10/10/14 10/10/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> broadcasting from detroit public television and michigan this is democracy now. up.let us stick let us stick up our books. they are our most powerful weapons. teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.

is the only solution. education first. thank you. >> malala yousafzai becomes the youngest person ever to win a nobel peace prize. she's 17 years old. in 2012, she was shot in the head by a taliban gunman who boarded her school bus. she survived and continued to campaign for the rights of girls to go to school. she shares the award with kailash satyarthi, a leader in the international movement against child slavery and the exploitation of child workers. yousafzai is a pakistini muslim, satyarthi is a hindu from india. then, as tens of thousands are expected to converge in ferguson, missouri, for a weekend of protests demanding justice for michael brown, we speak with three of protests lead organizers, including st. louis rapper, tef poe. >> i told the police officer the other day but we were protesting, you have the guns

and we don't. so the notion that you are afraid of us when you have all of the weapons in the world, is ridiculous. you can bring a tank, armored vehicles, tear gas, smoke bombs, you can bring assault rifles. all i have is this. it makes zero sense. >> and here in detroit, a judge has ruled the city can continue to shut off water for thousands of residents who have fallen behind on payments, saying there is no "enforceable right" to water. we'll speak with with alice jennings, lead attorney fighting the water shut-offs for detroit's most vulnerable families. >> if the water is cut off, you have to leave that house. if you owe $500 or you oh $2000, you cannot pay that bill. so you will leave that house if you are renting, and it will present an opportunity -- yet another opportunity, for the corporations to come in and sees that house and to then use it

for their interests. corks all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. pakistani education activist malala yousafzai and indian child rights activist kailash satyarthi have jointly won the nobel peace prize. the chair of the nobel committee, thorbjoern jagland, made the announcement this morning. >> ladies and gentlemen, good morning. the norwegian nobel committee has decided that the nobel peace prize for 2014 is to be awarded to kailash satyarthi and malala yousafzai for their struggle against oppression of young people and children and children 's right to education.

children must go to school, not be financially exploited. >> at age 17, malala yousafzai is the youngest person ever to win a nobel prize. in 2012, she was shot in the head by a taliban gunman who boarded her school bus. she survived and continued to campaign for the right of girls to go to school. kailash satyarthi, age 60, has been a leader for decades in the international movement against child slavery and the exploitation of child workers. in a statement, the nobel committee said it -- "regards it as an important point for a hindu and a muslim, an indian and a pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism." we'll have more on the nobel prize after headlines. leaders from west african countries ravaged by an outbreak of ebola have pleaded for more international aid. speaking by video conference at a meeting of the world bank,

sierra leone president ernest bai koroma said help was needed on the ground, not just on paper. >> the last few weeks indeed have been weeks of massive concerns and commitments for the fight -- to fight the outbreak. however, the general international response has up to this moment been slower than the rate of transmission of the disease. >> liberia has postponed next week's senate elections over fears they could fuel the virus's spread, and a fourth doctor has died of ebola there. a round of 100 us marines have arrived in liberia to help with the ebola response, bringing the total number of troops there to 300. u.s.-led warplanes have strengthened their assault on islamic state militants near the syrian border town of kobani. the syrian observatory for human rights reports the militants have been shelling a border crossing with turkey. if kobani falls, isis will

control more than half of the syria-turkey border. in yemen, at least 47 people were killed thursday when a suicide bomber targeted members of the shiite houthi rebel group who were gathering for a protest in the capital sanaa. it was the deadliest blast to hit the capital in over two years. central african republic is seeing its worst spate of violence in months. the country has faced a crisis since last year when muslim seleka rebels seized power, sparking a backlash from christian militias. in the past few days, at least nine people have been killed including a u.n. peacekeeper from pakistan. pro-democracy protesters in hong kong have called for a major rally after the government canceled talks planned for today. the protests had previously wound down in recent days after tens of thousands flooded the streets to demand free elections in 2017. in a double victory for voting rights in the united states,

state voter id laws have been blocked in both wisconsin and texas less than a month before the november election. in the wisconsin case, the supreme court granted an emergency appeal to prevent the state from implementing its voter id law. an estimated 300,000 wisconsin voters lack adequate id. separately, in texas, a federal judge struck down that state's voter id law, calling it an "unconstitutional poll tax" that discriminated against voters of color. attorney general greg abbott, who is running for governor, has vowed to appeal. this week a nonpartisan congressional study found states that implemented voter id laws saw a drop in voter turnout that disproportionately kept young people and african-americans from the polls. in the shaw neighborhood of st. louis, missouri protests continued for a second night over the fatal police shooting of an 18-year-old black man. police have claimed vonderrit

myers fired at them, but myers relatives' say he was holding a sandwich which police mistook for a gun. the officer fired 17 shots, hitting myers seven or eight times. the renewed protests come ahead of a weekend of action in the suburb of ferguson over the police killing of michael brown two months ago. people from around the country are expected to descend on ferguson to call for justice and an end to police brutality. mexican authorities have arrested drug lord vicente carrillo, the head of the juarez cartel, just days after the capture of another drug lord, hector beltran leyva. the arrests come as mexico faces protests over the disappearance of 43 students near iguala in guerrero state. police are accused of ambushing the students, killing six people and turning survivors over to a drug gang with ties to the city's mayor, who has since fled. on thursday mexican attorney general jesus murillo said four more mass graves had been found.

detainees four new whose identities are being confirmed, which is why i will not give names yet. at the most important is that with this arrest, there were able to take us to a place where we found four mask graves which these detainees said were also where the remains of the murdered students were deposited. >> this week protests against the students' disappearance were held across the country and around the world. protesters have continued to call for the students to be released alive. former haitian dictator jean-claude duvalier, known as "baby doc," will reportedly not be getting a state funeral. duvalier died saturday just months after a haitian court ruled that he could be charged with crimes against humanity. his rule of haiti, from 1971 to 1986, was marked by the jailing, torture and deaths of journalists and political prisoners. duvalier's attorney said the

haitian government had reversed its decision to give duvalier a state funeral, following protests. estonia has legalized same-sex unions, becoming the first former soviet state to do so. a law passed by parliament grants couples in civil unions rights close to those of married couples. the ceo of microsoft has sparked controversy by suggesting women shouldn't ask for pay raises. speaking at a gathering of women in computing, satya nadella responded to a question about how he would advise women who are uncomfortable asking for a raise. >> it is not really about asking for the rays, but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along. and that, i think, might be one of the additional superpowers that, quite frankly, women who don't ask for a raise, have. because that is good karma. it will come back.

because summit is going to know, that is the kind of person that i want to trust. >> following an outcry over his remarks, nadella tweeted that he had been "inarticulate." women make up just 17% of microsoft's technical, engineering and managament staff, roughly equivalent to other big tech firms. nadella earns an estimated $18 million a year as ceo. wells fargo has agreed to pay $5 million to settle claims it discriminated against women who were pregnant or had recently given birth. the u.s. department of housing and urban development said the company denied home loans to recent mothers or forced them to sacrifice their maternity leave and return to work before it would close on their loans. the settlement is a tiny fraction of wells fargo's net income, which was $5.7 billion in the last quarter alone. and workers who clean airplane cabins at new york's la guardia airport have agreed to return to work following a strike over unsafe working conditions. the workers, who are employed by a delta air lines contractor,

say they have been provided with inadequate protections against feces, vomit and other bodily fluids, a concern that has strengthened amidst fears of ebola. and those are some of the headlines this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are on the road broadcasting from detroit, michigan, from the studios of detroit public television. this morning it was announced that pakistani education activist malala yousafzai and indian child rights activist kailash satyarthi have jointly won the nobel peace prize. the chair of the nobel committee, former norwegian prime minister thorbjoern jagland, made the announcement this morning. >> ladies and gentlemen, good morning. committeeian nobel has decided that the nobel peace prize for 2014 is to be awarded to kailash satyarthi and malala yousafzai for their struggle

against oppression for young people and children and children's right to education. children must go to school, not be financially exploited. >> at age 17, malala yousafzai is the youngest person ever to win a nobel prize. in 2012, she was shot in the head by a taliban gunman who boarded her school bus. she survived and continued to campaign for the rights of girls to go to school. kailash satyarthi, age 60, has been a leader for decades in the international movement against child slavery and the exploitation of child workers. in a statement, the nobel committee said it -- "regards it as an important point for a hindu and a muslim, an indian and a pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism." last year, on july 12, her 16th birthday, malala yousafzai appeared at the united nations and delivered her first speech

since she underwent surgery, saying she was undeterred by the taliban's efforts to silence her voice. the event marked a global day in her honor. this is an extended excerpt from her address. , on the ninth of october 2012, the televangelist shot me -- the taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. they shot my friends, too. they thought that the bullet would silence us, but they failed. and out of this silence came thousands of voices. the terrorists thought they would stop my ambitions. but nothing changed in my life, except this.

weakness, fear, and helplessness died. strength, power, and courage was born. [applause] i am the same malala. my ambitions are the same. my hopes are the same. in my dreams are the same. brothers, i amd not against anyone. seeker am i here to personal revenge against the taliban or any other terrorist group. speak for the right of education of every child.

[applause] i want education for the sons and daughters of the taliban and all the terrorists. i do not even hate those who shot me. even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me, i will not shoot him. this has become fashion that i've learned from mohammed, the prophet of mercy, and jesus christ. this is the legacy of change that i have inherited from martin luther king, nelson mandela, and mohammed. [applause] this is the philosophy that i

have learned from gandhi and mother teresa, and this is the forgiveness that i have learned from my father and from my mother. [applause] this is what my soul is telling me. be peaceful and love everyone. today, i am focusing on women's becausend education they are suffering the most. there was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for their rights, but this time, we will do it by ourselves. [applause]

i am not telling them to step away from speaking for women's rights. rather, i am focusing on women to be independent, to fight for themselves. so, dear sisters and brothers, now it is time to speak up. today, we call upon the world leaders to change their and exchangeicies for peace. we call upon the war leaders that all of these deals must protect women's and children's rights. against thegoes rights of women is unacceptable. we call upon all governments

to ensure free compulsory education all over the world for every child. [applause] we call upon all of the governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children from brutality and harm. we call upon to develop nations to support the expansion of in theon opportunities developing world. we call upon all the communities to rejectrant, prejudice based on caste, creed, sex, color, or agenda. to ensure freedom and equality for women, so they can flourish. we cannot all succeed when half

of us are [indiscernible] we call upon our sisters around the world to be brave, to embrace the strength within themselves and realize the full potential. dear brothers and sisters, we for schools and education every child's bright future. journey totinue our our destination of peace and education for everyone. no one can stop us. rights speak up for our and we will bring change through our voice. we believe in the power and the strength of our words.

the wholecan change world. altogether, united for the cause of education. and if we want to achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness. sisters, wes and must not forget that millions of people are suffering from poverty, injustice, and ignorance. we must not forget that millions of children are out of their schools. we must not forget that our sisters and brothers are waiting .or bright peaceful future

so let us wait a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism. and let us pick up our books and pens. they are our most powerful weapons. child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. education is the only solution. education first. thank you. [applause] >> malala yousafzai speaking at the united nations general assembly last july on her 16th birthday. today she became the youngest person ever to win a nobel prize. she shares the prize with kailash satyarthi, who has been a leader for decades in the international movement against child slavery and the

exploitation of child workers. good weave, which is a monitoring labeling and certification system of rugs made in south asia without child labor. they will be awarded the nobel peace prize on december 10. international human rights day. this is democracy now! back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are on the road, broadcasting

from detroit, michigan, from the studios of detroit public television. in our next segment we'll look at how the city has shut off water to thousands of residents who have fallen behind on payments. some 350 to 400 customers reportedly continue to lose water service daily in detroit. but first we turn to ferguson, missouri, where activists are calling on people to join them this weekend for a national protest against police bias and violence against black and latino communities in the wake of the police shooting of unarmed teenager michael brown. organizers have invited the brown family to take part. dr. cornel west and actor harry belafonte are also among those expected to attend the events, which include a mass march and a planned act of civil disobedience. they'll join local activists who have been calling for the arrest of police officer darren wilson, who killed mike brown; for the appointment of a special prosecutor in the case, and the firing of ferguson police chief thomas jackson. this week democracy now's aaron maté and i spoke with three of

the organizers involved in the protests. tef poe is a st. louis rapper and activist, who recently wrote a column for time magazine headlined, "barack obama has forsaken us, but we will not stop fighting injustice." we also spoke with tory russell, an organizer with hands up united. and ashley yates, an activist, poet, artist, raised in florissant, missouri. she's a member and co-creator of millennial activists united. i began by asking tef poe to talk about what's happening this weekend. >> what we're going to see this weekend is a massive show of force by peaceful demonstrators coming from all over the country, all over the world, possibly, to ferguson and greater st. louis as a whole, to stand in solidarity, to speak out against injustices that happened with police brutality, not just with michael brown, but with several people, several different cases worldwide. >> you were about to start the two are when mike brown was killed.

is that right? where were you? >> i was part of a college tour, which ironically, michael brown was supposed to attend that college. >> where is it? >> a midwest regional trade school in st. louis. i was going to help promote the music sector of the school. >> did you go there? >> no, i did not. >> what happened? >> i went on one day of the tour. i went to memphis. i did not show right leaving home with all of that stuff going on. i just came back and cancel the rest of my dates. >> what did you do in ferguson? >> i just got to the ground, to be honest with you. initially, i did not know what to do. i was a regular person. i had done some community organizing among some other issues, but nothing so directly attached to the police. i just got on the ground. i met ashley and tory russell

another youth organizers and we just formed a united front. ashley, talk about those first days after mike brown was killed. the first days, i don't know if there really was a lot of organizing. this is a reactionary event. people were angry. we were tired. we've seen too many black lives gunned down at the hands of police. we just took to the streets to show our resistance to the system that have been working against us. as the weeks passed and organizing really started, he was just pretty much people getting together with the people that have been on the frontline with and saying, how can we make sure this doesn't happen again and how can we move forward? we just wanted to see what the next steps were to make sure this doesn't happen again. we focused on the civilian review board at first. we focused around police oversight by the community, whatever that would look like. we focus on removing the people

in power that had allowed this tragedy to happen. >> some of these demands have come up and city council meetings that have been held since michael brown's killing. can you talk about the response you have been getting? >> the response from the community has been positive. i had a closed session meeting with some of the ferguson officials. their death valley people behind the wall that want to make change. it is a slow process. it is too slow for the organizers. we're looking for ways to punch loopholes and that and make it move a little faster because we know this cannot happen again. we have to make sure whatever change is implement it is expedient. >> can you talk about where you were on august 9 when darren wilson gunned down mike brown? >> i was at home, actually, watching the little league world series. the jackie robinson team was playing. everybody was tweeting about that. on my timeline, i seen a dead body. surprisingly, i did not react

the way you would probably react to a dead body. i saw the stepfather -- >> where do you live in relation ? >> in north st. louis, like eight minutes away. i sat there for hours. they even saw the sign, "the ferguson pd killed my unarmed son." it to me hours to move. one of my friends picked me up and we went to the site. people were telling me the father actually took a sheet out to the body because the body was uncovered. the police would not allow that. i did not know what to do, but i went to the police department to try to get some answers. bornld not say i was a organizer, but i took people there, tweeted, people followed. it started with one lady named latoya cash.

there were eight people and then it grew to about 100. we went in and try to talk to chief jackson. he said he would meet with us and then he drove off. >> what do you mean? >> pastor johnson brokered a conversation to get some answers about the case on august 9, about 9:00. we had been out there from 6:00 to 9:00. it 9:30, i declared we were going in. no matter what. if they lock me up or whatever was going to happen was going to happen at 9:30. he said he would be out and at 9:50 he drove off in his truck. a little bit after 10:00, me and five other people went inside. >> which brings us to the police chief's apology. tom is police chief jackson. >> i want to say this to the brown family. no one who is not expense loss of a child can understand what you are feeling. i'm truly sorry for the loss of

your son. i'm also sorry that it took so long to remove michael from the street. the time that it took involved very important work on the part of investigators who were try to collect evidence and gain a true picture of what happened that day. but it was just too long, and i'm truly sorry for that. >> that was ferguson police chief tom jackson. what is your response to that, tory russell? you were there when he drove off in the beginning. >> like i said, i think that was day 50. he took 50 days to knowledge it was a tragedy. people knew on august 90 was a tragedy. if you can come out on day 50, he could have come out on day one just to knowledge it was an unarmed young man who was killed. a lot of people in the community are saying due process. he was not allowed his due process. no acknowledgment of the officer. at first he said someone

throughout the name michael white. another press conference, during wilson, the officer's name and he said, no. so how can i believe the apology after a timeline of lies? august 9, life. the next week, he brought out alive. he brought out the video saying it was the korean sunshine act saying the press was requesting this video, which really has nothing to do with the indictment. you cannot indict a dead person. >> tory russell, you wrote --tef poe, you wrote a piece. i want to read what president obama had to say. gets aow nothing of us meeting to use the grief of losing a child so soon. the anger and the emotion that followed his death awaken our nation once again to the reality that people in this room have long understood, which is into many communities around the

a gulf of mistrust exists between local residents and law enforcement. to any unmet of color fill targeted by law enforcement. guilty of walking while black or driving while black, judged by stereotypes that feel fear and resentment and hopelessness. statistically and everything from enforcing drug policy to applying the death people over,lling there are significant racial disparities. that is just the statistics. one reason polls show the majority of americans think the criminal justice system doesn't treat people of all races that.y -- think about does not just blacks and latinos are asians are native american saying things may not be fair, that is most americans. trucks that is president obama addressing the congressional black caucus foundation. tef poe, your response? you wrote a piece in time magazine called, "barack obama has forsaken us, but we will not stop fighting injustice."

>> that speech sounds really good and it is really entertaining, but it did not stop me and my comrades from getting tear gassed. that is the bottom line. i walked out to west floor set one night and we were surrounded 6's.ational guard with m1 we were unarmed. at that very moment i realized that i could have died. i said, god, i cannot continue theead of people to slaughter. we have voted for barack obama to times and it still happens. afterf us voted for him hurricane katrina would not happen after -- after what happened during hurricane katrina would not happen during his watch. i would realistically expect if peacefularmed protesters are demonstrating our first amendment rights, that we will not be hurtled up like cattle and forced to defend

ourselves. that is the reality we were fake facing a ferguson. >> there was a huge media frenzy in the first two weeks. when we were there, there were satellite trucks packed into the super mall on west floor sent. i remember cnn teams being covered by bodyguards. most of the media has left. has the media attention helped and how have local residents reacted to it? >> the reason i'm here, to be honest, i took to twitter that first that we went to the police department. i did what many use twitter for, and i tweeted what was happening to me. i think the media attention has process, wein the really became our own media. i've had people come to me and say, we go to twitter to see what is happening in ferguson. the twist they put on the protest were the police officer -- if you are on twitter, if you are on the live stream, you know

it wasn't the truth. the media has helped amplify some of the truth, but there also tried to hide some of it. it is been circumvented by the real presence of twitter activists such as myself. >> there's a lot of talk this moment in ferguson has become the ground zero for national movement. how do you activists on the ground take this perception that you're seen as been at the epicenter of the national struggle? >> i think it is a wonderful, positive opportunity and we are grasping it. we are tired. we're tired of seeing our black men get done down in our black women get gunned it down. particularly, unarmed black people get gunned down to an extensive -- extensive extent. we're tired and we know it is not just having an ferguson. there's john crawford in dayton. >> the man shot dead in a walmart holding a walmart product. >> yes. we know it is not just isolated to ferguson. we see all the other cases and

we may grant efforts to connect with those people, to let people know it is not just a ferguson issue but a nationwide issue of police brutality that has to stop. >> can you read your t-shirt? unti--, we have him if you look at the very bottom, it is, "to be continued." our goal is to put a period. >> tef poe to know what are the plans and ferguson? >> with a series of creative and corrugated actions. initiallyat happened as you heard ashley's begun earlier, when this incident first happened, we did not know what to do. we were kind of playing catch up. with the we could of resistance, we have the opportunity to show

the world we actually are organized and we are one accord, that we are synchronized. we're going to have a few massive demonstrations downtown and in some of those people will break off into their own private engagements and private demonstrations in different public settings. ,e're going to have a concert sunday, believe, like a block party style concert. we're going to use that to try to politicize a a lot of young people, maybe register people to vote. this is going to be a massive opportunity to really engage a large amount of people and also connect with people that feel what we're going through. >> john crawford is a major issue for you, tef poe. he was gunned down in the ohio walmart holding a bb gun that was from the shelf. now, the officers were not indicted who killed him.

the reason they said is because they were afraid and it is based on their perception that they got a 911 call, so they went in armed, ready to kill. what about this idea that police officers are afraid? >> i told a police officer the other day while we were protesting, you have the guns and we don't. the notion that you are afraid of us when you have all of the weapons in the world is ridiculous. you can bring a tank, an armored vehicle, tear gas, smoke bombs, you can bring us all rifles -- all i have is this. it makes zero sense. >> for our radio listeners -- >> my hands are in the air. it makes zero sense. it is illogical. that shows you the ridiculous nature of racism. when thesedea that young men and women are attacked, suddenly, they turn into incredible hulk wolverines, superman, spiderman, and wonder woman. i guess john crawford killed

that officer with -- could have killed that officer with laser vision, supposedly. it is ridiculous. when you watch the video, it is even more ridiculous. punishment i don't believe was even considered. that is the ridiculous nature of the beast. >> many of the protests have been on florissant next order ferguson. you are from florissant. threats got is buried at the cemetery there. write down the road from ferguson. fred scott was considered the worst supreme court decision ever, the decision that said an african-american labor free cannot be a citizen of the noted states. as we wrap up, your thoughts on where we have come. >> i think we're seeing that in action. talked about, the fact that she down black people at will and then backtrack and --ome the jury and slang

find information whether it be true or untrue, to justify that murder. we saw that in the release of the tape with mike brown. that had nothing to do with it. aaron wilson was responding on an entirely different call when he encountered mike brown. we're seeing the ridiculous nature of racism and we have to work on that and recognize it within our communities. once we start realizing our black skin is being weaponize, people are seeing our melanin as a threat, then we can move forward and that is what we're really working with the weekend of resistance, moving forward, showing people they are not alone. i went to date and spoke with the ohio student association who's done a lot of the work around the john crawford case. they have been a great help in just building with other communities that see the same issue, have had the same problem. and we can move forward from there. change the perception. change the perception of what it means to be young and black. i think that is what we're doing. black, motivated,

organized. we are not threats based on the color of our skin. scott case is the key part to october 11. we're going to go to the site and go to the courthouse. that is about 140 years removed. we're still at that date in history. what hundred 50, 160. we're still at dredd scott. i don't know what year it is when i'm in st. louis. after weeks of tear gas, like i said, i don't feel so american after getting tear gassed. eric holder stepping down. he walked in and said he wanted to have this dialogue. here it is, he steps down. we at meetings with the department of justice. they said all they can do is sue , and they don't sue for money, they super recommendations.

iss week and of resistance key. so people can know what is going on, what we have, and in 50 to 60 days, you can go home and organize. you can be just like me, coming from off the couch, off of twitter 60 days later and running a protest, shutting down economies and marching and organizing people in the streets. >> tef poe? >> the thing i'm big on it showing the infrastructure, police, and other racist institutions that we are not scared. for so long, here is the reason that people like ourselves did not get off the couch. last night i had a show in st. louis and they surrounded the venue with about 50 plus police officers and undercover police officers inside of the show. i've done over -- >> sunday night? >> yes. i've had over 100 shows at this venue. the even went to the owner on thursday and asked him to cancel the show.

this is a mechanism of fear. they're hoping this is a way we will make people like myself another young people that are following our lead say, you know what? maybe we need to stop. but the message that we're sending to the system is that we are not going to stop. we are resilient. i told a police officer he can only do two things. you can kill me -- >> that was tef poe -- >> either one of those options and a brand-new world opens up. >> that was tef poe, st. louis rapper. tory russell, an organizer with hands up united, and ashley yates, an activist, poet, artist, and co-creator of millennial activists united. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

>> she posted that online

thursday in response to the ferguson protest. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we're on the road in detroit, broadcasting from the "great lakes state" of michigan. the state has one of the longest freshwater coastlines in the country, but its residents are increasingly concerned about their access to affordable water. a judge overseeing detroit's bankruptcy recently ruled the city can continue shutting off water to residents who have fallen behind on payments. judge steven rhodes ruled there is no "enforceable right" to water. detroit began cutting off water to thousands of households several months ago, prompting protests from residents and the united nations. today, some 350 to 400 customers reportedly continue to lose water service daily in detroit. the city's water authority carries an estimated $5 billion

in debt and has been the subject of talks to privatize. activists have been organizing against the water shutoffs, saying they target detroit's most vulnerable families. i want to take about six kids on this porch when they turn off the water. the parents had a run to try to figure out how they're going to pay the water bill. another woman was pregnant with a two-year-old. holding a balance for $400 in her hand. and begging, don't turn off my water. you're going to close the water off for a pregnant woman with a $400 water bill? >> one of the many detroit residents protesting the recent water shutoffs. the poverty rate in detroit is approximately 40%, and people have seen their water bills increase by 119% within the last decade.

most of the residents are african american. two-thirds of those impacted by the water shutoffs involve families with children. well, for more, we're joined now by alice jennings, the lead attorney for detroit residents fighting against the city's controversial campaign to turn off water service for unpaid accounts. alice jennings, welcome to democracy now! explain what is happening. what is happening here is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis. starting last year, the city of detroit began to shut water off in homes, and these would be homes with disabled persons, children. it really didn't matter. the truckitary way, would start at one end of the street and by the time it reached the other end, or maybe 50% of the homes were shut off. trucks was there any advance notice? >> no, there was not. believe the policy procedure where they would put on the bill

, your water may be subject to shut off. but there had been a process where water was not collected on. the people grew very accustomed to paying some part of their bill, a little here, little there, maybe buying food, getting medical care. so when this happened, it was sudden and abrupt, very abrupt. >> if your water was about to be turned off, he presumably would try to feel everything you can with water, but you don't have that chance. >> there wasn't even that chance. and fact from the late charity hicks was arrested in her neighborhood, true water voyeur and for justice warrior. she was arrested when she tried to help the folks who were cutting their water off to just stop for a few minutes. so her pregnant neighbor could get water from some of the neighbors who had water. and they would not. she was taken to jail and arrested.

>> the detroit water and sewer department-- sewage has defended its actions, saying the water shutoffs are necessary for alleviating the department's debts. this is greg eno, the public affairs specialist at dwsd. can you explain what it is that they are saying? we filed our constitutional lawsuit raised on the fact the equal protection clause should cause both commercial accounts as well as individuals to be treated the same. in this instance, some of the marshall accounts of millions of dollars -- commercial accounts are millions of dollars while families may have only owned $150. part of the claim is that the treatment is different. and there wasn't a chance for

families to get the help they needed to avoid the shut off. and certainly, where committee children and seniors are involved, that should always be the goal. >> let's go back to what the sewer department is saying. >> we're trying to work with paid oro get them payment plan. and it has worked. -- lowered oured debt a little bit by doing that. >> your response? >> my response would be to greg eno, there is not any differentials being made as to whether or not there is a family who doesn't have the resources to pay for the water. in fact, there is a policy and practice now in existence, just in the last month or so, to try to make some determination as to whether there is the ability to pay or affordability. but at the time we filed a

lawsuit, nothing was being done. so the shutoffs occurred. >> who are you representing? >> we representing 10 individuals who have stood up. all of them have had the water shut off, about eight of them, or -- two who are very close to being shut off because the landlord did not pay the bill. then we're representing the michigan welfare rights, the people's waterboard moratorium now as well as the michigan chapter of the national action network. >> isn't this also a matter of hygiene, how you do with keeping clean? what about the kind of infections we're dealing with today? >> it is so much a safety issue. in fact, the director of the when county health department whenrecently proclaimed there is a medical emergency in the city of detroit because of the shutoffs, with person at tatian comes -- sanitation comes

all caps of medical conditions, the ability to become dehydrated, particularly, whichever in and senior citizens. ofre is an issue contamination going from neighbor to neighbor to get -- picking up different kinds of germs and sanitation issues. we are afraid, frankly. >> the issue of the enterovirus? >> it has reached michigan -- >> that has killed children in denver and new jersey. >> that is correct. judge roads, even as he ruled against us, acknowledged the irreparable harm to children and families could occur by his a waterf there wasn't restoration to these homes. but because of money and the need to have revenue, he decided on the side of money instead of on the side of health and safety and on the side of the people.

>> do you and an international water activists weighing in, has that had an effect? >> we're hoping for sure it will next saturday, sunday, and here., the u.n. will be the u.n. delegate for as well as the water and sanitation. they will do fact-finding. there will be a public hearing. there will be a meeting with the mayor. there will be a meeting with the legal team as well. >> i want to switch gears and ask you about grace lee boggs. on herted recently facebook page --

"i am coming to the end of a long journey -- a journey that began over 70 years ago at the beginning of world war ii." as she has dealt in her life with grace, think you could say, like her first name, she is talking about transitioning. >> yes, and with the same bravery that she stood and marched in front of drug houses and organized labor movements. it is very difficult for us who are very close to her, but she has taken it on. >> you are in charge of her care? >> i am one of the two people. here just trying to love and makers come to both as we can. but she is still saying, what time is at the clock of the world? we are accountable to make sure we continue the type of work she and james boggs --

>> i want to go to a clip of grace lee boggs talking about detroit. >> from new york where i have lived a good deal of my life and where i went to school. i moved to detroit because i thought the working class in detroit was going to rise up and reconstruct the city. i arrived at a time when the population was beginning to decline. the working class was shrinking. i had to begin learning from what was taking place. and that learning process was something that a lot of people are undergoing. it is very difficult for someone who doesn't live in detroit to vacantu can look at a lot and instead of seeing devastation, see hope. see the opportunity to grow your own food. see an opportunity to give young

people a sense of process. that is very difficult. the vacant lot represents the possibilities for cultural revolution. americansing how few understand that, even though i think filmmakers and writers are coming to the city and try to spread the word. >> grace lee boggs took a fall last month and she is in hospice care at home. talk about someone as reckless as saying the summit is dying, but she has acknowledged this. >> she has. and in the face of it, trying to let us know what it is like and we're just there with her and loving her up. >> ashley yates, thank alice jennings, thank