CAGING IN COVID Part 2– February 15, 2021

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Listen to the full show here:

Part 1 of this series aired on December 14, 2020, focusing on the deadly impact of COVID-19 on people incarcerated in U.S. jails, prisons and immigrant detention centers, the trauma to their families and communities, and the fight for their freedom.  

Now in Part 2, we probe deeper into the historical and systemic context for the savagely inhumane treatment of people incarcerated and punished for resisting oppression and fighting for their freedom. 

Segment 1: Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War 

The US government criminalizes resistance while denying the existence of hundreds of political prisoners and prisoners of war.  Many have languished for decades in some of the most unhealthy, repressive, and torturous conditions anywhere in the world.  Pacifica’s Ken Yale speaks with déqui kioni-sadiki, an activist with the Jericho Movement, which supports US-held political prisoners and prisoners of war. She is also a teacher, an author, and a radio host at WBAI in New York, and is married to Sekou Odinga, who was imprisoned for over 33 years for being a fighter for the Black Liberation Movement.   

Learn more, get active:
  • Full 40-minute version of this interview:
  • Russell “Maroon” Shoatz webinars on the urgent campaign to immediately release this 77-year old freedom fighter, incarcerated for 50 years, who is battling Stage 4 cancer and COVID-19:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT75IGUFugs&feature=emb_logo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf39AJxVJ8M&t=1901s

Segment 2: Gender Non-Conforming Detainees

Immigration detention prisons are super spreader sites. A recent report from Detention Watch says these facilities are directly related to over 230,000 COVID infections in the US. Immigrants caged in detention have long reported human rights and medical abuses.  This now includes ICE’s failure to protect detainees from the pandemic by providing even the basics, like soap, masks, and the conditions for social distancing.  Nana Gyamfi interviews Zsa Zsa, a Black trans woman recently released after nearly a decade in immigrant detention.  

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Segment 3:  Abolitionists at Rikers Island Jail 

Since the pandemic began, abolitionists have intensified their urgent demands to release people held in jails, prisons, and immigrant detention facilities. One of the most successful efforts has been the work of COVID Bailout NYC.  This collective of Black organizers, allies, and Movement attorneys is bailing out and supporting people released from the infamous Rikers Island jail in NY.  Nana Gyamfi speaks with Brittany Williams, a Black community organizer and dancer, who leads support services for BAJI, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.

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Segment 4: Endangering & Censoring San Francisco Bay View editor Keith “Malik” Washington 

Keith “Malik” Washington is the new editor of the San Francisco Bay View.  This iconic Black newspaper is a communications hub for prison activism and a leading national voice for Black liberation.  On Jan. 9, 2021, he contacted a reporter about a COVID-19 outbreak at The Taylor Street Center, a transitional prison facility where he is currently housed in San Francisco. The facility is operated by the Geo Group, a for-profit prison corporation, on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Censorship and retaliation against Malik Washington began the next day.  Polina Vasiliev curated these excerpts from a 2/2/21 press conference.

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Music Credits:

  • Angelique Kidjo: “Born Under Punches” 
  • Dead Prez: “Police State”
  • Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: “ Tear It Down”
  • Nina Simone: “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”
  • 2Pac: “Trapped”

Production:

This program was co-produced by Nana Gyamfi, Polina Vasiliev, and Ken Yale, with contributions from Steve Zeltzer. The executive producers of “Covid, Race and Democracy” are Akua Holt, Polina Vasiliev, and Steve Zeltzer.

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