetermines so much of our lives .
AMY GOODMAN : And what did he have to — why did he leave America ?
Talk about that .
And also , what does he teach us about today , in this election that — we just spoke to Noam Chomsky .
He says it ’ s the most important election in human history right now , here in the United States , in the most powerful country in the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he left the U.S. in 1948 , because he had to get away .
He said the hatred was taking root in him , and either he was going to kill somebody or he was going to be killed .
And so he left Harlem and went to Paris .
And there , he engaged in this extraordinary act of self-creation , where he willed himself into being a writer .
But he had to do it outside of the country so he could at least breathe , so he could find @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deal with what was deposited in his gut .
And it ’ s precisely , I think , the Baldwin as witness , Baldwin as someone who tried to make real the suffering , that is the lesson we need to learn today .
He insisted , Amy , that we tell the truth about who we are and what we ’ ve done , that we put aside the myths and illusions and understand what white supremacy has done in terms of disfiguring and distorting the character of this nation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces of authoritarianism clashing with the forces of democracy .
In this moment , we have the nation trying to confront what will it be .
And the question is : Will it double down on its ugliness ?
Will white folks simply double down on being white folk again ?
And do we have to deal with another generation , my son and his children , having to deal with the implication and the consequence of that dastardly and ghastly decision to be white ?
AMY GOODMAN : So , you call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own .
Take it forward to now .
EDDIE GLAUDE : Well , I get the title from his last novel , Just Above My Head .
And I paraphrase here : He says , “ When the dream was shattered , people scattered .
Some lost their minds , some went to jail , some left the country .
But we know what we did.
” And he says , “ Responsibility isn ’ t lost .
Responsibility is abdicated .
And if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again.
” And at the end of his 1972 important book No Name in the Street , he likens us to midwives trying to give birth to a new America .
And every time , Amy , every time we are at this moment where we can give birth to a different way of being in this country , a different multiracial America , the umbilical cord of white supremacy is wrapped around the baby ’ s neck , and it chokes the life out of it .
So , here we are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responsibility , if we don ’ t abdicate it , is to try to give birth to a genuinely multiracial democracy .
I think if we fail this time , I ’ m not so sure the country will survive .
But that ’ s what ’ s in our hands in this moment — in nobody else ’ s hands , it ’ s in ours .
AMY GOODMAN : Also , his bravery in speaking out as a Black queer man in America , and then leaving this country ?
EDDIE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interviewed Angela Davis right here in Princeton , and she said , “ In so many ways , he was alone.
” You know , when he wrote Giovanni ’ s Room , he said , “ You couldn ’ t hold my sexuality over me .
I told you.
” And the courage of this vulnerable , frail man to speak truth to power , no matter the consequences , right ?
And I think he , in some ways , is an exemplar for us : What does it mean to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and not take the bribe ?
Because when James Baldwin understood , when he embraced those young people who cried “ Black power , ” he understood the cost .
He knew what would happen to his career .
And so , the book , Amy , focuses on the latter part of James Baldwin ’ s career , not the early part .
And I think we need to understand the cost and be willing to take the risks .
AMY GOODMAN : About those risks and what this election means right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
EDDIE GLAUDE : Oh , he ’ s a disaster .
You know , I was on your show debating Michael Eric Dyson , if you recall , about the 2016 election .
And I said I wouldn ’ t vote for Hillary Clinton .
And , you know , I was thinking about this , and , you know , in some ways , I overestimated white America .
I didn ’ t think they would elect someone who was so clearly unqualified to be the leader of the country .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear : line the pockets of the oligarchs and make America white again .
So we have to do two things in this moment .
We have to get him out of office , and we have to push a vision for a complete reimagining of American life .
We have to put forward a radical vision of this country , something like what Nikkita Oliver put forward in the last segment .
We have to do both things simultaneously ; it ’ s not an either/or .
So , I learned my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in 1979 when faced with the election of Ronald Reagan and perhaps the first neoliberal president in the United States , Jimmy Carter , he said , “ Sometimes voting for Black America is just simply a matter of buying some time.
” We need to understand our choices , but we need to get Donald Trump out of office , and we need to put forward a radical vision of America moving forward .
AMY GOODMAN : And President Trump hanging now onto these toppled Confederate generals , the significance of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American cities , and doing this all during the time of COVID , which disproportionately affects communities of color ?
EDDIE GLAUDE : You know , we ’ ve been risking our lives ever since folk brought us here .
And so , we see folks risking their lives in the midst of this global pandemic to call attention to what police are doing to us daily .
Donald Trump is in the midst of reasserting the lie .
At every moment , at every time in which the nation faces a kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reassertion of the lie .
And that lie is the belief that America is the shining city on the hill .
That lie is the belief that Black folk don ’ t really have the capacity to really take on the real , serious burdens of citizenship .
That lie is rooted , Amy , in this idea that racial justice is a philanthropic enterprise .
Right ?
And so , what we ’ re seeing in this moment is not only the energy of — EDDIE GLAUDE : — everyday , ordinary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump trying to reassert the lie that America is a white nation in the vein of Old Europe .
AMY GOODMAN : Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude .
His new book is Begin Again : James Baldwin ’ s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own .
That does it for our broadcast .
Stay safe .
Save lives .
Wear a mask .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, The Quarantine Report. We’re speaking with professor Eddie Glaude, chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University, his new book, just out, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own. This is James Baldwin speaking in 1963 about federally backed urban renewal programs.
JAMES BALDWIN: A boy last week — he was 16 — in San Francisco, told me, on television — thank God we got him to talk. Maybe somebody will start to listen. He said, “I’ve got no country, I’ve got no flag.” And he’s only 16 years old. And I couldn’t say, “You do.” I don’t have any evidence to prove that he does. They were tearing down his house, because San Francisco is engaging, as most Northern cities now are engaged, in something called urban renewal, which means moving the Negroes out. It means Negro removal. That is what it means. And the federal government is an accomplice to this fact. Now, this — we’re talking about human beings. There’s not such a thing as a monolithic wall or, you know, some abstraction called the Negro problem. These are Negro boys and girls, who, at 16 and 17, don’t believe the country means anything that it says, and don’t feel they have any place here, on the basis of the performance of the entire country.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s James Baldwin in 1963. 1963 was also the year, as I said, of the Birmingham church bombing, four little girls killed, James Baldwin giving fiery addresses about what this meant. He would eventually leave the United States. Professor Eddie Glaude, he has been the backdrop of your life. Talk about what he represented then and what it means for today.
EDDIE GLAUDE: Well, you know, I’ve been thinking and thinking about James Baldwin for about 30 years. He’s been in my spirit, in my head, the foundation of my scholarly career, in some ways. And what I wanted to do was to think about him as this poet who spoke the truth to our times.
And, you know, Amy, he had to come to terms with the fact that the country turned its back on the Black freedom struggle. He had to come to terms with the fact that the nation, in effect, assassinated Dr. King. And he collapsed after 1968, and he had to pick up the pieces.
So what I wanted to do was to walk with James Baldwin as he, in some ways, grappled with his moment of betrayal, and find the resources for us in our moment, as we’re grappling with our own moment of betrayal. And what I’ve learned is that he spoke truth. He spoke truth. He insisted that the nation confront the lie, the illusions that protect its so-called innocence. And that became the basis of writing this book in this moment in which Trumpism overdetermines so much of our lives.
AMY GOODMAN: And what did he have to — why did he leave America? Talk about that. And also, what does he teach us about today, in this election that — we just spoke to Noam Chomsky. He says it’s the most important election in human history right now, here in the United States, in the most powerful country in the world.
EDDIE GLAUDE: Right. So, he left the U.S. in 1948, because he had to get away. He said the hatred was taking root in him, and either he was going to kill somebody or he was going to be killed. And so he left Harlem and went to Paris. And there, he engaged in this extraordinary act of self-creation, where he willed himself into being a writer. But he had to do it outside of the country so he could at least breathe, so he could find the space to imagine himself otherwise, to deal with what was deposited in his gut.
And it’s precisely, I think, the Baldwin as witness, Baldwin as someone who tried to make real the suffering, that is the lesson we need to learn today. He insisted, Amy, that we tell the truth about who we are and what we’ve done, that we put aside the myths and illusions and understand what white supremacy has done in terms of disfiguring and distorting the character of this nation.
In this moment, we have the forces of authoritarianism clashing with the forces of democracy. In this moment, we have the nation trying to confront what will it be. And the question is: Will it double down on its ugliness? Will white folks simply double down on being white folk again? And do we have to deal with another generation, my son and his children, having to deal with the implication and the consequence of that dastardly and ghastly decision to be white?
AMY GOODMAN: So, you call the book Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own. Take it forward to now.
EDDIE GLAUDE: Well, I get the title from his last novel, Just Above My Head. And I paraphrase here: He says, “When the dream was shattered, people scattered. Some lost their minds, some went to jail, some left the country. But we know what we did.” And he says, “Responsibility isn’t lost. Responsibility is abdicated. And if one refuses abdication, then one begins again.” And at the end of his 1972 important book No Name in the Street, he likens us to midwives trying to give birth to a new America. And every time, Amy, every time we are at this moment where we can give birth to a different way of being in this country, a different multiracial America, the umbilical cord of white supremacy is wrapped around the baby’s neck, and it chokes the life out of it.
So, here we are in this moment once again. Our responsibility, if we don’t abdicate it, is to try to give birth to a genuinely multiracial democracy. I think if we fail this time, I’m not so sure the country will survive. But that’s what’s in our hands in this moment — in nobody else’s hands, it’s in ours.
AMY GOODMAN: Also, his bravery in speaking out as a Black queer man in America, and then leaving this country?
EDDIE GLAUDE: Yeah, yeah. I interviewed Angela Davis right here in Princeton, and she said, “In so many ways, he was alone.” You know, when he wrote Giovanni’s Room, he said, “You couldn’t hold my sexuality over me. I told you.” And the courage of this vulnerable, frail man to speak truth to power, no matter the consequences, right? And I think he, in some ways, is an exemplar for us: What does it mean to hold true and steadfast to our convictions and not take the bribe? Because when James Baldwin understood, when he embraced those young people who cried “Black power,” he understood the cost. He knew what would happen to his career. And so, the book, Amy, focuses on the latter part of James Baldwin’s career, not the early part. And I think we need to understand the cost and be willing to take the risks.
AMY GOODMAN: About those risks and what this election means right now, your assessment of President Trump?
EDDIE GLAUDE: Oh, he’s a disaster. You know, I was on your show debating Michael Eric Dyson, if you recall, about the 2016 election. And I said I wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton. And, you know, I was thinking about this, and, you know, in some ways, I overestimated white America. I didn’t think they would elect someone who was so clearly unqualified to be the leader of the country. But the mandate of Donald Trump is clear: line the pockets of the oligarchs and make America white again.
So we have to do two things in this moment. We have to get him out of office, and we have to push a vision for a complete reimagining of American life. We have to put forward a radical vision of this country, something like what Nikkita Oliver put forward in the last segment. We have to do both things simultaneously; it’s not an either/or. So, I learned my lesson. Sometimes, as Jimmy Baldwin said in 1979 when faced with the election of Ronald Reagan and perhaps the first neoliberal president in the United States, Jimmy Carter, he said, “Sometimes voting for Black America is just simply a matter of buying some time.” We need to understand our choices, but we need to get Donald Trump out of office, and we need to put forward a radical vision of America moving forward.
AMY GOODMAN: And President Trump hanging now onto these toppled Confederate generals, the significance of this, moving in federal troops to American cities, and doing this all during the time of COVID, which disproportionately affects communities of color?
EDDIE GLAUDE: You know, we’ve been risking our lives ever since folk brought us here. And so, we see folks risking their lives in the midst of this global pandemic to call attention to what police are doing to us daily.
Donald Trump is in the midst of reasserting the lie. At every moment, at every time in which the nation faces a kind of moral reckoning, there is a reassertion of the lie. And that lie is the belief that America is the shining city on the hill. That lie is the belief that Black folk don’t really have the capacity to really take on the real, serious burdens of citizenship. That lie is rooted, Amy, in this idea that racial justice is a philanthropic enterprise. Right?
And so, what we’re seeing in this moment is not only the energy of —
AMY GOODMAN: We have 10 seconds.
EDDIE GLAUDE: — everyday, ordinary people. We see, clearly, Donald Trump trying to reassert the lie that America is a white nation in the vein of Old Europe.
AMY GOODMAN: Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude. His new book is Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.
That does it for our broadcast. Stay safe. Save lives. Wear a mask.


democracynow--2020-07-27--"Don't Simply Yoke Him to Dr. King": Eddie Glaude on How Radical Student Activism Shaped John Lewis

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
The Quarantine Report .
Fifty-five years ago , Alabama state troopers brutally beat John Lewis and hundreds of others who crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge , Bloody Sunday , to demand the right to vote .
On Sunday , the body of John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the final time .
Rose petals were scattered along the path as two black horses pulled a caisson , the casket of the late civil rights icon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on July 17th at the age of 80 .
The carriage driver wore a white face mask to guard against the spread of coronavirus , and a black top hat , which he took off and placed over his heart when he reached the top of the bridge and paused for two minutes over the Alabama River .
The day before , Congressmember Lewis was remembered in services in his hometown of Troy , Alabama .
One service at Troy University was titled “ The Boy from Troy , ” the nickname Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first meeting in 1958 in Montgomery .
John Lewis was denied admission to the school in 1957 because he was Black .
Decades later , he was awarded an honorary degree .
After Sunday ’ s ceremony in Selma , John Lewis ’ s body was taken to the Alabama Capitol to lie in state .
He will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol in Washington , D.C. , before a private funeral Thursday , after he lies in state in the Georgia state Capitol .
The funeral will take place at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once led by King .
In 2012 , Congressmember John Lewis came to the Democracy Now !
studio and talked about what happened on that day in March , that day known as Bloody Sunday .
REP. JOHN LEWIS : I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a nightstick .
I had a concussion at the bridge .
My legs went out from under me .
I felt like I was going to die .
I thought I saw Death .
All these many years later , I don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back across that bridge to the church .
But after I got back to the church , the church was full to capacity , more than 2,000 people on the outside trying to get in to protest what had happened on the bridge .
And someone asked me to say something to the audience .
And I stood up and said something like : “ I don ’ t understand it , how President Johnson can send troops to Vietnam but can not send troops to Selma , Alabama , to protect people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote.
” The next thing I knew , I had been admitted to the local hospital in Selma .
AMY GOODMAN : That was a late civil rights icon John Lewis , speaking at Democracy Now !
To see the whole hour , go to democracynow.org .
The bravery John Lewis and others showed in the face of the police violence that day played a key role in passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act just two months later .
He would go on to be arrested some 40 times during the civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , making what he called “ good trouble.
” For more on his legacy , on the movement today of Black Lives Matter , we go to professor Eddie Glaude , the chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University , author of a new book — well , his old , called Democracy in Black : How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul , and his new book , Begin Again : James Baldwin ’ s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own .
Professor Glaude , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GOODMAN : This is the week of John Lewis , as he will lay in state in three different capitols — Alabama , Georgia and in Washington , D.C. — and then be buried on Thursday .
He was not only a 17-term congressmember , he also was the head of SNCC , the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee .
He came out of movements .
He marched in the streets .
He was beaten and arrested numerous times .
Talk about the significance of this .
EDDIE GLAUDE : You know , whenever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think about his fundamental faith , his fundamental commitment that human beings could be otherwise .
He writes that faith is being so sure of what the spirit has whispered in one ’ s heart that your belief in it is unshakeable , and its eventuality is unshakeable .
John Lewis demonstrated a courage that was rooted in his faith .
But I think it ’ s important , Amy , that when we tell the story of John Lewis , we understand that he comes out of the student movement .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the earlier segment with what ’ s going on with Black Lives Matter .
He comes out of the student movement , those young folk who sat in , who radicalized , in some significant way , the civil rights movement , those students between 15 , 16 , 17 and 22 years old , some 23 years old .
And so , in Nashville — right ?
— as he was going to school , trained under Jim Lawson , he was a part of that wildfire of sit-ins that shook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Shaw University as Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee , with SNCC and Marion Barry and Muriel Tillinghast and Stokely Carmichael and Chuck McDew and Courtland Cox , these are — Diane Nash .
These are these young students who became the shock troops of the movement , who went into the bowels of the South , sometimes only two , three , four deep , and risked everything .
In literature , we might call them the holy fools , who risked their lives to change the nation .
And I think it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tell the story of John Lewis , that we don ’ t simply yoke him to Dr. King , which is important ; we understand him as a product of this student activism .
And remember , at the March on Washington , Amy , they had Archbishop O ’ Boyle try to censor his speech .
In some ways , they were successful , him and others , you know .
And what they said , that famous quote that people have been using over and over again about patience , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Lewis said , “ Patience is a nasty and dirty word.
” So , there is more to be said about his legacy and about the movement that he came out of .
AMY GOODMAN : And when you say he was not only tied to Dr. King , on Democracy Now !
he talked about meeting with Malcolm in Africa , in Nairobi , and spending several days with him .
In fact , actually , Malcolm X was in Selma .
And also , when he marched , when he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ King wasn ’ t next to him then .
He went later for the later march , but he wasn ’ t there then .
That was led by John Lewis .
EDDIE GLAUDE : Right , and it ’ s important to understand .
You know , we tell the story of Selma as this high point — and it was ; you were right to note that it laid the foundation for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — but Selma was in a moment of extraordinary conflict @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without the sanction of SNCC .
He could not be a representative of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee , because SNCC disagreed with the strategy of SCLC in that moment .
You ’ ve already mentioned Malcolm was present .
SNCC organizers were challenging the basic strategy .
Remember , they end up in Lowndes County , Alabama , organizing what would become in some ways the first iteration of the Black Panther Party .
A year later , Stokely Carmichael will declare that he ’ s no longer going to say “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to say “ Black power.
” John Lewis was chair of SNCC from 1963 to 1966 .
He , in effect — right ?
— was in some ways a leader of the radicalization of this student organization .
And it broke his heart , Amy , that he lost to Stokely Carmichael as chairperson , that he had to walk away .
But it had something to do with his commitment to the philosophy of nonviolence .
And let me say this really quickly .
We often tell the story of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as if they ’ re wholly separate .
When we look at SNCC and we look at the life of John Lewis , we see that many of the people who cried “ Black power ” were some of the same young people who risked their lives nonviolently in the bowels of the South .
They confronted the terror of the country , the betrayal of the country , and their anger bubbled over .
They sought power as an answer to the moral question .
John Lewis ’ s faith never shook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And that ’ s why he , to this day , believes in nonviolence .
And that ’ s why he ’ s going to his grave as , in some ways , a martyr of that particular philosophy .
AMY GOODMAN : We ’ re going to break and then talk about a man that you also wrote about , at that time also a contemporary , actually , of John Lewis , and that ’ s James Baldwin , because in 1963 , two years before Bloody Sunday , when John @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March on Washington , it wasn ’ t a few weeks before the bombing of the Birmingham church , to show the stakes in the killing of these little girls .
We ’ re going to talk about the civil rights movement right up through this election .
We ’ re talking to professor Eddie Glaude .
We ’ ll continue with him in 30 seconds .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! The Quarantine Report. Fifty-five years ago, Alabama state troopers brutally beat John Lewis and hundreds of others who crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Bloody Sunday, to demand the right to vote. On Sunday, the body of John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the final time. Rose petals were scattered along the path as two black horses pulled a caisson, the casket of the late civil rights icon and 17-term Georgia congressman, who died on July 17th at the age of 80. The carriage driver wore a white face mask to guard against the spread of coronavirus, and a black top hat, which he took off and placed over his heart when he reached the top of the bridge and paused for two minutes over the Alabama River.
The day before, Congressmember Lewis was remembered in services in his hometown of Troy, Alabama. One service at Troy University was titled “The Boy from Troy,” the nickname Dr. Martin Luther King gave Lewis at their first meeting in 1958 in Montgomery. John Lewis was denied admission to the school in 1957 because he was Black. Decades later, he was awarded an honorary degree.
After Sunday’s ceremony in Selma, John Lewis’s body was taken to the Alabama Capitol to lie in state. He will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., before a private funeral Thursday, after he lies in state in the Georgia state Capitol. The funeral will take place at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta once led by King.
In 2012, Congressmember John Lewis came to the Democracy Now! studio and talked about what happened on that day in March, that day known as Bloody Sunday.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a nightstick. I had a concussion at the bridge. My legs went out from under me. I felt like I was going to die. I thought I saw Death. All these many years later, I don’t recall how I made it back across that bridge to the church. But after I got back to the church, the church was full to capacity, more than 2,000 people on the outside trying to get in to protest what had happened on the bridge. And someone asked me to say something to the audience. And I stood up and said something like: “I don’t understand it, how President Johnson can send troops to Vietnam but cannot send troops to Selma, Alabama, to protect people whose only desire is to register to vote.” The next thing I knew, I had been admitted to the local hospital in Selma.
AMY GOODMAN: That was a late civil rights icon John Lewis, speaking at Democracy Now! To see the whole hour, go to democracynow.org.
The bravery John Lewis and others showed in the face of the police violence that day played a key role in passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act just two months later. He would go on to be arrested some 40 times during the civil rights movement, and many times after that, making what he called “good trouble.”
For more on his legacy, on the movement today of Black Lives Matter, we go to professor Eddie Glaude, the chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University, author of a new book — well, his old, called Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, and his new book, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.
Professor Glaude, welcome back to Democracy Now!
EDDIE GLAUDE: Good morning.
AMY GOODMAN: This is the week of John Lewis, as he will lay in state in three different capitols — Alabama, Georgia and in Washington, D.C. — and then be buried on Thursday. He was not only a 17-term congressmember, he also was the head of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He came out of movements. He marched in the streets. He was beaten and arrested numerous times. Talk about the significance of this.
EDDIE GLAUDE: You know, whenever I think of John Lewis, I think about his fundamental faith, his fundamental commitment that human beings could be otherwise. He writes that faith is being so sure of what the spirit has whispered in one’s heart that your belief in it is unshakeable, and its eventuality is unshakeable. John Lewis demonstrated a courage that was rooted in his faith.
But I think it’s important, Amy, that when we tell the story of John Lewis, we understand that he comes out of the student movement. And we’re going to connect this to the earlier segment with what’s going on with Black Lives Matter. He comes out of the student movement, those young folk who sat in, who radicalized, in some significant way, the civil rights movement, those students between 15, 16, 17 and 22 years old, some 23 years old. And so, in Nashville — right? — as he was going to school, trained under Jim Lawson, he was a part of that wildfire of sit-ins that shook the nation, and then organized itself at Shaw University as Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, with SNCC and Marion Barry and Muriel Tillinghast and Stokely Carmichael and Chuck McDew and Courtland Cox, these are — Diane Nash. These are these young students who became the shock troops of the movement, who went into the bowels of the South, sometimes only two, three, four deep, and risked everything. In literature, we might call them the holy fools, who risked their lives to change the nation.
And I think it’s really important that when we tell the story of John Lewis, that we don’t simply yoke him to Dr. King, which is important; we understand him as a product of this student activism. And remember, at the March on Washington, Amy, they had Archbishop O’Boyle try to censor his speech. In some ways, they were successful, him and others, you know. And what they said, that famous quote that people have been using over and over again about patience, in the original version of that speech, John Lewis said, “Patience is a nasty and dirty word.” So, there is more to be said about his legacy and about the movement that he came out of.
AMY GOODMAN: And when you say he was not only tied to Dr. King, on Democracy Now! he talked about meeting with Malcolm in Africa, in Nairobi, and spending several days with him. In fact, actually, Malcolm X was in Selma. And also, when he marched, when he had his head bashed in, Dr. King wasn’t next to him then. He went later for the later march, but he wasn’t there then. That was led by John Lewis.
EDDIE GLAUDE: Right, and it’s important to understand. You know, we tell the story of Selma as this high point — and it was; you were right to note that it laid the foundation for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — but Selma was in a moment of extraordinary conflict. John Lewis marched in that march without the sanction of SNCC. He could not be a representative of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, because SNCC disagreed with the strategy of SCLC in that moment. You’ve already mentioned Malcolm was present. SNCC organizers were challenging the basic strategy. Remember, they end up in Lowndes County, Alabama, organizing what would become in some ways the first iteration of the Black Panther Party. A year later, Stokely Carmichael will declare that he’s no longer going to say “freedom now,” he’s going to say “Black power.”
John Lewis was chair of SNCC from 1963 to 1966. He, in effect — right? — was in some ways a leader of the radicalization of this student organization. And it broke his heart, Amy, that he lost to Stokely Carmichael as chairperson, that he had to walk away. But it had something to do with his commitment to the philosophy of nonviolence.
And let me say this really quickly. We often tell the story of Black power and the civil rights movement as if they’re wholly separate. When we look at SNCC and we look at the life of John Lewis, we see that many of the people who cried “Black power” were some of the same young people who risked their lives nonviolently in the bowels of the South. They confronted the terror of the country, the betrayal of the country, and their anger bubbled over. They sought power as an answer to the moral question. John Lewis’s faith never shook, though. It never changed. And that’s why he, to this day, believes in nonviolence. And that’s why he’s going to his grave as, in some ways, a martyr of that particular philosophy.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to break and then talk about a man that you also wrote about, at that time also a contemporary, actually, of John Lewis, and that’s James Baldwin, because in 1963, two years before Bloody Sunday, when John Lewis was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington, it wasn’t a few weeks before the bombing of the Birmingham church, to show the stakes in the killing of these little girls. We’re going to talk about the civil rights movement right up through this election. We’re talking to professor Eddie Glaude. We’ll continue with him in 30 seconds.


democracynow--2020-07-27--Seattle & Portland Activists: Protest Federal and City Police Crackdowns & Keep Focus on BLM Agenda

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : For the 60th day in a row , demonstrators rallied in Portland , Oregon , Sunday to protest against police brutality and racism , as well as the deployment of federal forces to the city .
Shortly after midnight this morning , federal officers fired tear gas and other so-called less-than-lethal weapons to disperse a crowd that gathered outside the federal courthouse , which has become a flashpoint of the nightly protests .
The weekend demonstrations in Portland came days after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Portland police officers from cooperating with federal authorities .
On Saturday , federal authorities revealed they had arrested or detained 60 people since being deployed to Portland in early July .
Meanwhile , Oregon Congressmembers Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici and about a dozen other lawmakers are demanding the resignation of Chad Wolf , the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security , over his handling of the protests .
President Trump ’ s deployment of federal officers to Portland and other cities sparked a new round of protests around the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump administration sent a team of federal tactical border officers to Seattle , Washington .
In a statement , the Federal Protective Service said , quote , “ The CBP team will be on standby in the area , should they be required.
” It remains unclear what role the agents played this weekend as Seattle police arrested dozens of protesters and fired flash grenades and pepper spray into crowds .
Protesters also took to the streets in other cities , including Oakland ; New York ; Los Angeles ; Louisville , Kentucky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Virginia ; Aurora , Colorado ; and Austin , Texas , where a protester named Garrett Foster was shot dead .
Foster ’ s mother said her son was pushing his fiancée ’ s wheelchair when a car drove into the crowd and opened fire .
We begin today ’ s show in Seattle and Portland .
In Portland , we ’ re joined by Pastor E.D .
Mondainé , a civil rights activist , president of the Portland , Oregon , branch of the NAACP .
And in Seattle , Washington , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ director of Creative Justice .
She ’ s also an artist , attorney and community organizer with Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now .
We welcome you both to Democracy Now !
Nikkita Oliver , let ’ s begin with you .
Can you explain what ’ s happening in Seattle right now , with President Trump saying , as part of this “ surge , ” they ’ ve brought federal agents in on , quote , “ standby ” ?
Talk about the protests this week and what this means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , this weekend , many people took to the streets .
And I want to make sure that we keep the focus on Black lives .
You know , ultimately , people are in the streets in defense of Black lives ; however , it can not be ignored that Trump sending federal officers to our city has certainly further emboldened the protests .
That being said , we don ’ t know exactly what the federal officers are doing .
What we do know is that we are in a situation where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into our city .
The head of the local police union , the Seattle Police Officers Guild , went on conservative radio about a week ago , praising the federal arrests of protesters in Portland and saying it might be time for the feds to come to Seattle .
You know , this past weekend , we also saw a renewed violence by Seattle Police Department against protesters .
And they actively had been fighting against a ban on tear gas and rubber bullets that the Seattle City Council imposed .
And the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Seattle Police Department in lifting that ban .
And so , we know that in addition to fighting police in our own city , we are also fighting at the federal level against federal enforcements being sent to our city .
AMY GOODMAN : Can you talk about how you ’ re protecting yourselves ?
You tweeted , “ Police are snatching up umbrellas , traffic cones and gas masks from protestors .
These are literally protective gear to keeps protestors safe from police violence.
” NIKKITA OLIVER : Absolutely .
You know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being developed in the streets to keep people safe , such as umbrellas , mutual aid networks to disperse protective goggles .
People are wearing bike helmets and construction helmets as a way of protecting ourselves from the debris of flashbangs .
Even this weekend , we saw Seattle police dropping flashbangs from the top of private roofs .
And so , people are developing many tactics within the streets to keep each other safe .
And I think that is really the important part .
People are protecting each other the way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when it comes to police violence , we , as a community , are really what we have as our safety .
Street medics are playing a key role and often putting theirselves at great personal risk to take care of people on site .
But we know that ultimately , you know , the best protection that we ’ re looking for isn ’ t just these tactics that we ’ re developing right now in this moment , but it is an overarching protection against police violence , where we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are staying in the streets in defense of Black lives , and the demand currently on the ground here is to defund SPD by 50 % in both the rebalancing package of our city , as COVID-19 has caused a $ 300 million shortfall , but also in the next upcoming budget , as a tactic for decreasing police violence across the board .
So , while we are developing many tactics on the ground and the street to keep people safe from pepper spray , various CO gas , flashbangs , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s happening to how do we keep people safe from police violence across the board .
AMY GOODMAN : So , Nikkita Oliver , some 5,000 protesters stopped at a youth detention center .
Can you talk about the history of that place ?
NIKKITA OLIVER : The protests that we ’ re seeing right now are literally built on years of a growing abolitionist movement in the Seattle-King County region .
One of the fights that began in 2012 was to stop King County from building a new $ 244 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There was an entire generation of young people , or there is an entire generation of young people , since 2012 , who have literally come of age fighting the construction of this new youth jail .
And it opened earlier this year .
And a part of combating state-sanctioned violence , overpolicing , police brutality in our city is also acknowledging that the criminal punishment system is deeply attached to policing in Black , Indigenous and people of color neighborhoods .
Last week , very significantly , the King County executive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ biggest cheerleader of building the youth jail , announced that in 2025 they will attempt to close the youth jail .
There are presently somewhere between 19 and 21 young people being held in cages in that facility .
We know that without the groundwork that Black and Native folks have led in our city to stop the building of the youth jail , to stop the building of police bunkers , that the work we ’ re presently doing right now around defunding the police would not have the foundation that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summer , we already had demands ready , because we have been , for an extended period of time , fighting this new youth jail .
And so , two coalitions — Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now — really rose out of that work .
So , keeping our sights on that movement of no new youth jail , of closing down youth prisons but also closing down adult prisons within our region , has been a significant part of laying the foundation for this present uprising for Black lives .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a Portland Black Lives Matter protester addressing the crowd last week .
AMY GOODMAN : That ’ s a scene from the streets of Portland , Oregon .
In addition to Nikkita Oliver , we ’ re joined by Pastor E.D .
Mondainé , who is a civil rights activist , president of the Portland , Oregon , branch of the NAACP , recently wrote a piece for The Washington Post titled “ Portland ’ s protests were supposed to be about black lives .
Now , they ’ re white spectacle.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ PASTOR E.D .
MONDAINÉ : Well , we ’ re right now in the era that is very serious .
We have to embrace the civil rights era with seriousness , and more seriousness than we ’ ve done in the 60 years since we ’ ve seen it , since its inception .
The shallow graves of our clarion criers for justice have now reached the streets of Portland through the stench of tear gas and rubber bullets .
At the core of the Trump administration ’ s actions in Portland are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war .
The federal government ’ s response is no display of strength ; rather , it ’ s a deliberate cover-up for Trump ’ s weakness .
The president and his allies want to be — want this to be a spectacle , be it a naked yogi or the next display of shocking force in force .
They need to be a distraction to the country by engaging our movement into empty battles where there is no advantage .
When we engage on their terms , we certainly , most definitely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got to be able to keep the focus on Black lives .
This is not a war .
We ’ re not in Beirut .
We are in the United States of America , the most powerful country in the world .
And we need to understand that this revolution has brought us here to the streets , and it ’ s going to keep us into the streets until we see great movement .
AMY GOODMAN : Oregon Senator Ron Wyden , talking about the federal agents that Trump has deployed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ If a line is not drawn in the sand right now , America may be staring down the barrel of martial law in the middle of a presidential election.
” Do you share that assessment , Pastor Mondainé ?
PASTOR E.D .
MONDAINÉ : Yes .
And we can ’ t fall for that deception .
We can ’ t settle for martial law .
We know where that ’ s going to take us .
Listen , it is time now for us to make our voices known and voices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We welcome the protesters .
We don ’ t necessarily — we ’ re not attracted to the violence , but that ’ s all a part of the game .
War is deception .
And deception is what kills our nation when we ’ re not settled in understanding what truth is and how to divine that truth .
We need to be able to march forward with the power that revolution brings and that tells us that it ’ s time right now for the social change that we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talk — I mean , the scenes in the streets of Portland , thousands of people , you have a wall of moms and now a wall of dads .
You ’ ve got that wall of veterans that have lined up , as well .
Can you talk about the various movements that have come together , and what you think is the critical agenda of the Black Lives Matter movement right now ?
PASTOR E.D .
MONDAINÉ : Well , everyone seeking to advance justice in Portland , they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be clear : We welcome our white allies in the street .
We welcome the wall of moms .
We welcome the leaf-blowing dads .
Right now there are unmarked , unarmed federal forces kidnapping our citizens off the streets without justification or authority .
The mayor of Portland and the governor of Oregon have both asked them to leave , and it ’ s all to no avail .
We know that this is a violation of our Constitution .
But with President Trump promising only more occupations in more cities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peril .
You know , at their core , the Trump administration ’ s actions are really hurting America , and not bringing America closer together .
But again , the focus has to be on Black lives and Black Lives Matter .
It is Black lives and Black Lives Matter that took us to the streets .
It is Black lives and Black Lives Matter that keep us in the streets .
It ’ s a Black lives issue that keep us downtown nightly in the face of peril and trouble .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are you demanding of the state right now in Seattle , Washington ?
And I ’ ll ask the same question of the pastor .
I mean , you have , interestingly , the authorities in Oregon , from the governor to the senators to the mayor , Ted Wheeler , who ’ s also the police commissioner , who was tear-gassed himself , vehemently protesting the presence of federal agents .
But you also have the local police tear-gassing people .
And explain — although they recently , the Portland City Council @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cooperate with the federal agents , explain the situation in Seattle right now .
NIKKITA OLIVER : You know , I want to be very clear that while certainly we are against federal agents being in our city and our county , we are not fighting for a local monopoly on police violence .
We are fighting , and , you know , a huge focus of our movement is we ’ re fighting to defund the police .
And very specifically , King County Equity Now and Decriminalize Seattle are fighting to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know that there is no instance in which police actually keep us safe , that very often when police are called in to any situation , they tend to escalate it , or people involved in that situation are sent into the criminal punishment system , which is disproportionately made of Black , Indigenous and people of color .
And so , there are three key demands that have remained at the forefront of our movement and in this fight to defend Black lives .
The first is to defund the Seattle Police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the rebalancing package .
And Seattle City Council will have an historical vote on either August 3rd or August 10th , depending on how the process goes , where councilmembers will vote on that 50 % package first with the 2020 rebalancing .
We have seven of nine councilmembers , so this is a veto-proof vote , that have committed to defunding Seattle Police Department by 50 % .
And there is a strong chance that we will see some defunding on this rebalancing package , but our focus is also very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those councilmembers are committed to finding those cuts within the Seattle Police Department .
But that ’ s only one strategy .
The next strategy is knowing that we need a community-based , community-led community safety and public health infrastructure .
And so , part of the first defund dollars from this 2020 package , from the rebalancing package , should be and will be invested in a participatory budgeting project that will be led by those communities most affected by police terrorism .
And that participatory budgeting process will lead us into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investments of the current $ 410 million , the Seattle police budget — so that ’ s about $ 205 million — will be invested in community-based public health and public safety , and will invest as soon as possible $ 10 million in scaling up the current community-based infrastructure .
So we have kept a very strong focus on understanding that defunding the police , shrinking the police , is a really important strategy to getting to the place where we don ’ t have police involved in our public health or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finally , since May 29 , hundreds of protesters have been arrested .
And so our movement is calling for all protesters to be freed .
No one should be taking a case or a charge by exercising their First Amendment right , especially as it comes to defending Black lives and fighting against state-sanctioned violence .
AMY GOODMAN : And what is the role you see of white allies , of other people of color , in a Black lives-led movement ?
NIKKITA OLIVER : I believe that our co-conspirators are an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a region like Seattle-King County .
We are about 4 % Black community within our city , and so having good , strong allyship — and I use “ co-conspirator ” very intentionally .
You know , allies are people who may look at your struggle and say , “ We align with you .
We see the value of your life.
” But that ’ s not necessarily folks who will join you in the streets , who will join you in council chambers , who will take a risk of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or their own property in order to join your movement .
So , in a city like ours , where the Black community has been displaced and gentrified out of the neighborhoods that we have made strong and popular — and , in many ways , the Black community has not had access to the immense wealth that has grown in our region — having those co-conspirators is essential in the streets , but also in many of our political strategies .
What I will say is , this current uprising is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considerable amount of our white allies and white co-conspirators take to the streets in a sustained movement .
For the past 60 days , we have seen thousands upon thousands of people in Seattle consistently protesting , consistently rallying and consistently focusing on the three demands that the Black liberation movement here in our city and our region has brought to the surface .
And so , it really is essential that we have that co-conspirator movement happening at the same time , while simultaneously recognizing that no movement is successful without a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ ve had to see a diversity of tactics put in place in order to win , in order for movements to remain strong , and so we are also seeing that happening on the ground here , from movements in the streets to movements in council chambers to movements of educators and people all over our city , in order to ensure that the movement in defense of Black lives is present in every aspect of our movement work .
AMY GOODMAN : And , Pastor E.D .
Mondainé , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Portland , which is the whitest large city in this country , the whitest of the 35 largest cities .
The New York Times wrote , “ The state was founded on principles of white supremacy .
A 19th-century lash law called for whipping any Black person found in the state .
In the early part of the 20th century Oregon ’ s Legislature was dominated by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
” And you have a very interesting piece in The Atlantic that said — that talks about the 13th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the 13th , 14th , and 15th amendments , Oregon ’ s laws preventing black people from living in the state and owning property were superseded by national law .
But Oregon itself didn ’ t ratify the 14th Amendment — the Equal Protection Clause — until 1973.
” This history , to say the least , resulting in a very white state .
What you want to see happen now ?
PASTOR E.D .
MONDAINÉ : Well , I am thrilled that we ’ re seeing so many new members come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And just as my sister spoke , the allies will go with you to the gate , but they become accomplices when they go out into the streets with us , when they join us in our fight .
In the fight for restorative racial justice , in our different roles , we ’ ll walk together through this battlefield , wherever it goes and wherever it takes us , and however it fulfills those efforts that we are trying to obtain : Black lives mattering and not being three-fifths human .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find our greatest call to service in helping open the gates and guard those perimeters that Black people deserve to live in .
Again , this is the only state in the nation that was incepted in racism .
There is a place for all of us here .
We are in a historic time in America , a time that we ’ ll never see again .
And the reality of the everyday Black existence has been promoted to the greater public ’ s consciousness .
We have woke up in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And we ’ re wakened by the sound of , again , those clarion criers that were killed in the '60s .
Their blood is calling from the mud , and they 're saying it ’ s time for justice , it ’ s time for change .
AMY GOODMAN : Pastor E.D .
Mondainé , I want to thank you for being with us , president of the Portland , Oregon , NAACP , joining us from Portland , and Nikkita Oliver of Creative Justice and Decriminalize Seattle , joining us from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lewis is buried this week , we remember the civil rights icon and speak with Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude about his legacy , about Black Lives Matter and about his new book , Begin Again : James Baldwin ’ s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own .
AMY GOODMAN : Music from Congressmember John Lewis ’ s memorial service in Selma , Alabama , over the weekend .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: For the 60th day in a row, demonstrators rallied in Portland, Oregon, Sunday to protest against police brutality and racism, as well as the deployment of federal forces to the city. Shortly after midnight this morning, federal officers fired tear gas and other so-called less-than-lethal weapons to disperse a crowd that gathered outside the federal courthouse, which has become a flashpoint of the nightly protests.
The weekend demonstrations in Portland came days after the Portland City Council unanimously voted to bar Portland police officers from cooperating with federal authorities. On Saturday, federal authorities revealed they had arrested or detained 60 people since being deployed to Portland in early July. Meanwhile, Oregon Congressmembers Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici and about a dozen other lawmakers are demanding the resignation of Chad Wolf, the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security, over his handling of the protests.
President Trump’s deployment of federal officers to Portland and other cities sparked a new round of protests around the country this weekend. On Thursday, the Trump administration sent a team of federal tactical border officers to Seattle, Washington. In a statement, the Federal Protective Service said, quote, “The CBP team will be on standby in the area, should they be required.” It remains unclear what role the agents played this weekend as Seattle police arrested dozens of protesters and fired flash grenades and pepper spray into crowds.
Protesters also took to the streets in other cities, including Oakland; New York; Los Angeles; Louisville, Kentucky; Omaha, Nebraska; Richmond, Virginia; Aurora, Colorado; and Austin, Texas, where a protester named Garrett Foster was shot dead. Foster’s mother said her son was pushing his fiancée’s wheelchair when a car drove into the crowd and opened fire.
We begin today’s show in Seattle and Portland. In Portland, we’re joined by Pastor E.D. Mondainé, a civil rights activist, president of the Portland, Oregon, branch of the NAACP. And in Seattle, Washington, Nikkita Oliver is with us, co-executive director of Creative Justice. She’s also an artist, attorney and community organizer with Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Nikkita Oliver, let’s begin with you. Can you explain what’s happening in Seattle right now, with President Trump saying, as part of this “surge,” they’ve brought federal agents in on, quote, “standby”? Talk about the protests this week and what this means.
NIKKITA OLIVER: Yeah. So, this weekend, many people took to the streets. And I want to make sure that we keep the focus on Black lives. You know, ultimately, people are in the streets in defense of Black lives; however, it cannot be ignored that Trump sending federal officers to our city has certainly further emboldened the protests.
That being said, we don’t know exactly what the federal officers are doing. What we do know is that we are in a situation where local police are welcoming those federal agents into our city. The head of the local police union, the Seattle Police Officers Guild, went on conservative radio about a week ago, praising the federal arrests of protesters in Portland and saying it might be time for the feds to come to Seattle.
You know, this past weekend, we also saw a renewed violence by Seattle Police Department against protesters. And they actively had been fighting against a ban on tear gas and rubber bullets that the Seattle City Council imposed. And the Trump Department of Justice essentially backed the Seattle Police Department in lifting that ban. And so, we know that in addition to fighting police in our own city, we are also fighting at the federal level against federal enforcements being sent to our city.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about how you’re protecting yourselves? You tweeted, “Police are snatching up umbrellas, traffic cones and gas masks from protestors. These are literally protective gear to keeps protestors safe from police violence.”
NIKKITA OLIVER: Absolutely. You know, a lot of new tactics are being developed in the streets to keep people safe, such as umbrellas, mutual aid networks to disperse protective goggles. People are wearing bike helmets and construction helmets as a way of protecting ourselves from the debris of flashbangs. Even this weekend, we saw Seattle police dropping flashbangs from the top of private roofs. And so, people are developing many tactics within the streets to keep each other safe. And I think that is really the important part. People are protecting each other the way that we always have, knowing that when it comes to police violence, we, as a community, are really what we have as our safety. Street medics are playing a key role and often putting theirselves at great personal risk to take care of people on site.
But we know that ultimately, you know, the best protection that we’re looking for isn’t just these tactics that we’re developing right now in this moment, but it is an overarching protection against police violence, where we have less police. You know, people are staying in the streets in defense of Black lives, and the demand currently on the ground here is to defund SPD by 50% in both the rebalancing package of our city, as COVID-19 has caused a $300 million shortfall, but also in the next upcoming budget, as a tactic for decreasing police violence across the board. So, while we are developing many tactics on the ground and the street to keep people safe from pepper spray, various CO gas, flashbangs, there’s also an overarching work that’s happening to how do we keep people safe from police violence across the board.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Nikkita Oliver, some 5,000 protesters stopped at a youth detention center. Can you talk about the history of that place?
NIKKITA OLIVER: The protests that we’re seeing right now are literally built on years of a growing abolitionist movement in the Seattle-King County region. One of the fights that began in 2012 was to stop King County from building a new $244 million youth jail and a new court complex. There was an entire generation of young people, or there is an entire generation of young people, since 2012, who have literally come of age fighting the construction of this new youth jail. And it opened earlier this year. And a part of combating state-sanctioned violence, overpolicing, police brutality in our city is also acknowledging that the criminal punishment system is deeply attached to policing in Black, Indigenous and people of color neighborhoods. Last week, very significantly, the King County executive, Dow Constantine, who was the biggest cheerleader of building the youth jail, announced that in 2025 they will attempt to close the youth jail. There are presently somewhere between 19 and 21 young people being held in cages in that facility.
We know that without the groundwork that Black and Native folks have led in our city to stop the building of the youth jail, to stop the building of police bunkers, that the work we’re presently doing right now around defunding the police would not have the foundation that it has. When the uprising began this summer, we already had demands ready, because we have been, for an extended period of time, fighting this new youth jail. And so, two coalitions — Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now — really rose out of that work. So, keeping our sights on that movement of no new youth jail, of closing down youth prisons but also closing down adult prisons within our region, has been a significant part of laying the foundation for this present uprising for Black lives.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go to a Portland Black Lives Matter protester addressing the crowd last week.
PROTESTER 1: We pose no threat! The only threat that we pose is sealing the deal on being divided. We will not be divided ever again! We are one nation under God!
PROTESTER 2: God bless America!
PROTESTER 1: We are the human race! Black Lives Matter!
PROSTERS: Black Lives Matter!
AMY GOODMAN: That’s a scene from the streets of Portland, Oregon. In addition to Nikkita Oliver, we’re joined by Pastor E.D. Mondainé, who is a civil rights activist, president of the Portland, Oregon, branch of the NAACP, recently wrote a piece for The Washington Post titled “Portland’s protests were supposed to be about black lives. Now, they’re white spectacle.” Can you explain, Pastor?
PASTOR E.D. MONDAINÉ: Well, we’re right now in the era that is very serious. We have to embrace the civil rights era with seriousness, and more seriousness than we’ve done in the 60 years since we’ve seen it, since its inception. The shallow graves of our clarion criers for justice have now reached the streets of Portland through the stench of tear gas and rubber bullets.
At the core of the Trump administration’s actions in Portland are a deception. We’re at war. The federal government’s response is no display of strength; rather, it’s a deliberate cover-up for Trump’s weakness. The president and his allies want to be — want this to be a spectacle, be it a naked yogi or the next display of shocking force in force. They need to be a distraction to the country by engaging our movement into empty battles where there is no advantage. When we engage on their terms, we certainly, most definitely, lose.
But we’ve got to be able to keep the focus on Black lives. This is not a war. We’re not in Beirut. We are in the United States of America, the most powerful country in the world. And we need to understand that this revolution has brought us here to the streets, and it’s going to keep us into the streets until we see great movement.
AMY GOODMAN: Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, talking about the federal agents that Trump has deployed to Portland as essentially fascist, he said, “If a line is not drawn in the sand right now, America may be staring down the barrel of martial law in the middle of a presidential election.” Do you share that assessment, Pastor Mondainé?
PASTOR E.D. MONDAINÉ: Yes. And we can’t fall for that deception. We can’t settle for martial law. We know where that’s going to take us. Listen, it is time now for us to make our voices known and voices heard in the halls of justice. We welcome the protesters. We don’t necessarily — we’re not attracted to the violence, but that’s all a part of the game. War is deception. And deception is what kills our nation when we’re not settled in understanding what truth is and how to divine that truth. We need to be able to march forward with the power that revolution brings and that tells us that it’s time right now for the social change that we’re seeking.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk — I mean, the scenes in the streets of Portland, thousands of people, you have a wall of moms and now a wall of dads. You’ve got that wall of veterans that have lined up, as well. Can you talk about the various movements that have come together, and what you think is the critical agenda of the Black Lives Matter movement right now?
PASTOR E.D. MONDAINÉ: Well, everyone seeking to advance justice in Portland, they’re facing great danger. And I want to be clear: We welcome our white allies in the street. We welcome the wall of moms. We welcome the leaf-blowing dads. Right now there are unmarked, unarmed federal forces kidnapping our citizens off the streets without justification or authority. The mayor of Portland and the governor of Oregon have both asked them to leave, and it’s all to no avail. We know that this is a violation of our Constitution. But with President Trump promising only more occupations in more cities, we ignore this risk at our peril. You know, at their core, the Trump administration’s actions are really hurting America, and not bringing America closer together.
But again, the focus has to be on Black lives and Black Lives Matter. It is Black lives and Black Lives Matter that took us to the streets. It is Black lives and Black Lives Matter that keep us in the streets. It’s a Black lives issue that keep us downtown nightly in the face of peril and trouble.
AMY GOODMAN: Nikkita Oliver, what are you demanding of the state right now in Seattle, Washington? And I’ll ask the same question of the pastor. I mean, you have, interestingly, the authorities in Oregon, from the governor to the senators to the mayor, Ted Wheeler, who’s also the police commissioner, who was tear-gassed himself, vehemently protesting the presence of federal agents. But you also have the local police tear-gassing people. And explain — although they recently, the Portland City Council, last week, voted not to cooperate with the federal agents, explain the situation in Seattle right now.
NIKKITA OLIVER: You know, I want to be very clear that while certainly we are against federal agents being in our city and our county, we are not fighting for a local monopoly on police violence. We are fighting, and, you know, a huge focus of our movement is we’re fighting to defund the police. And very specifically, King County Equity Now and Decriminalize Seattle are fighting to defund the Seattle Police Department. We know that there is no instance in which police actually keep us safe, that very often when police are called in to any situation, they tend to escalate it, or people involved in that situation are sent into the criminal punishment system, which is disproportionately made of Black, Indigenous and people of color.
And so, there are three key demands that have remained at the forefront of our movement and in this fight to defend Black lives. The first is to defund the Seattle Police Department by 50%, starting first with the rebalancing package. And Seattle City Council will have an historical vote on either August 3rd or August 10th, depending on how the process goes, where councilmembers will vote on that 50% package first with the 2020 rebalancing. We have seven of nine councilmembers, so this is a veto-proof vote, that have committed to defunding Seattle Police Department by 50%. And there is a strong chance that we will see some defunding on this rebalancing package, but our focus is also very much on the 2021 budget, and those councilmembers are committed to finding those cuts within the Seattle Police Department. But that’s only one strategy.
The next strategy is knowing that we need a community-based, community-led community safety and public health infrastructure. And so, part of the first defund dollars from this 2020 package, from the rebalancing package, should be and will be invested in a participatory budgeting project that will be led by those communities most affected by police terrorism. And that participatory budgeting process will lead us into 2021 to determine how those 50% investments of the current $410 million, the Seattle police budget — so that’s about $205 million — will be invested in community-based public health and public safety, and will invest as soon as possible $10 million in scaling up the current community-based infrastructure. So we have kept a very strong focus on understanding that defunding the police, shrinking the police, is a really important strategy to getting to the place where we don’t have police involved in our public health or public safety infrastructure.
And then, finally, since May 29, hundreds of protesters have been arrested. And so our movement is calling for all protesters to be freed. No one should be taking a case or a charge by exercising their First Amendment right, especially as it comes to defending Black lives and fighting against state-sanctioned violence.
AMY GOODMAN: And what is the role you see of white allies, of other people of color, in a Black lives-led movement?
NIKKITA OLIVER: I believe that our co-conspirators are an essential part of this movement, especially in a region like Seattle-King County. We are about 4% Black community within our city, and so having good, strong allyship — and I use “co-conspirator” very intentionally. You know, allies are people who may look at your struggle and say, “We align with you. We see the value of your life.” But that’s not necessarily folks who will join you in the streets, who will join you in council chambers, who will take a risk of their own lives or their own wealth or their own property in order to join your movement. So, in a city like ours, where the Black community has been displaced and gentrified out of the neighborhoods that we have made strong and popular — and, in many ways, the Black community has not had access to the immense wealth that has grown in our region — having those co-conspirators is essential in the streets, but also in many of our political strategies.
What I will say is, this current uprising is the first time that we have seen a considerable amount of our white allies and white co-conspirators take to the streets in a sustained movement. For the past 60 days, we have seen thousands upon thousands of people in Seattle consistently protesting, consistently rallying and consistently focusing on the three demands that the Black liberation movement here in our city and our region has brought to the surface.
And so, it really is essential that we have that co-conspirator movement happening at the same time, while simultaneously recognizing that no movement is successful without a diversity of tactics. We know historically we’ve had to see a diversity of tactics put in place in order to win, in order for movements to remain strong, and so we are also seeing that happening on the ground here, from movements in the streets to movements in council chambers to movements of educators and people all over our city, in order to ensure that the movement in defense of Black lives is present in every aspect of our movement work.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Pastor E.D. Mondainé, you have this massive, sustained protest movement in Portland, which is the whitest large city in this country, the whitest of the 35 largest cities. The New York Times wrote, “The state was founded on principles of white supremacy. A 19th-century lash law called for whipping any Black person found in the state. In the early part of the 20th century Oregon’s Legislature was dominated by members of the Ku Klux Klan.” And you have a very interesting piece in The Atlantic that said — that talks about the 13th, the — “With the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, Oregon’s laws preventing black people from living in the state and owning property were superseded by national law. But Oregon itself didn’t ratify the 14th Amendment — the Equal Protection Clause — until 1973.” This history, to say the least, resulting in a very white state. What you want to see happen now?
PASTOR E.D. MONDAINÉ: Well, I am thrilled that we’re seeing so many new members come out to join us as allies. And just as my sister spoke, the allies will go with you to the gate, but they become accomplices when they go out into the streets with us, when they join us in our fight. In the fight for restorative racial justice, in our different roles, we’ll walk together through this battlefield, wherever it goes and wherever it takes us, and however it fulfills those efforts that we are trying to obtain: Black lives mattering and not being three-fifths human. In this battle, some of us will find our greatest call to service in helping open the gates and guard those perimeters that Black people deserve to live in. Again, this is the only state in the nation that was incepted in racism. There is a place for all of us here.
We are in a historic time in America, a time that we’ll never see again. And the reality of the everyday Black existence has been promoted to the greater public’s consciousness. We have woke up in this country. We are wakened now. And we’re wakened by the sound of, again, those clarion criers that were killed in the '60s. Their blood is calling from the mud, and they're saying it’s time for justice, it’s time for change.
AMY GOODMAN: Pastor E.D. Mondainé, I want to thank you for being with us, president of the Portland, Oregon, NAACP, joining us from Portland, and Nikkita Oliver of Creative Justice and Decriminalize Seattle, joining us from Seattle.
Next up, as John Lewis is buried this week, we remember the civil rights icon and speak with Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude about his legacy, about Black Lives Matter and about his new book, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: Music from Congressmember John Lewis’s memorial service in Selma, Alabama, over the weekend.


democracynow--2020-07-27--Headlines for July 27, 2020

Headlines for July 27, 2020

Antiracist protests across the country this weekend were met with violent police attacks , arrests , and the death of a protester in Austin , Texas .
For the 60th day in a row , demonstrators rallied in Portland , Oregon , Sunday .
Shortly after midnight this morning , federal officers fired tear gas and other crowd-control weapons to disperse a crowd that had gathered outside the federal courthouse , which has become a flashpoint of the nightly protests .
President Trump ’ s deployment of federal officers to Portland and other cities sparked a new round of protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On Thursday , the Trump administration sent a team of federal tactical border officers to Seattle .
It remains unclear what role the agents played as Seattle police arrested dozens of protesters and fired flash grenades and pepper spray into crowds .
In related news from Seattle , a judge has ordered The Seattle Times and four TV stations to hand over to the police photos and videos of a protest in May during which windows were smashed and police cars were set ablaze .
The police hope the images will help them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freedom advocates and reporters warn endangers all journalists .
In Austin , Texas , a protester named Garrett Foster was shot dead .
Foster ’ s mother said her son was pushing his fiancée ’ s wheelchair when a car drove into the crowd and the motorist opened fire .
On Saturday , three people were injured at a Louisville , Kentucky , protest over the police killing of Breonna Taylor .
The gun fired at the protest belonged to a member of the armed coalition of mostly Black activists known as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the three victims were also part of the group .
In Aurora , Colorado , authorities are investigating after a car drove through a Black Lives Matter protest .
One protester also reportedly fired a weapon at the march .
In Chicago , Christopher Columbus statues were taken down from two parks after an order from Mayor Lori Lightfoot .
One of the statues was in Grant Park , where a police officer last week punched teenage activist Miracle Boyd in the face , knocking out her teeth , during a protest to @ @ @ @

Antiracist protests across the country this weekend were met with violent police attacks, arrests, and the death of a protester in Austin, Texas.
For the 60th day in a row, demonstrators rallied in Portland, Oregon, Sunday. Shortly after midnight this morning, federal officers fired tear gas and other crowd-control weapons to disperse a crowd that had gathered outside the federal courthouse, which has become a flashpoint of the nightly protests.
President Trump’s deployment of federal officers to Portland and other cities sparked a new round of protests across the country over the weekend. On Thursday, the Trump administration sent a team of federal tactical border officers to Seattle. It remains unclear what role the agents played as Seattle police arrested dozens of protesters and fired flash grenades and pepper spray into crowds.
In related news from Seattle, a judge has ordered The Seattle Times and four TV stations to hand over to the police photos and videos of a protest in May during which windows were smashed and police cars were set ablaze. The police hope the images will help them identify suspects, in a move press freedom advocates and reporters warn endangers all journalists.
In Austin, Texas, a protester named Garrett Foster was shot dead. Foster’s mother said her son was pushing his fiancée’s wheelchair when a car drove into the crowd and the motorist opened fire.
On Saturday, three people were injured at a Louisville, Kentucky, protest over the police killing of Breonna Taylor. The gun fired at the protest belonged to a member of the armed coalition of mostly Black activists known as the “Not F—ing Around Coalition” — the three victims were also part of the group.
In Aurora, Colorado, authorities are investigating after a car drove through a Black Lives Matter protest. One protester also reportedly fired a weapon at the march.
In Chicago, Christopher Columbus statues were taken down from two parks after an order from Mayor Lori Lightfoot. One of the statues was in Grant Park, where a police officer last week punched teenage activist Miracle Boyd in the face, knocking out her teeth, during a protest to topple the statue.