This week on COVID, Race, & Democracy:
Attorney Michele Goodwin is the author of “Policing the Womb, Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood,” a work that expands the reproductive health and rights debate beyond abortion to include how legislators increasingly turn to criminalizing women for miscarriages, stillbirths, and threatening the health of their pregnancies. We share her conversation with acclaimed filmmaker and activist Michael Moore.
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Pascal Robert, cohost of the This is Revolution podcast, spoke to Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberly about the recent news that the Supreme Court plans to overturn the Roe v Wade decision which legalized abortion.
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Eritrea’s national health system has been remarkably successful at eradicating communicable diseases, including HIV. It was the first African nation to meet all the UN’s Millennium Development Goals regarding health. Much of its success at eradicating communicable disease has been due to vaccination, especially childhood vaccination, but it has thus far chosen not to institute mass vaccination for COVID-19. COVID, Race, and Democracy’s Ann Garrison has a report from on the ground in Asmara, Eritrea.
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The growing economic collapse in South Africa has escalated with the war in Ukraine and the rising price of basic food supplies. The privatization of the public sector has also been a disaster for the workers and the economy, according to Memetlwe Sebei, president of the General Industrial Workers of South Africa.
He was interviewed prior to May Day by Pacicfica’s Steve Zeltzer about the economy and also the plight of 5,000 striking Clover Dairy workers. They work for the largest dairy company in South Africa and their company was taken over by the billionaire Israeli Wertheim family which has the license of Coca-Cola in Israel and also has dairies on Palestinian lands. They have closed plants and want to import dairy products from Israel to South Africa.
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Workers around the world celebrated Workers Day on May 1. Esther Iverem, host of On the Ground, was in Cuba for this celebration.
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Striking bus drivers in Washington DC fight public transport privatization schemes while struggling to achieve parity with fellow union members who drive directly for DC Metrobus of the Washington Metro Area Transport Authority. Thomas O’Rourke, our CRD producer in Washington, visited the picket line of the DC Circulator drivers, members of Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 689 striking against management company, RATP Dev USA.
We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by the executive producers of CRD, Akua Holt, Polina Vasiliev, and Steve Zeltzer and hosted by Akua Holt.
Music
Sweet Honey in the Rock, “Women Should be a Priority” from the album, “In this Land”
Hugh Masekela, “Stimela” (The Coal Train)
The Temptations, “Ball of Confusion”
