Margaret Kimberly, via Black Agenda Radio on WBAI
In this week’s segment we hear about Galveston county Texas, where the events commemorated in the Junetenth celebration began, and a lawsuit by Black and Latino residents who have been deprived of representation by the redrawng of an electoral district map. Also, New York state fails to adequate enforce its own rules to provide oversight of jails and prisons, such as the notorious Rikers Island facility. And I have a few thoughts about Juneteenth. But first we learn about how media instigated the Tulsa massacre of 1921, an atrocity from which survivors have still been denied reparations and restitution.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit arguing the remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre should be compensated by that city, a blow to their ongoing fight for reparations more than 100 years after the attack. We are joined by Joe Torres, Senior Advisor, Reparative Policy and Programs at Free Press and also a co-founder of the Media 2070 project. He will discuss the media’s role in the Tulsa massacre. He joins us Silver Spring, Maryland.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law recently published “Black and Latino Voting Power Under Threat in Redistricting Case” It explains the lawsuit against Galveston County, Texas, brought by Black and Latino residents over its racially discriminatory district map. The county argues that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits Black and Latino voters from filing a joint challenge against discriminatory maps, an assertion the Brennan Center disputes. Ironically, Galveston county is where the events which are commemorated in the recent Juneteenth celebration began. We will discuss this case with Yurij Rudensky, Senior Counsel in the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program.
The New York State Assembly wrapped up the 2024 legislative session without final passage of bipartisan legislation to expand and strengthen the State Commission of Correction. The measure would increase jail oversight and address the ongoing crises at local jails across the state, including the notorious and deadly Rikers Island Jail Complex. Melanie Dominguez is lead community organizer with the Katal Center. She joins us from New York City to explain why this legislation is needed
