democracynow--2020-07-17--"This Is Trump's War": U.S.-Backed Saudi Bombing in Yemen Continues as Coronavirus Spreads

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : We begin today ’ s show in Yemen , where UNICEF is warning children face deadly hunger and shortages as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads through a country that already faces the world ’ s worst humanitarian crisis .
This comes as medical workers say a U.S.-backed , Saudi-led bombing raid on a residential neighborhood in northern Yemen Wednesday killed 25 civilians and critically injured nine others .
A local doctor treated several injured children .
AMY GOODMAN : The Yemen Data Project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 21,000 airstrikes in five years of war , killing more than 8,700 civilians .
Most of the raids were carried out with weapons sold by the United States , and they haven ’ t stopped even amidst the global pandemic .
Meanwhile , the United Nations is warning of a looming environmental disaster in the Red Sea , where a stricken oil tanker has been abandoned off Yemen ’ s coast since the war began five years ago , the vessel loaded with more than a million barrels of crude oil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spilled from the Exxon Valdez off Alaska in 1989 .
U.N. Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said Wednesday a spill would directly affect 1.6 million Yemenis .
AMY GOODMAN : All of this is happening as the U.S.-backed Saudi bombing campaign in — Yemen has been devastated by conflict , leaving millions of people without access to proper healthcare , clean water or sanitation .
For more , we ’ re joined by Shireen Al-Adeimi , Yemeni scholar , activist and assistant professor at Michigan State University .
Welcome back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great to have you with us , Professor Al-Adeimi .
Can you start off by talking about the situation of the coronavirus and Yemen right now , a country devastated by the U.S.-backed Saudi bombing ?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI : Thank you for having me back .
The situation , as you said , is dire .
I know I ’ ve said this before , but every time I come on the show , it just seems to be getting worse .
And the reason is because the war continues , the bombing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And so , with coronavirus , initially there weren ’ t a lot of cases .
There weren ’ t any recorded cases until April .
But ever since then , it ’ s starting to wreak havoc , and we ’ re seeing death rates that are just astronomical .
We ’ re seeing 30 % — nearly 30 % death rates from coronavirus in the cases that have been documented in Yemen , which is , of course , very difficult to do , given the healthcare crisis and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and fuel and all the things that are needed to keep hospitals functioning .
AMY GOODMAN : I want to turn to the Yemeni epidemiologist Ehab Alsaqqaf , who was speaking to the BBC .
AMY GOODMAN : Professor Shireen Al-Adeimi , you are here , in Michigan , where you teach .
Your family remains in Yemen .
How are they doing in the midst of this pandemic ?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI : I mean , there ’ s not much that they can do , given that their livelihoods depend on — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are still able to work still have to go out and work .
If you ’ re talking about , for example , protecting themselves with masks , they try to do what they can , but , you know , it ’ s not easy to purchase these things .
There ’ s a lot of misinformation .
People are just not sure : Should they be taking precautions ?
Is this really happening ?
You know , as the interviewee just said , they were certain that this was happening , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So people are still unsure about what ’ s happening , but they ’ re also not able to kind of take the precautions that we ’ re able to take — many of us are able to take here .
For example , there ’ s 17 million people in Yemen .
That ’ s about 56 % of the population doesn ’ t have access to clean water .
This is drinking water .
So , how are they going to use soap and water to wash their hands frequently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people who are internally displaced , that are in camps .
How are they going to social distance ?
Where are they going to get water ?
Where are they going to get food ?
You have 80 % of the population that ’ s immunocompromised because they ’ re hungry .
And so , you know , this isn ’ t a country that ’ s able to take any kind of precautions .
So , people are confused .
They know that a lot of people are dying around them .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and , you know , friends — my parents were professors at Aden University.
, and we received a list of all of these people who died .
Many of them were their former colleagues .
We don ’ t know for sure if it was because of coronavirus or not , but chances are , you know , it ’ s either coronavirus or one of the many outbreaks that are currently plaguing the Yemeni healthcare system .
AMY GOODMAN : Are your family members — are any sick with COVID ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ few family members who — again , they weren ’ t tested , because they can ’ t really get tested .
But the symptoms seem to be coronavirus symptoms .
So far , they ’ ve recovered , but , you know , we ’ re still keeping in touch with them .
And there ’ s very little anybody can do .
AMY GOODMAN : Can you talk about the U.S.-backed Saudi bombing campaign ?
Is it still going on through the pandemic ?
And what have been the U.S. measures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI : Here ’ s the really frustrating thing , Amy .
All of this is happening , and the U.S. is still helping the Saudis and the Emiratis drop bombs in Yemen .
Two days ago , you know , 16 people were killed in an airstrike , and mostly women and children .
Two days before that , 11 people were killed in an airstrike .
And so , the airstrikes are still ongoing .
The blockade is still ongoing .
And this is in the middle of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I can ’ t imagine a country that has it worse than Yemen currently .
It was the world ’ s worst humanitarian crisis before COVID , and because of the U.S. 's intervention , and now it 's even worse than that .
And so , there is a fuel crisis , where people aren ’ t — you know , they ’ re queuing for fuel from sunrise to sunset , and often they ’ re still not able to get any fuel .
The fuel , of course , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ water pumps , the ventilators , the very few hundred ventilators that remain in the country .
And so , this will be absolutely catastrophic .
And it ’ s all because of the root cause , which is this ongoing bombardment of Yemen and the ongoing blockade that ’ s enforced by the Saudi-led coalition .
AMY GOODMAN : So , President Trump vetoed legislation last year , bipartisan legislation , that sought to bring U.S. complicity in the war to an end .
What do you think Congress should be doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took Congress four years to pass that legislation , which is , frankly , unacceptable , given that they all agree that this was an unconstitutional war .
This started , of course , by Obama — with Obama and continued into the Trump presidency .
And four years later , it was great that we had this bipartisan bill .
It was vetoed , but , you know , the role of Congress shouldn ’ t end right there .
It was predicted that Trump was going to veto this , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his support for the Saudi-led coalition because of all the contracts for the weapon — you know , for the defense industry here .
But , you know , Congress still has the authority to declare war .
And I don ’ t think that they should be giving up .
We haven ’ t had any kind of debate on Yemen for a year and a half , since this bill was passed .
And so , I would urge them to introduce legislation that continues to challenge this .
There are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And that ’ s what — they have to keep going .
This can ’ t be an issue that is discussed for a very short period of time and then forgotten about , because the suffering is just unbelievable .
And we ’ re going to have millions of people dead before , I think , anybody wants to do anything about it , and then it ’ s going to be too late .
AMY GOODMAN : There ’ s been a lot of blame on migrants passing through Yemen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in , without discussing the devastation that the bombing , the constant bombing , of Yemen has caused , such a destruction of the infrastructure .
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI : Absolutely .
I mean , there is no infrastructure to speak of .
Half the hospitals have been bombed .
The other half are barely functioning , at 10 % capacity .
The blockade is preventing important medicine from entering the country .
There ’ s a shortage of personnel .
The Health Ministry hasn ’ t been able to pay people for two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in these hospitals .
And , you know , like , migrants , of course , they ’ re the most vulnerable situation , the most vulnerable situation , because if you have to cross into Yemen to get to your destination , that ’ s a very awful thing to have to do .
And before the war , of course , Yemen was home to many migrants , hundreds of thousands of migrants from East Africa , and vice versa .
But the situation right now is dire for everybody .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t talk about these things in isolation .
The root cause here is that Yemen is under occupation , it ’ s under bombardment , it ’ s under a blockade that ’ s killing a child every 10 minutes , at least , for the last five years from preventable illnesses , like cholera , diphtheria , dengue fever .
A child could die from a simple fever because there ’ s no medicine to relieve that fever .
Children are starving to death because there ’ s no food , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so , we really have to be talking about the root causes , and not think about all of these as isolated incidents .
AMY GOODMAN : And the problem of people already grappling with diphtheria , dengue , cholera in Yemen ?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI : Absolutely , and H1N1 .
And so there are four outbreaks that are currently stressing the whatever remaining healthcare system is in Yemen .
And now add on top of that cholera — or , sorry , coronavirus , and there ’ s really no way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to supply people with the kinds of medicines that they need .
There ’ s only 300 ventilators in the entire country of 30 million people .
And so , what are people going to do ?
They just expect that they ’ re going to die from whatever disease is going to come at them next .
AMY GOODMAN : So , your message to lawmakers here in the United States and to the world , Professor Al-Adeimi ?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI : It ’ s really time to take back responsibility and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this .
This is Trump ’ s war .
And this is Congress ’ s doing , if they continue to stay silent while he is perpetuating this violence against Yemenis .
And the countries like Canada or France or the U.K. or Germany , all of these countries are benefiting still from the sale of weapons to the Saudis and Emiratis .
You know , you can ’ t go and say , “ Well , we want peace in Yemen , ” when you are actively profiting from the war in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civilians in Yemen .
And so , I think Yemenis feel like the international community has let them down , absolutely let them down .
But it ’ s really time to stop blaming people who are occupied , and think about the people who are occupying them and bombing them and starving them to death .
And it ’ s time to put an end to all of that .
AMY GOODMAN : Shireen Al-Adeimi , I want to thank you for being with us , Yemeni scholar , activist , assistant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lansing .
Next up , “ It ’ s Time to Tell a New Story About Coronavirus — Our Lives Depend on It.
” That ’ s the headline of a new piece by science investigative journalist Sonia Shah .
Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : Yemeni artists singing at home as part of the social media campaign # RemoteYeminiArt .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show in Yemen, where UNICEF is warning children face deadly hunger and shortages as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads through a country that already faces the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. This comes as medical workers say a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led bombing raid on a residential neighborhood in northern Yemen Wednesday killed 25 civilians and critically injured nine others. A local doctor treated several injured children.
DOCTOR: [translated] The only injured victims are all children. We received three or four people and eight martyred women and children. And today is a painful and sad day for the free Yemeni people.
AMY GOODMAN: The Yemen Data Project estimates the Saudi-led coalition has carried out more than 21,000 airstrikes in five years of war, killing more than 8,700 civilians. Most of the raids were carried out with weapons sold by the United States, and they haven’t stopped even amidst the global pandemic.
Meanwhile, the United Nations is warning of a looming environmental disaster in the Red Sea, where a stricken oil tanker has been abandoned off Yemen’s coast since the war began five years ago, the vessel loaded with more than a million barrels of crude oil — four times as much oil as spilled from the Exxon Valdez off Alaska in 1989. U.N. Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said Wednesday a spill would directly affect 1.6 million Yemenis.
MARK LOWCOCK: Essentially every fishing community along Yemen’s west coast would see their livelihoods collapse and would suffer substantial economic losses. About 90% of people in these communities already need humanitarian assistance.
AMY GOODMAN: All of this is happening as the U.S.-backed Saudi bombing campaign in — Yemen has been devastated by conflict, leaving millions of people without access to proper healthcare, clean water or sanitation.
For more, we’re joined by Shireen Al-Adeimi, Yemeni scholar, activist and assistant professor at Michigan State University.
Welcome back to Democracy Now! It’s great to have you with us, Professor Al-Adeimi. Can you start off by talking about the situation of the coronavirus and Yemen right now, a country devastated by the U.S.-backed Saudi bombing?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI: Thank you for having me back.
The situation, as you said, is dire. I know I’ve said this before, but every time I come on the show, it just seems to be getting worse. And the reason is because the war continues, the bombing continues, the blockade is still enforced.
And so, with coronavirus, initially there weren’t a lot of cases. There weren’t any recorded cases until April. But ever since then, it’s starting to wreak havoc, and we’re seeing death rates that are just astronomical. We’re seeing 30% — nearly 30% death rates from coronavirus in the cases that have been documented in Yemen, which is, of course, very difficult to do, given the healthcare crisis and the ongoing blockade and the shortage of medicine and fuel and all the things that are needed to keep hospitals functioning.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to the Yemeni epidemiologist Ehab Alsaqqaf, who was speaking to the BBC.
EHAB ALSAQQAF: [translated] The medical team knew this was COVID-19, but the authorities didn’t announce it. But then the cases started to increase rapidly. The next day, there were 17 confirmed cases; the day after, another 22. Then we started hearing that people were dying in their homes.
AMY GOODMAN: Professor Shireen Al-Adeimi, you are here, in Michigan, where you teach. Your family remains in Yemen. How are they doing in the midst of this pandemic?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI: I mean, there’s not much that they can do, given that their livelihoods depend on — you know, those of them who are still able to work still have to go out and work. If you’re talking about, for example, protecting themselves with masks, they try to do what they can, but, you know, it’s not easy to purchase these things.
There’s a lot of misinformation. People are just not sure: Should they be taking precautions? Is this really happening? You know, as the interviewee just said, they were certain that this was happening, but they weren’t being announced. So people are still unsure about what’s happening, but they’re also not able to kind of take the precautions that we’re able to take — many of us are able to take here.
For example, there’s 17 million people in Yemen. That’s about 56% of the population doesn’t have access to clean water. This is drinking water. So, how are they going to use soap and water to wash their hands frequently? We have 3, 4 million people who are internally displaced, that are in camps. How are they going to social distance? Where are they going to get water? Where are they going to get food? You have 80% of the population that’s immunocompromised because they’re hungry. And so, you know, this isn’t a country that’s able to take any kind of precautions.
So, people are confused. They know that a lot of people are dying around them. We’ve heard of many people and, you know, friends — my parents were professors at Aden University., and we received a list of all of these people who died. Many of them were their former colleagues. We don’t know for sure if it was because of coronavirus or not, but chances are, you know, it’s either coronavirus or one of the many outbreaks that are currently plaguing the Yemeni healthcare system.
AMY GOODMAN: Are your family members — are any sick with COVID?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI: We did have a few family members who — again, they weren’t tested, because they can’t really get tested. But the symptoms seem to be coronavirus symptoms. So far, they’ve recovered, but, you know, we’re still keeping in touch with them. And there’s very little anybody can do.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the U.S.-backed Saudi bombing campaign? Is it still going on through the pandemic? And what have been the U.S. measures that have been taken or not taken?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI: Here’s the really frustrating thing, Amy. All of this is happening, and the U.S. is still helping the Saudis and the Emiratis drop bombs in Yemen. Two days ago, you know, 16 people were killed in an airstrike, and mostly women and children. Two days before that, 11 people were killed in an airstrike. And so, the airstrikes are still ongoing. The blockade is still ongoing. And this is in the middle of a pandemic. And, you know, I can’t imagine a country that has it worse than Yemen currently. It was the world’s worst humanitarian crisis before COVID, and because of the U.S.'s intervention, and now it's even worse than that.
And so, there is a fuel crisis, where people aren’t — you know, they’re queuing for fuel from sunrise to sunset, and often they’re still not able to get any fuel. The fuel, of course, is needed to run the generators, the water pumps, the ventilators, the very few hundred ventilators that remain in the country. And so, this will be absolutely catastrophic. And it’s all because of the root cause, which is this ongoing bombardment of Yemen and the ongoing blockade that’s enforced by the Saudi-led coalition.
AMY GOODMAN: So, President Trump vetoed legislation last year, bipartisan legislation, that sought to bring U.S. complicity in the war to an end. What do you think Congress should be doing right now?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI: It took Congress four years to pass that legislation, which is, frankly, unacceptable, given that they all agree that this was an unconstitutional war. This started, of course, by Obama — with Obama and continued into the Trump presidency. And four years later, it was great that we had this bipartisan bill. It was vetoed, but, you know, the role of Congress shouldn’t end right there. It was predicted that Trump was going to veto this, of course. He had spoken publicly about his support for the Saudi-led coalition because of all the contracts for the weapon — you know, for the defense industry here.
But, you know, Congress still has the authority to declare war. And I don’t think that they should be giving up. We haven’t had any kind of debate on Yemen for a year and a half, since this bill was passed. And so, I would urge them to introduce legislation that continues to challenge this. There are ways to introduce legislation that is veto-proof. And that’s what — they have to keep going. This can’t be an issue that is discussed for a very short period of time and then forgotten about, because the suffering is just unbelievable. And we’re going to have millions of people dead before, I think, anybody wants to do anything about it, and then it’s going to be too late.
AMY GOODMAN: There’s been a lot of blame on migrants passing through Yemen, that they’re bringing COVID-19 in, without discussing the devastation that the bombing, the constant bombing, of Yemen has caused, such a destruction of the infrastructure.
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI: Absolutely. I mean, there is no infrastructure to speak of. Half the hospitals have been bombed. The other half are barely functioning, at 10% capacity. The blockade is preventing important medicine from entering the country. There’s a shortage of personnel. The Health Ministry hasn’t been able to pay people for two years, and so people are volunteering in these hospitals.
And, you know, like, migrants, of course, they’re the most vulnerable situation, the most vulnerable situation, because if you have to cross into Yemen to get to your destination, that’s a very awful thing to have to do. And before the war, of course, Yemen was home to many migrants, hundreds of thousands of migrants from East Africa, and vice versa.
But the situation right now is dire for everybody. And, you know, we can’t talk about these things in isolation. The root cause here is that Yemen is under occupation, it’s under bombardment, it’s under a blockade that’s killing a child every 10 minutes, at least, for the last five years from preventable illnesses, like cholera, diphtheria, dengue fever. A child could die from a simple fever because there’s no medicine to relieve that fever. Children are starving to death because there’s no food, there’s no water. And so, we really have to be talking about the root causes, and not think about all of these as isolated incidents.
AMY GOODMAN: And the problem of people already grappling with diphtheria, dengue, cholera in Yemen?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI: Absolutely, and H1N1. And so there are four outbreaks that are currently stressing the whatever remaining healthcare system is in Yemen. And now add on top of that cholera — or, sorry, coronavirus, and there’s really no way to track it, to treat it, to supply people with the kinds of medicines that they need. There’s only 300 ventilators in the entire country of 30 million people. And so, what are people going to do? They just expect that they’re going to die from whatever disease is going to come at them next.
AMY GOODMAN: So, your message to lawmakers here in the United States and to the world, Professor Al-Adeimi?
SHIREEN AL-ADEIMI: It’s really time to take back responsibility and for people to be held accountable for this. This is Trump’s war. And this is Congress’s doing, if they continue to stay silent while he is perpetuating this violence against Yemenis. And the countries like Canada or France or the U.K. or Germany, all of these countries are benefiting still from the sale of weapons to the Saudis and Emiratis. You know, you can’t go and say, “Well, we want peace in Yemen,” when you are actively profiting from the war in Yemen or participating in the killing of civilians in Yemen. And so, I think Yemenis feel like the international community has let them down, absolutely let them down. But it’s really time to stop blaming people who are occupied, and think about the people who are occupying them and bombing them and starving them to death. And it’s time to put an end to all of that.
AMY GOODMAN: Shireen Al-Adeimi, I want to thank you for being with us, Yemeni scholar, activist, assistant professor at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
Next up, “It’s Time to Tell a New Story About Coronavirus — Our Lives Depend on It.” That’s the headline of a new piece by science investigative journalist Sonia Shah. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: Yemeni artists singing at home as part of the social media campaign #RemoteYeminiArt.


democracynow--2020-07-17--Headlines for July 17, 2020

Headlines for July 17, 2020

The United States has shattered its own record for COVID-19 , confirming 75,600 cases of the disease on Thursday , @ @ @ @ @ reported their highest death tolls of the pandemic .
Speaking in an online forum hosted @ @ @ @ @ infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said the record spike in infections — which is @ @ @ @ @ — resulted from states rushing to reopen their economies too quickly .
Dr. Anthony Fauci @ @ @ @ @ t jump over steps , which is very perilous when you think about rebound .
@ @ @ @ @ pudding is , look what ’ s happened .
There really is no reason why @ @ @ @ @ , 50- , 60,000 , other than the fact that we ’ re not doing @ @ @ @ @ said the U.S. economy will continue to suffer unless the virus is brought under control @ @ @ @ @ , avoiding crowds , and practicing social distancing .

The United States has shattered its own record for COVID-19, confirming 75,600 cases of the disease on Thursday, as Texas and Florida both reported their highest death tolls of the pandemic. Speaking in an online forum hosted by Facebook, top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said the record spike in infections — which is the worst in the world — resulted from states rushing to reopen their economies too quickly.
Dr. Anthony Fauci: “You can’t jump over steps, which is very perilous when you think about rebound. And the proof of the pudding is, look what’s happened. There really is no reason why we’re having 40-, 50-, 60,000, other than the fact that we’re not doing something correctly.”
Dr. Fauci said the U.S. economy will continue to suffer unless the virus is brought under control through simple measures like mask-wearing, avoiding crowds, and practicing social distancing.


democracynow--2020-07-20--Remembering C. T. Vivian, Civil Rights Icon MLK Called "Greatest Preacher to Ever Live"

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
The same day Congressmember John Lewis passed away — that was Friday — we lost another civil rights legend , Reverend C. T. Vivian .
He died at the age of 95 .
Vivian was a leading proponent of nonviolent struggle .
He was with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference , close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , who once described him as “ the greatest preacher to ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Reverend Vivian outside the historic Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma , Alabama , on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday .
On that day in 1965 , he was punched in the face by Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark on the courthouse steps in Selma as he tried to escort a group of African Americans inside to register to vote .
The punch was so hard , the sheriff broke his own hand .
Reverend Vivian started by talking about the power of nonviolence and the continued fight for voting rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nonviolent direct action is something we have brought to America , right ?
Nonviolent direct action has no violence in it , right ?
It is not there to destroy .
It ’ s there to develop and build .
And that ’ s what we ’ ve been trying to do .
At the core of that is an understanding of faithful life , all right ?
REV .
C. T. VIVIAN : No , because America won ’ t change that quickly , see ?
Or if they had of , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There is nothing we haven ’ t done for this nation .
We ’ ve died for it .
But it ’ s been overlooked , what we ’ ve done for it .
But we kept knowing the scriptures .
We kept living by faith .
We kept understanding that it ’ s something deeper than politics that makes life worth living .
REV .
C. T. VIVIAN : It ’ s the understanding of nonviolent direct action .
That ’ s the change .
Look , what we have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Martin King , right , was our leader .
What we have and what was given to us from its very beginnings is an understanding that we could not win by killing .
Light doesn ’ t come because of darkness , all right ?
We are here to change America , and always have been .
America sees it as they are changing us .
But , you see , when a Christian church exists that doesn ’ t want to accept anybody but white people , right , they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right ?
Can you be a Christian and a racist at the same time ?
See , and we refuse to be racist , right ?
We just want to simply tell America what their faith is about .
America talks about democracy , but they ’ ve kept us from voting for years .
And even when they give us the vote on paper , politically , they turn around and take away the important part of what we fought for and what they said they were giving , all right ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ work together to save ourselves politically , save ourselves spiritually and save ourselves physically .
We ’ re not going to be able to do it until we listen to the faith without the hate .
When a preacher has to stand at the door and keep people out because of the color of their skin , something ’ s wrong with their faith .
REV .
C. T. VIVIAN : Is that the problem was him .
I wasn ’ t the problem .
He was trying to get rid of us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though that the problem was us .
The problem is never the person that ’ s being beat , all right ?
It ’ s the person that doesn ’ t have a reason to beat people and beats people , who hates people and have no reason for it , right ?
We ’ ve done nothing .
What have we — what have we done to America that they should hate us so , right ?
We haven ’ t done it to America .
America is — but you can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about what “ American democracy , ” quote-unquote , has done to us .
And we were just trying to live for the faith .
Died in every war — every war , all right ?
And yet anybody who came here 10 minutes later was accepted .
AMY GOODMAN : Civil rights legend C. T. Vivian .
I interviewed him in 2015 in Selma , Alabama .
Reverend Vivian died on Friday at the age of 95 .
His funeral is scheduled for Thursday at Providence Baptist Church in Atlanta .
Out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lewis family says they ’ ll wait 'til after his services to announce their plans for Congressmember Lewis 's memorial .
To see the full interviews , democracynow.org .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman. The same day Congressmember John Lewis passed away — that was Friday — we lost another civil rights legend, Reverend C. T. Vivian. He died at the age of 95.
Vivian was a leading proponent of nonviolent struggle. He was with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who once described him as “the greatest preacher to ever live.”
In 2015, I spoke to Reverend Vivian outside the historic Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama, on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. On that day in 1965, he was punched in the face by Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark on the courthouse steps in Selma as he tried to escort a group of African Americans inside to register to vote. The punch was so hard, the sheriff broke his own hand. Reverend Vivian started by talking about the power of nonviolence and the continued fight for voting rights.
REV. C. T. VIVIAN: Nonviolent direct action is something we have brought to America, right? Nonviolent direct action has no violence in it, right? It is not there to destroy. It’s there to develop and build. And that’s what we’ve been trying to do. At the core of that is an understanding of faithful life, all right?
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think full voting rights have been achieved at this point?
REV. C. T. VIVIAN: No, because America won’t change that quickly, see? Or if they had of, they would have done it in 1776. There is nothing we haven’t done for this nation. We’ve died for it. But it’s been overlooked, what we’ve done for it. But we kept knowing the scriptures. We kept living by faith. We kept understanding that it’s something deeper than politics that makes life worth living.
AMY GOODMAN: What gave you the courage 50 years ago to stand up at the courthouse, to make that walk? REV. C. T. VIVIAN: This is a national problem. You can’t keep anyone in the United States from voting without hurting the rights of all other citizens. Democracy is built on this. This is why every man has the right to vote, regardless.
REV. C. T. VIVIAN: Our faith. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers taught us how to live, right? Even when they couldn’t speak well, as long as what the society was concerned about. What they were telling us about is as old as the universe itself.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you describe what happened to you, the violence against you, even leading up to March 7th, when you stood up for voting rights?
REV. C. T. VIVIAN: It’s the understanding of nonviolent direct action. That’s the change. Look, what we have to see, beyond all things, is that Martin King, right, was our leader. What we have and what was given to us from its very beginnings is an understanding that we could not win by killing. Light doesn’t come because of darkness, all right? We are here to change America, and always have been. America sees it as they are changing us. But, you see, when a Christian church exists that doesn’t want to accept anybody but white people, right, they’ve already denied the faith, all right? Can you be a Christian and a racist at the same time? See, and we refuse to be racist, right? We just want to simply tell America what their faith is about. America talks about democracy, but they’ve kept us from voting for years. And even when they give us the vote on paper, politically, they turn around and take away the important part of what we fought for and what they said they were giving, all right? The truth is that we have to work together to save ourselves politically, save ourselves spiritually and save ourselves physically. We’re not going to be able to do it until we listen to the faith without the hate. When a preacher has to stand at the door and keep people out because of the color of their skin, something’s wrong with their faith.
AMY GOODMAN: Did you stand in front of Sheriff Clark and get punched in the face?
REV. C. T. VIVIAN: Well, yes, but that’s not why I was standing there. REV. C. T. VIVIAN: We’re willing to be beaten for democracy, and you misuse democracy in the street!
REV. C. T. VIVIAN: The point being is I was standing in front of him because we don’t have to fear the opposition, and we are willing to die for the freedom they say they have, all right?
AMY GOODMAN: And when he attacked you, especially for young people to understand your thoughts at the time, what went through your mind?
REV. C. T. VIVIAN: Is that the problem was him. I wasn’t the problem. He was trying to get rid of us, so that he could act as though that the problem was us. The problem is never the person that’s being beat, all right? It’s the person that doesn’t have a reason to beat people and beats people, who hates people and have no reason for it, right? We’ve done nothing. What have we — what have we done to America that they should hate us so, right? We haven’t done it to America. America is — but you can state 30 or 40 things very quickly about what “American democracy,” quote-unquote, has done to us. And we were just trying to live for the faith. Died in every war — every war, all right? And yet anybody who came here 10 minutes later was accepted.
AMY GOODMAN: Civil rights legend C. T. Vivian. I interviewed him in 2015 in Selma, Alabama. Reverend Vivian died on Friday at the age of 95. His funeral is scheduled for Thursday at Providence Baptist Church in Atlanta. Out of respect for Reverend Vivian, the Lewis family says they’ll wait 'til after his services to announce their plans for Congressmember Lewis's memorial. To see the full interviews, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.


democracynow--2020-07-20--Rep. John Lewis on the Freedom Rides, Surviving KKK Attacks, 1963 March on Washington & Malcolm X

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , as we continue to remember civil rights icon , 17-term Democratic Congressmember John Lewis , who died Friday at the age of 80 of pancreatic cancer .
He appeared on Democracy Now !
in 2012 , talked about taking part in the Freedom Rides .
AMY GOODMAN : A few years after that , two years after you had your head slammed in and so many others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1963 March on Washington .
Dr. King spoke , and you also spoke .
I want to go to a clip of that moment .
JOHN LEWIS : To those who have said , “ Be patient and wait , ” we must say that we can not be patient .
We do not want our freedom gradually , but we want to be free now .
We are tired .
We are tired of being beaten by policemen .
We are tired of seeing our people locked up in jail over and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Be patient.
” How long can we be patient ?
We want our freedom , and we want it now .
We do not want to go to jail , but we will go to jail if this is the price we must pay for love , brotherhood and true peace .
I appeal to all of you to get in this great revolution that is sweeping this nation .
Get in and stay in the streets of every city , every village and hamlet of this nation , until true @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1776 is complete .
We must get in this revolution and complete the revolution , for in the Delta of Mississippi , in Southwest Georgia , in the Black Belt of Alabama , in Harlem , in Chicago , Detroit , Philadelphia and all over this nation , the Black masses are on the march for jobs and freedom .
They ’ re talking about slow down and stop .
We will not stop .
All of the forces of Eastland , Barnett , Wallace , and Thurmond will not stop this revolution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legislation out of this Congress , the time will come when we will not confine our march into Washington .
We will march through the South , through the streets of Jackson , through the streets of Danville , through the streets of Cambridge , through the streets of Birmingham .
But we will march with the spirit of love and with the spirit of dignity that we have shown here today .
By the forces of our demands , our determination and our numbers , we shall splinter the segregated South into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the image of God and democracy .
We must say , “ Wake up , America !
Wake up !
” for we can not stop , and we will not and can not be patient .
REP. JOHN LEWIS : I was asked to change the speech .
Some people thought the speech was too radical , too militant .
I thought it was a speech for the occasion .
It represented the people that we were working with .
Some people didn ’ t like the use of the word @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the phrase “ Black masses.
” A. Philip Randolph came to my rescue and said , “ There ’ s not anything wrong with the use of 'revolution . '
I use it myself sometimes .
There ’ s not anything with 'Black masses . '
” So we kept that part in the speech .
But near the end of the speech , I said something like , “ If we do not see meaningful progress here today , the day may come when we will be forced to march through the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” And people thought we couldn ’ t make a reference to Sherman , and so we deleted that .
AMY GOODMAN : Just before Malcolm X was assassinated , John Lewis met with him in Africa .
They spent several days together .
I asked John Lewis where they met , what they talked about .
REP. JOHN LEWIS : We met Malcolm in Nairobi , Kenya , at the New Stanley Hotel .
He happened to be staying there — we didn ’ t know he was staying there — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were on our way to Zambia for their independence celebration .
And we had an opportunity to talk and chat with him about what was going on in America .
And I think at that time Malcolm was seeking to find a way to identify with the Southern civil rights movement .
He wanted to be helpful , wanted to be supportive .
And as a matter of fact , he came to Selma .
He came to Selma , February the 14th , 1965 .
And we were in jail , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the local authority refused to let him come and meet with us .
He spoke at the Brown Chapel AME Church with Mrs. King to a group of high school students .
And seven days later , he was assassinated .
Dropped to the floor and cried and cried .
I just wanted to get out of L.A .
I got on a flight the next morning , flew to Atlanta , and I think I cried all the way from L.A. to Atlanta .
And I came back to New York for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I stood the night before as an honor guard with Reverend Ralph Abernathy .
Then I rode the funeral train .
The family asked me to ride with them from New York to Washington .
And someplace along the way , I felt that somehow , in some way , I had to try to pick up where Dr. King and Robert Kennedy left off .
These were my friends .
These were my heroes .
These were two young men that had inspired me .
And some of my friends started @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics , do more than just register people , that I should run for office .
And I made a decision years later to do it .
REP. JOHN LEWIS : I believe there is something in human history — I call it the spirit of history .
It ’ s like a spring , a stream , that continue to move .
And individuals and forces come along that become symbols of what is good , what is right and what is fair .
And that ’ s why I wrote this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that you , too , can allow yourself to be used by the spirit of history .
Just find a way to get in the way .
When I was growing up , my mother and father , my grandparents and great-grandparents were always telling me , “ Don ’ t get in trouble .
Don ’ t get in the way.
” But I was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks and others to get in the way , to get in trouble — good trouble , necessary trouble @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way to have the courage to get in trouble , to do our part .
Every generation must find a way to leave the planet , leave this little spaceship , Earth , this little piece of real estate , a little better than we found it — a little cleaner , a little greener and a little more peaceful .
I think that ’ s our calling .
We have a mission , a mandate and a moral obligation to do just that .
AMY GOODMAN : Congressmember John Lewis , speaking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He died Friday at the age of 80 .
To see the whole interview , go to democracynow.org .
When we come back , we remember another civil rights icon , C. T. Vivian , who also died Friday .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman, as we continue to remember civil rights icon, 17-term Democratic Congressmember John Lewis, who died Friday at the age of 80 of pancreatic cancer. He appeared on Democracy Now! in 2012, talked about taking part in the Freedom Rides.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: On May 9th, 1961, my seat mate, a young white gentleman, we arrived at the Greyhound bus station in Rock Hill, South Carolina. We got off the bus.
AMY GOODMAN: What were you doing there?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: We were testing the facilities — the lunch counters, the waiting room, the restroom facility. During those days, the stations were marked “white waiting,” “colored waiting,” “white men,” “colored men,” “white women,” “colored women.” And we were following a decision of the United States Supreme Court banning discrimination — or segregation in intrastate travel. And when we started to enter the so-called white waiting room, we were attacked by a group of young white men, beaten and left in a pool of blood. The local police officials came up and wanted to know whether we wanted to press charges. We said, “No, we believe in peace. We believe in love and nonviolence.”
Years later — to be exact, 48 years later — Mr. Wilson and his son came to my office in Washington and said, “Mr. Lewis, I’m one of the people that beat you. Will you forgive me? I apologize.” His son had been encouraging his father to do this. His son started crying. Mr. Wilson started crying. He hugged me. His son hugged me. I hugged them both back. Then all three of us stood there crying. That’s what the movement was about, to be reconciled.
AMY GOODMAN: When we hear about voting rights today, we don’t hear about these struggles that you and so many others that you led went through 50 years ago.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: That’s why it is so important for people to understand, to know that people suffered, struggled. Some people bled, and some died, for the right to participate. You know, the vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool that we have in a democratic society. It’s precious. It’s almost sacred. We have to use it. If not, we will lose it.
AMY GOODMAN: A few years after that, two years after you had your head slammed in and so many others were beaten in Montgomery, was the 1963 March on Washington. Dr. King spoke, and you also spoke. I want to go to a clip of that moment. JOHN LEWIS: To those who have said, “Be patient and wait,” we must say that we cannot be patient. We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now. We are tired. We are tired of being beaten by policemen. We are tired of seeing our people locked up in jail over and over again, and then you holler, “Be patient.” How long can we be patient? We want our freedom, and we want it now. We do not want to go to jail, but we will go to jail if this is the price we must pay for love, brotherhood and true peace. I appeal to all of you to get in this great revolution that is sweeping this nation. Get in and stay in the streets of every city, every village and hamlet of this nation, until true freedom comes, until the revolution of 1776 is complete. We must get in this revolution and complete the revolution, for in the Delta of Mississippi, in Southwest Georgia, in the Black Belt of Alabama, in Harlem, in Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and all over this nation, the Black masses are on the march for jobs and freedom. They’re talking about slow down and stop. We will not stop. All of the forces of Eastland, Barnett, Wallace, and Thurmond will not stop this revolution. If we do not get meaningful legislation out of this Congress, the time will come when we will not confine our march into Washington. We will march through the South, through the streets of Jackson, through the streets of Danville, through the streets of Cambridge, through the streets of Birmingham. But we will march with the spirit of love and with the spirit of dignity that we have shown here today. By the forces of our demands, our determination and our numbers, we shall splinter the segregated South into a thousand pieces, put them together in the image of God and democracy. We must say, “Wake up, America! Wake up!” for we cannot stop, and we will not and cannot be patient.
AMY GOODMAN: That remarkable speech that you gave on August 28th, 1963. You were the youngest speaker at the March on Washington. You spoke before Dr. King.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I spoke number six. Dr. King was the last speaker. He spoke number 10. That day, when A. Philip Randolph introduced me, and he said, “And I present to you, young John Lewis, national chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee,” I looked to my right, I saw many other young people sort of cheering me on; looked to my left, and I saw young people up in the trees trying to get a better view of the crowd; then I looked straight ahead, and I said to myself, “This is it. I must do my best.” And that’s what I tried to do.
When I was working on the speech, I was reading a copy of The New York Times, and I saw a group of Black women in southern Africa carrying signs saying, “One Man, One Vote.” So in my March on Washington speech, I said, “'One man, one vote' is the African cry; it is ours, too. It must be ours.” And that became the rallying cry for many other young people in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
AMY GOODMAN: And yet, you had to change that speech that you gave on that day.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I was asked to change the speech. Some people thought the speech was too radical, too militant. I thought it was a speech for the occasion. It represented the people that we were working with. Some people didn’t like the use of the word “revolution” or the use of the phrase “Black masses.” A. Philip Randolph came to my rescue and said, “There’s not anything wrong with the use of 'revolution.' I use it myself sometimes. There’s not anything with 'Black masses.'” So we kept that part in the speech. But near the end of the speech, I said something like, “If we do not see meaningful progress here today, the day may come when we will be forced to march through the South the way Sherman did — nonviolently.” And people thought we couldn’t make a reference to Sherman, and so we deleted that.
AMY GOODMAN: I’d like to play Danny Glover reading the excerpts of the speech that you didn’t give. DANNY GLOVER: “To those who have said, 'Be patient and wait,' we must say that 'patience' is a dirty and nasty word. We cannot be patient. We do not want to be free gradually. We want our freedom, and we want it now. We cannot depend on any political party, for both the Democrats and the Republicans have betrayed the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence. … “We won’t stop now. All of the forces of Eastland, Barnett, Wallace and Thurmond won’t stop the revolution. The time will come when we will not confine our marching to Washington. We will march through the South, through the Heart of Dixie, the way Sherman did. We shall pursue our own 'scorched earth' policy and burn Jim Crow to the ground!”
AMY GOODMAN: John Lewis, you also said a part that didn’t get included was: “In good conscience, we cannot support the administration’s civil rights bill, for it’s too little, too late. There’s not one thing in the bill that will protect our people from police brutality.”
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I thought, and I believe, that the proposed civil rights bill was not enough. President Kennedy took the position that if a person had a sixth grade education, that person should be considered literate and should able to register to vote. Those of us in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee took the position that the only qualification for being able to register to vote in America should be that of age and residency, nothing more or anything less. We wanted a much stronger bill.
But the whole idea of the march was not to support a particular piece of legislation. It was a march for jobs and freedom. It was a coalition of conscience to say to the Congress and say to the president of the United States, “You must act.” We didn’t think that the proposed bill was commensurate to all of the suffering, to the beatings, to the jailing, to the killing that had occurred in the South.
AMY GOODMAN: Just before Malcolm X was assassinated, John Lewis met with him in Africa. They spent several days together. I asked John Lewis where they met, what they talked about.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: We met Malcolm in Nairobi, Kenya, at the New Stanley Hotel. He happened to be staying there — we didn’t know he was staying there — and we were also staying there. We were on our way to Zambia for their independence celebration. And we had an opportunity to talk and chat with him about what was going on in America. And I think at that time Malcolm was seeking to find a way to identify with the Southern civil rights movement. He wanted to be helpful, wanted to be supportive. And as a matter of fact, he came to Selma. He came to Selma, February the 14th, 1965. And we were in jail, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the local authority refused to let him come and meet with us. He spoke at the Brown Chapel AME Church with Mrs. King to a group of high school students. And seven days later, he was assassinated.
AMY GOODMAN: On February 21st, 1965, he was gunned down.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I will never forget it, because February 21st is my birthday. And I was in a car on my way from southwest Georgia.
AMY GOODMAN: You were 25 years old.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: Twenty-five. And I was going from southwest Georgia through Atlanta back to Selma, when we heard that he had been shot. I came to New York, attended the service for him.
AMY GOODMAN: What is your assessment of the significance of Malcolm X?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I think Malcolm played a major role in helping to educate, inform and dramatize the need for mass movement. People read about him. Many of the young people, Black and white, read his story. Many did not agree necessarily with his techniques or his tactic. But if Malcolm had lived, I am convinced that he would have been part of the Southern nonviolent wing of the civil rights movement.
AMY GOODMAN: And his relationship with Dr. King? What did Dr. King think?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I remember Malcolm being in the hotel, before we even saw him in Kenya, the night of the March on Washington — the evening before the March on Washington. He was at the Hilton Hotel in Washington. Now, he didn’t like the way the march turned out, because he said it was like a picnic and that it was not strong enough.
AMY GOODMAN: And he wasn’t invited to speak.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: He was not invited to speak. We — I didn’t have anything to do with that decision.
AMY GOODMAN: After the Civil Rights and the Voting Rights Act were signed, Dr. King increasingly started speaking out against the Vietnam War — his inner circle saying, “Don’t give that speech at Riverside Church,” April 4th, 1967, a year to the day before he was assassinated in Memphis, the “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam” speech. “You’ve got the president of the United States behind you. You got him to sign the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act,” they said to Dr. King. “Don’t take him on in a war that is not ours.” Yet he defied them and said it is. Were you a part of that circle? What position did you take, John Lewis?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I supported the position of Martin Luther King Jr. As chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, during that time, we had already taken a position against the war in Vietnam. So many of the young people in SNCC, so many of the young people that we were working with all across the South were being drafted and going off to Vietnam, so we came out against the war in January 1966.
But I was there at Riverside Church on the night of April 4th, 1967, when he spoke. And I think that speech is one of the greatest speeches. A lot of people speak about the March on Washington. It was a wonderful speech. But the speech against the war in Vietnam, Dr. King — he said, “I’m not going to segregate my conscience. If I’m against violence at home, I’m against violence abroad.” And he went on to say that America was the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. He was — he was a preacher. He was a prophet.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you agree with him?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I agree with him.
AMY GOODMAN: That the U.S. is the greatest purveyor of violence.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: We have more — we spend hundreds and thousand, millions and billions of dollars on weaponry. We’re supplying the world. We sell arms to everybody. Dr. King was saying that we have to put an end to this madness. He was influenced by Gandhi, and Gandhi said it’s nonviolence or nonexistence. Dr. King went on to say, “We must learn to live together as brothers and sisters, or we will perish as fools.” He was saying, in effect, that we have enough bombs and missiles and guns to destroy the planet. He said it then, and it’s still true today.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, today, the War in Afghanistan, the drone war that President Obama is conducting in Pakistan, in Yemen, in other places, with the “kill list,” that the Times called it, that he personally keeps and names the people he puts on the list — your thoughts?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: Well, I think it’s time for us to end, end the efforts in Afghanistan. We cannot justify the killing of people that we don’t see. We don’t know anything about them, or very little. War is not the answer. War is obsolete. It cannot be used as a tool of our foreign policy. It’s barbaric. Someplace, somehow, people must come to that point and say, “I ain’t gonna stay the war no more.”
AMY GOODMAN: Have you talked to President Obama about this?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I have not had an opportunity. But I’ve spoken out on the floor of the House against the War in Afghanistan, as I did against the War in Iraq.
AMY GOODMAN: You voted in — three days after September 11, 2001, to give President Bush the authority to retaliate in a vote that was 420 to 1. You have described it was one of your toughest votes. Talk about how you decided to do that.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I was very disturbed about what happened on 9/11. And when I look back on it, if I had to do it all over again, I would have voted with Barbara Lee. It was raw courage on her part. So, because of that, I don’t vote for funding for war. I vote against preparation for the military. I will never again go down that road.
AMY GOODMAN: And what do you say to those who say, “Then you’re not supporting the military. You’re not supporting the soldiers, the troops”?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I support the soldiers. When I see young men in uniform, I say, “Thank you for your service.” And I tell them, “I want all of you to come home.” I tell them to their faces. I see them in the airports. I see them in Washington. I say, “It’s time for you to come home.”
AMY GOODMAN: How did you decide to go from activist, real street-fighting activist — you, yourself, weren’t physically fighting, but you were being fought by the police every step of the way — to a congressmember? Talk about the moment you made that decision and the year you did. How old were you?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I made the decision after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. I was with Robert Kennedy in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the evening of April 4, 1968, when I heard that Dr. King had been shot. I didn’t know his condition until Robert Kennedy spoke at a rally that I was having to organize and said that Dr. King had been assassinated.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to go to that clip. ROBERT F. KENNEDY: I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens and people who love peace all over the world. And that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Robert Kennedy in Indianapolis, breaking the news to so many. John Lewis, you were there.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I cried, with so many other people. And I said to myself, “We still have Bobby.” I went back to Atlanta, attended the funeral with Robert Kennedy and hundreds and thousands of others. After the funeral was over, I got back in the Kennedy campaign, went to Oregon and later to California. I campaigned for Bobby Kennedy with César Chávez. It was a wonderful effort. We went all over Los Angeles, going into wealthy neighborhoods, knocking on doors, urging people to vote for Bobby.
And that evening the primary was over, Bobby Kennedy came up to me and said, “John, I’m going downstairs to make my victory statement. Why don’t you remain?” I was in his suite with his sister, several other individuals, the brother of Medgar Evers. And we listened to Bobby, and he said, “On to Chicago.” And moments, minutes later, it was announced that he had been shot.
Dropped to the floor and cried and cried. I just wanted to get out of L.A. I got on a flight the next morning, flew to Atlanta, and I think I cried all the way from L.A. to Atlanta. And I came back to New York for the funeral. And before the funeral, I stood the night before as an honor guard with Reverend Ralph Abernathy. Then I rode the funeral train. The family asked me to ride with them from New York to Washington. And someplace along the way, I felt that somehow, in some way, I had to try to pick up where Dr. King and Robert Kennedy left off. These were my friends. These were my heroes. These were two young men that had inspired me. And some of my friends started encouraging me to get involved in electoral politics, do more than just register people, that I should run for office. And I made a decision years later to do it.
AMY GOODMAN: Finally, at the end of Across That Bridge, your new book, you write, “Just as Gandhi made it easier for King and King made it easier for Poland and Poland [made it easier] for Ireland [and] Ireland [made it easier] for Serbia [and] Serbia made it easier for the Arab Spring, [and] the Arab Spring made it easier for [the protests in] Wisconsin [and] Occupy…” Talk about these connections.
REP. JOHN LEWIS: I believe there is something in human history — I call it the spirit of history. It’s like a spring, a stream, that continue to move. And individuals and forces come along that become symbols of what is good, what is right and what is fair. And that’s why I wrote this little book, to say to people that you, too, can allow yourself to be used by the spirit of history. Just find a way to get in the way. When I was growing up, my mother and father, my grandparents and great-grandparents were always telling me, “Don’t get in trouble. Don’t get in the way.” But I was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks and others to get in the way, to get in trouble — good trouble, necessary trouble. And we all must find a way to have the courage to get in trouble, to do our part. Every generation must find a way to leave the planet, leave this little spaceship, Earth, this little piece of real estate, a little better than we found it — a little cleaner, a little greener and a little more peaceful. I think that’s our calling. We have a mission, a mandate and a moral obligation to do just that.
AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember John Lewis, speaking on Democracy Now! in 2012. He died Friday at the age of 80. To see the whole interview, go to democracynow.org.
When we come back, we remember another civil rights icon, C. T. Vivian, who also died Friday.


democracynow--2020-07-20--"I Felt Like I Was Going to Die": Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Recalls 1965 "Bloody Sunday" in Selma

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : The nation is mourning the loss of civil rights icon , 17-term Democratic Congressmember John Lewis , whose legacy of freedom fighting and justice seeking stretched from the Jim Crow era to the Black Lives Matter movement .
Lewis died Friday at the age of 80 .
He was diagnosed in December with pancreatic cancer .
John Lewis was born in Alabama to sharecroppers .
He went on to become the youngest of the so-called Big Six who addressed the 1963 March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1986 to be the congressional representative for his home state of Georgia , a post he never left .
During the civil rights movement , Lewis marched side by side with Dr. Martin Luther King , helped found and served as chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee , and helped organize the Freedom Rides .
He was arrested more than 40 times protesting segregation .
As a mentor to those who followed in his footsteps , Lewis was known for encouraging them to , quote , “ get in good trouble , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month , Lewis said the video of George Floyd ’ s death at the hands of Minneapolis police was , quote , “ so painful , it made me cry , ” he said , and that he was inspired by how it had sparked a new movement to end racial injustice .
Congressmember Lewis made his final public appearance in June at the street near the White House that ’ s now named Black Lives Matter Plaza , where the words “ Black Lives Matter ” are painted in 35-foot yellow letters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he hugged Lewis at his inauguration in 2009 and , quote , “ told him I was only there because of the sacrifices he made.
” Meanwhile , President Trump waited more than 14 hours to tweet , after he had tweeted some 40 times , that he was , quote , “ Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing , ” and “ Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family.
” Flags have been lowered to half-staff at the Capitol and the White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ordered the flags lowered to half-staff indefinitely .
Well , today we bring you an extended excerpt of my interview in 2012 with Congressmember John Lewis .
He walked into our studio alone here in New York City , after the release of his book , Across That Bridge : Life Lessons and a Vision for Change .
I began asking Congressmember John Lewis about the Selma to Montgomery march he helped lead in 1965 as a 25-year-old man , when he was almost beaten to death by police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bloody Sunday.
” In Selma , Alabama , in 1965 , only 2.1 % of Blacks of voting age were registered to vote .
The only place you could attempt to register was to go down to the courthouse .
You had to pass a so-called literacy test .
And they would tell people over and over again that they didn ’ t or couldn ’ t pass the literacy test .
On one occasion , a man was asked to count the number of bubbles on a bar of soap .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to count the number of jellybeans in a jar .
There were African American lawyers , doctors , teachers , housewives , college professors flunking this so-called literacy test .
And we had to change that , so we sought to march .
And we got to the top of the bridge .
We saw a sea of blue — Alabama state troopers — and we continued to walk .
We came within hearing distance of the state troopers .
And a man identified himself and said , “ I ’ m Major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This is an unlawful march .
It will not be allowed to continue .
I give you three minutes to disperse and return to your church.
” And one of the young people walking with me , leading the march , a man by the name of Hosea Williams , who was on the staff of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , said , “ Major , give us a moment to kneel and pray.
” And the major said , “ Troopers , advance !
” And you saw these guys @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came toward us , beating us with nightsticks and bullwhips , trampling us with horses .
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 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 whose only desire is to register to vote.
” The next thing I knew , I had been admitted to the local hospital in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , my mother , my father , my grandparents , my uncles and aunts , and people all around me had never registered to vote .
I had been working all across the South .
The state of Mississippi had a Black voting age population of more than 450,000 , and only about 16,000 were registered to vote .
On that day , we didn ’ t have a choice .
I think we had been tracked down by what I call the spirit of history , and we couldn ’ t — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We had to go forward .
We became like trees planted by the rivers of water .
We were anchored .
And I thought we would die .
I first thought we would be arrested and go to jail , but I thought it was a real possibility that some of us would die on that bridge that day , after the confrontation occurred .
I thought it was the last protest for me .
But somehow and someway , you have to keep going .
You go to a hospital , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you get mended , and you get up and try it again .
REP. JOHN LEWIS : Well , we continued to organize , continued to try to get people registered .
We went to federal court , testified , to get an injunction against Governor George Wallace and the Alabama state troopers .
And the federal court said that we had a right to march from Selma to Montgomery .
President Johnson spoke to the nation and condemned the violence in Selma , introduced the Voting Rights Act .
And that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most meaningful speeches that any American president had made in modern times on the whole question of civil rights and voting rights .
He condemned the violence over and over again , and near the end of the speech he said , “ And we shall overcome .
We shall overcome.
” We call it the “ We Shall Overcome ” speech .
I was sitting next to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as we listened to President Johnson .
I looked at Dr. King .
Tears came down his face .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a little when we heard the president saying , “ We shall overcome.
” And Dr. King said , “ We will make it from Selma to Montgomery , and the Voting Rights Act will be passed.
” Two weeks later , more than 10,000 of us , people from all over America , started walking from Selma to Montgomery .
And by the time we made it to Montgomery five days later , there were almost 30,000 Black and white citizens — Protestant , Catholic , Jewish , men , women , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holy march .
And the Congress debated the act , passed it , and on August 6 , 1965 , President Lyndon Johnson signed it into law .
AMY GOODMAN : We ’ ll be back with my interview with 17-term Congressmember John Lewis in 30 seconds .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: The nation is mourning the loss of civil rights icon, 17-term Democratic Congressmember John Lewis, whose legacy of freedom fighting and justice seeking stretched from the Jim Crow era to the Black Lives Matter movement. Lewis died Friday at the age of 80. He was diagnosed in December with pancreatic cancer.
John Lewis was born in Alabama to sharecroppers. He went on to become the youngest of the so-called Big Six who addressed the 1963 March on Washington, was ultimately elected in 1986 to be the congressional representative for his home state of Georgia, a post he never left. During the civil rights movement, Lewis marched side by side with Dr. Martin Luther King, helped found and served as chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and helped organize the Freedom Rides. He was arrested more than 40 times protesting segregation.
As a mentor to those who followed in his footsteps, Lewis was known for encouraging them to, quote, “get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” In an interview last month, Lewis said the video of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police was, quote, “so painful, it made me cry,” he said, and that he was inspired by how it had sparked a new movement to end racial injustice. Congressmember Lewis made his final public appearance in June at the street near the White House that’s now named Black Lives Matter Plaza, where the words “Black Lives Matter” are painted in 35-foot yellow letters.
Former President Barack Obama said Saturday he hugged Lewis at his inauguration in 2009 and, quote, “told him I was only there because of the sacrifices he made.”
Meanwhile, President Trump waited more than 14 hours to tweet, after he had tweeted some 40 times, that he was, quote, “Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing,” and “Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family.”
Flags have been lowered to half-staff at the Capitol and the White House, and in Atlanta, where Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ordered the flags lowered to half-staff indefinitely.
Well, today we bring you an extended excerpt of my interview in 2012 with Congressmember John Lewis. He walked into our studio alone here in New York City, after the release of his book, Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change. I began asking Congressmember John Lewis about the Selma to Montgomery march he helped lead in 1965 as a 25-year-old man, when he was almost beaten to death by police in what came to be called “Bloody Sunday.”
REP. JOHN LEWIS: On March 7, 1965, a group of us attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to dramatize to the nation that people wanted to register to vote. One young African American man had been shot and killed a few days earlier, in an adjoining county called Perry County — this is in the Black Belt of Alabama — the home county of Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr., the home county of Mrs. Ralph Abernathy, the home county of Mrs. Andrew Young. And because of what happened to him, we made a decision to march.
In Selma, Alabama, in 1965, only 2.1% of Blacks of voting age were registered to vote. The only place you could attempt to register was to go down to the courthouse. You had to pass a so-called literacy test. And they would tell people over and over again that they didn’t or couldn’t pass the literacy test. On one occasion, a man was asked to count the number of bubbles on a bar of soap. On another occasion, a man was asked to count the number of jellybeans in a jar. There were African American lawyers, doctors, teachers, housewives, college professors flunking this so-called literacy test. And we had to change that, so we sought to march.
And we got to the top of the bridge. We saw a sea of blue — Alabama state troopers — and we continued to walk. We came within hearing distance of the state troopers. And a man identified himself and said, “I’m Major John Cloud of the Alabama state troopers. This is an unlawful march. It will not be allowed to continue. I give you three minutes to disperse and return to your church.” And one of the young people walking with me, leading the march, a man by the name of Hosea Williams, who was on the staff of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said, “Major, give us a moment to kneel and pray.” And the major said, “Troopers, advance!” And you saw these guys putting on their gas masks. They came toward us, beating us with nightsticks and bullwhips, trampling us with horses.
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: Explain that moment where you decided to move forward, because I don’t think the history we learn records those small acts that are actually gargantuan acts of bravery. Talk about — I mean, you saw the weapons the police arrayed against you. What propelled you forward, Congressmember Lewis?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: Well, my mother, my father, my grandparents, my uncles and aunts, and people all around me had never registered to vote. I had been working all across the South. The state of Mississippi had a Black voting age population of more than 450,000, and only about 16,000 were registered to vote. On that day, we didn’t have a choice. I think we had been tracked down by what I call the spirit of history, and we couldn’t — we couldn’t turn back. We had to go forward. We became like trees planted by the rivers of water. We were anchored. And I thought we would die. I first thought we would be arrested and go to jail, but I thought it was a real possibility that some of us would die on that bridge that day, after the confrontation occurred. I thought it was the last protest for me. But somehow and someway, you have to keep going. You go to a hospital, you go to a doctor’s office, you get mended, and you get up and try it again.
AMY GOODMAN: So what was the next act you engaged in?
REP. JOHN LEWIS: Well, we continued to organize, continued to try to get people registered. We went to federal court, testified, to get an injunction against Governor George Wallace and the Alabama state troopers. And the federal court said that we had a right to march from Selma to Montgomery. President Johnson spoke to the nation and condemned the violence in Selma, introduced the Voting Rights Act. And that night, he made one of the most meaningful speeches that any American president had made in modern times on the whole question of civil rights and voting rights. He condemned the violence over and over again, and near the end of the speech he said, “And we shall overcome. We shall overcome.” We call it the “We Shall Overcome” speech.
I was sitting next to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as we listened to President Johnson. I looked at Dr. King. Tears came down his face. He started crying. And we all cried a little when we heard the president saying, “We shall overcome.” And Dr. King said, “We will make it from Selma to Montgomery, and the Voting Rights Act will be passed.” Two weeks later, more than 10,000 of us, people from all over America, started walking from Selma to Montgomery. And by the time we made it to Montgomery five days later, there were almost 30,000 Black and white citizens — Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, men, women, young people. It was like a holy march. And the Congress debated the act, passed it, and on August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed it into law.
AMY GOODMAN: We’ll be back with my interview with 17-term Congressmember John Lewis in 30 seconds.


democracynow--2020-07-20--Headlines for July 20, 2020

Headlines for July 20, 2020

A record number of confirmed coronavirus cases were recorded around the world Saturday , with over one-quarter of a million new cases reported — a first , according to the World Health Organization .
The largest increases were noted in the U.S. , Brazil , India and South Africa .
Total confirmed cases now top 14.5 million , with over 600,000 deaths .
Here in the U.S. , which has by far the most coronavirus infections and deaths , cases are on the rise in at least 40 states .
The situation remains especially dire in the South and West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Oregon and South Carolina all set single-day records for new cases on Sunday .
Florida , one of the worst-hit states , again reported over 12,000 new cases Sunday .
In California , Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city reopened too quickly and that new shelter-at-home orders are likely .
In Georgia , Republican Governor Brian Kemp is seeking an emergency injunction to “ restrain ” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms from speaking to the press .
Kemp sued Mayor Bottoms last week in an effort to overturn her local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ herself .
Governor Kemp ’ s refusal to mandate mask-wearing defies a scientific consensus on the effectiveness of face coverings .
Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has urged state and local leaders to be as forceful as possible in getting their constituents to wear masks .

A record number of confirmed coronavirus cases were recorded around the world Saturday, with over one-quarter of a million new cases reported — a first, according to the World Health Organization. The largest increases were noted in the U.S., Brazil, India and South Africa. Total confirmed cases now top 14.5 million, with over 600,000 deaths.
Here in the U.S., which has by far the most coronavirus infections and deaths, cases are on the rise in at least 40 states. The situation remains especially dire in the South and West of the country. Kentucky, Louisiana, Oregon and South Carolina all set single-day records for new cases on Sunday. Florida, one of the worst-hit states, again reported over 12,000 new cases Sunday. In California, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city reopened too quickly and that new shelter-at-home orders are likely.
In Georgia, Republican Governor Brian Kemp is seeking an emergency injunction to “restrain” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms from speaking to the press. Kemp sued Mayor Bottoms last week in an effort to overturn her local mask ordinance. Bottoms has contracted COVID-19 herself. Governor Kemp’s refusal to mandate mask-wearing defies a scientific consensus on the effectiveness of face coverings. Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has urged state and local leaders to be as forceful as possible in getting their constituents to wear masks.


democracynow--2020-07-21--"I Love My Students. I Also Want to Live": Teachers Demand Safety as Trump Pushes Schools to Reopen

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : So , let ’ s turn to the issue of education .
I want to ask you about President Trump ’ s push to reopen U.S. schools even as COVID rates skyrocket in so many states .
Major school districts , like Los Angeles and Atlanta , plan to start their semesters with online classes .
I wanted to read from a teacher ’ s op-ed in The New York Times .
Her name is Rebecca Martinson ; the headline , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Classroom , and You Shouldn ’ t Ask Me To.
” She ’ s writing from Washington state .
And she says , “ Every day when I walk into work as a public-school teacher , I am prepared to take a bullet to save a child .
In the age of school shootings , that ’ s what the job requires .
But asking me to return to the classroom amid a pandemic and expose myself and my family to Covid-19 is like asking me to take that bullet home to my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re a high school teacher also in Washington , editor of Rethinking Schools .
Can you talk about what you ’ re demanding now in Washington state ?
JESSE HAGOPIAN : Absolutely .
You know , I love my students .
And I know that the best place for them to learn is in classrooms , where they can collaborate and collectively solve problems .
And it has been heartbreaking to see that experience ripped from so many students here in Seattle and across the country as we move to online learning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that online learning is sufficient or adequate .
But I also want to live .
And I also want my students to live .
And that ’ s why I ’ m joining with thousands of teachers across the country and parents and unions and communities to say it ’ s just not safe to reopen the schools under these conditions .
We don ’ t have proper ventilation .
We don ’ t have a nurse in every school in the world ’ s richest country .
Or even in the shadow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Starbucks here in Seattle , we don ’ t have a nurse in every school .
We don ’ t have proper COVID testing .
And I think that it ’ s time to redefine what public safety means .
Is public safety police brutalizing Black and Brown communities , or is public safety making sure the 150 homeless kids that attend my high school have a place to sleep at night ?
Right ?
Is public safety about police in every school building , or is public safety making sure there ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trauma counseling and restorative justice in every school ?
Right ?
And is public safety federal troops in our cities , or is it COVID testing for all of our youth and educators ?
And I resoundingly want to side with the folks that say we need to make sure that the money is flowing towards these social programs , instead of to the police and , really , to bailing out the richest folks in this country .
I mean , this government could find $ 1.5 trillion to bail out the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t have the money for personal protective equipment for teachers and students ?
It ’ s outrageous .
AMY GOODMAN : It ’ s outstanding right now to watch this debate in Congress .
President Trump is taking on his own Republican Party and Republican leaders in saying he will not fund testing .
Jitu Brown , your organization Journey for Justice Alliance published an open letter to President Trump outlining 14 demands that you say must be met before schools are reopened .
You say there should be zero new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , school HVAC units must be fully functional , teacher-student ratio must be one in 10 .
Talk about your demands .
JITU BROWN : So , Amy — and amen to my brother Jesse ’ s comments .
I think it is , you know , really just mind-boggling , what ’ s happening right now .
But I want to say that the Journey for Justice Alliance , with our 36 member affiliates in 36 cities across the country , we polled our members , and then we polled allies , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What would a safe and equitable return to school look like for you ?
” And so , that ’ s how we came with those demands .
We ’ re very clear that in a system that has never even reached the mandate of Brown v. Board , that has never even reached equality , let alone equity , that has never — to make it plain , that has never shown Black and Brown children and Indigenous children love , we would be crazy to just send our children back into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our young people .
Brothers like Jesse have had to work despite the system , not in concert with the system , not with the support of the system .
They ’ ve had to create their own organizations , where they can come together and say , “ What does culturally relevant curriculum look like ?
How do we get more Black teachers in the school system ?
” So , we have to make sure that we do — we organize to make sure that schools open the way that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a point .
All around the country , janitorial services have been privatized , companies like Aramark .
In Chicago and in New Jersey , in other places , schools are filthy .
There was a story in Chicago around Mollison Elementary School , which was rat-infested .
And several other schools came forward and said , “ We are , too.
” So , just like they privatized schools and made an inequitable system worse , they privatized janitorial services and made what was once a union job worse .
So , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pressure they ’ re going to sanitize schools on a daily basis , sanitize school buses ?
AMY GOODMAN : Jitu , we just have 10 seconds .
AMY GOODMAN : Betsy DeVos and President Trump ’ s threat to defund schools that won ’ t reopen ?
JITU BROWN : Well , I think they ’ re doing what , you know , is within their value system .
They ’ re doing — I think Donald Trump is all about reelection .
They don ’ t want to leave office .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ important to note that what Betsy DeVos is doing is what she ’ s been trained to do .
What would we expect differently from her ?
So , the important piece , I think , Amy , is that we ’ re saying— JITU BROWN : We ’ re saying our communities must organize to make sure that these demands are met .
And so , on August 3rd , there will be a national day of action , a national day of resistance .
AMY GOODMAN : We ’ ll have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Jesse Hagopian .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
Thanks for joining us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: So, let’s turn to the issue of education. I want to ask you about President Trump’s push to reopen U.S. schools even as COVID rates skyrocket in so many states. Major school districts, like Los Angeles and Atlanta, plan to start their semesters with online classes.
I wanted to read from a teacher’s op-ed in The New York Times. Her name is Rebecca Martinson; the headline, “I Won’t Return of the Classroom, and You Shouldn’t Ask Me To.” She’s writing from Washington state. And she says, “Every day when I walk into work as a public-school teacher, I am prepared to take a bullet to save a child. In the age of school shootings, that’s what the job requires. But asking me to return to the classroom amid a pandemic and expose myself and my family to Covid-19 is like asking me to take that bullet home to my own family.”
Jesse Hagopian, you’re a high school teacher also in Washington, editor of Rethinking Schools. Can you talk about what you’re demanding now in Washington state?
JESSE HAGOPIAN: Absolutely. You know, I love my students. And I know that the best place for them to learn is in classrooms, where they can collaborate and collectively solve problems. And it has been heartbreaking to see that experience ripped from so many students here in Seattle and across the country as we move to online learning. And I don’t think that online learning is sufficient or adequate.
But I also want to live. And I also want my students to live. And that’s why I’m joining with thousands of teachers across the country and parents and unions and communities to say it’s just not safe to reopen the schools under these conditions. We don’t have proper ventilation. We don’t have a nurse in every school in the world’s richest country. Or even in the shadow of Amazon and Microsoft and Boeing and Starbucks here in Seattle, we don’t have a nurse in every school. We don’t have proper COVID testing.
And I think that it’s time to redefine what public safety means. Is public safety police brutalizing Black and Brown communities, or is public safety making sure the 150 homeless kids that attend my high school have a place to sleep at night? Right? Is public safety about police in every school building, or is public safety making sure there’s a counselor and a nurse and trauma counseling and restorative justice in every school? Right? And is public safety federal troops in our cities, or is it COVID testing for all of our youth and educators?
And I resoundingly want to side with the folks that say we need to make sure that the money is flowing towards these social programs, instead of to the police and, really, to bailing out the richest folks in this country. I mean, this government could find $1.5 trillion to bail out the financial sector and corporations, but we don’t have the money for personal protective equipment for teachers and students? It’s outrageous.
AMY GOODMAN: It’s outstanding right now to watch this debate in Congress. President Trump is taking on his own Republican Party and Republican leaders in saying he will not fund testing. Jitu Brown, your organization Journey for Justice Alliance published an open letter to President Trump outlining 14 demands that you say must be met before schools are reopened. You say there should be zero new positive COVID cases for 14 consecutive days, school HVAC units must be fully functional, teacher-student ratio must be one in 10. Talk about your demands.
JITU BROWN: So, Amy — and amen to my brother Jesse’s comments. I think it is, you know, really just mind-boggling, what’s happening right now.
But I want to say that the Journey for Justice Alliance, with our 36 member affiliates in 36 cities across the country, we polled our members, and then we polled allies, to say, you know, “What would a safe and equitable return to school look like for you?” And so, that’s how we came with those demands.
We’re very clear that in a system that has never even reached the mandate of Brown v. Board, that has never even reached equality, let alone equity, that has never — to make it plain, that has never shown Black and Brown children and Indigenous children love, we would be crazy to just send our children back into a system that has been carnivorous towards our young people. Brothers like Jesse have had to work despite the system, not in concert with the system, not with the support of the system. They’ve had to create their own organizations, where they can come together and say, “What does culturally relevant curriculum look like? How do we get more Black teachers in the school system?” So, we have to make sure that we do — we organize to make sure that schools open the way that we are satisfied with.
Here’s a point. All around the country, janitorial services have been privatized, companies like Aramark. In Chicago and in New Jersey, in other places, schools are filthy. There was a story in Chicago around Mollison Elementary School, which was rat-infested. And several other schools came forward and said, “We are, too.” So, just like they privatized schools and made an inequitable system worse, they privatized janitorial services and made what was once a union job worse. So, do we actually believe that without public pressure they’re going to sanitize schools on a daily basis, sanitize school buses?
AMY GOODMAN: Jitu, we just have 10 seconds.
JITU BROWN: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: Betsy DeVos and President Trump’s threat to defund schools that won’t reopen?
JITU BROWN: Well, I think they’re doing what, you know, is within their value system. They’re doing — I think Donald Trump is all about reelection. They don’t want to leave office. And I think it’s really important to note that what Betsy DeVos is doing is what she’s been trained to do. What would we expect differently from her? So, the important piece, I think, Amy, is that we’re saying—
AMY GOODMAN: Five seconds.
JITU BROWN: We’re saying our communities must organize to make sure that these demands are met. And so, on August 3rd, there will be a national day of action, a national day of resistance.
AMY GOODMAN: We’ll have to leave it there, Jitu Brown, Jesse Hagopian. I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks for joining us.