[captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica this is democracy now! >> if we want to claim a new dignified future for our country, we will do that together. people have power in their hands when they decide to use it. amy: greece says it will not meet its deadline and put austerity to a vote in a referendum as tens of thousands of greeks take to the street and

greek banks remain closed. we will go to greece for the latest. then to iran, where today marks , the deadline the country to reach agreement with six world powers on curbing iran's nuclear program. >> the reasons for having this agreement done are probably still there now more than ever. it is our duty. the security of the world is at stake. amy: then to egypt, celebrations marking the second anniversary of the june 30th revolution that ousted president mohamed morsi have been canceled after the country's public prosecutor was killed in a bomb attack in cairo. we will get the latest from sharif abdel kouddous. then lastly legendary activist , and community organizer grace lee boggs turned 100 years old. brace: -- grace: a black power

was not just a slogan, as much as any emotional appeal as it was by willie hicks. it was more a necessity. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. tens of thousands of greeks have protested against further austerity cuts ahead of a key referendum on a new european bailout. the demonstrations come as the country confirms it will not meet the deadline for a $1.8 billion loan repayment due by 6:00 p.m. eastern time tonight deepening greece's fiscal crisis and threatening its exit from the eurozone. greece will hold a vote this sunday on whether to accept an austerity package of budget cuts and tax hikes in exchange for new loans.

greek prime minister alexis tsipras has urged a "no" vote, calling the proposal a surrender. we'll have more on the greece fiscal crisis after headlines. today marks the deadline for iran and six world powers to reach a comprehensive agreement on curbing iran's nuclear program. iran has dispatched two top officials to vienna in a last-minute push for a diplomatic breakthrough, but the talks will likely be extended. we'll have more on this story later in the broadcast. puerto rico has asked washington to allow it to declare municipal bankruptcy after announcing it won't be able to pay back its $72 billion in public debt. on monday, governor alejandro garcia padilla said the struggling island needs washington's help. governor padilla: it is the moment for us to speak in one voice and demand concrete action from washington, action now, changes to section nine, so puerto rico can count on the

same protections. amy: a report monday said puerto rico's financial outlook is unsustainable, with insufficient revenues, high migration, and a heavy financial burden to meet its obligations as a u.s. territory. at the white house, press secretary josh earnest ruled out a bailout, but suggested puerto rico could be eligible for bankruptcy protections. secretary earnest: there is no one contemplating a federal bailout of puerto rico, but we remain committed to working with leaders as they address serious financial challenges plaguing the commonwealth of what rico. the treasury department -- puerto rico. the treasury department and other officials have been engaged with puerto rico to help them get access to all existing and available federal resources and the treasury department over the last year or two has shared expertise with officials in puerto rico. amy: as part of its debt crisis,

puerto rico will likely be forced into major cuts to government services and massive layoffs, adding to its 14% unemployment. on wednesday, democracy now will be speaking to velasquez. the supreme court has handed down its final rulings for the current term. on monday, the supreme court blocked a lower court decision that threatened to leave texas with fewer than 10 abortion clinics. the court said clinics do not have to follow requirements forcing them to meet the standards of hospital-style surgery centers that were set to take effect on wednesday, after texas failed to prove the measures protect women's health. the court take up whether the rules are unconstitutional later this year. in another decision, the court blocked the environmental protection agency's first national standards to cut emissions of mercury and toxic air pollutants from coal-fired power plants. the epa has estimated the standards could help prevent thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of cases of disease each year, especially in poor

neighborhoods, where mercury disproportionately falls. the court's decision could make the epa more vulnerable to challenges on future emissions caps. the supreme court has also rejected a challenge to the use of a controversial sedative in executions. three oklahoma prisoners had sought a ban on midazolam, which has been tied to several botched or prolonged lethal injections but a five-to-four majority rejected the inmate's claim that the drug violates a ban on cruel and unusual punishment. in a dissent, justices stephen breyer and ruth bader ginsburg suggested they're prepared to deem the death penalty unconstitutional. and finally, in a key electoral case, the court sided with an effort by arizona voters to draw their own congressional and state legislative districts. the decision could have a major impact on limiting partisan gerrymandering. in egypt, the country's public prosecutor has been killed in a bomb attack in cairo. hisham barakat died in hospital monday after a remote bomb

detonated next to his car outside his home as he drove to work. eight others were also hurt in the blast. barakat became a target of militants after he sent thousands of islamists to trial following the overthrow of president mohamed morsi in 2013. we will have more on egypt later in the broadcast. israel has stopped the latest effort by foreign activists to break the blockade of the gaza strip by sea. a boat leading the freedom flotilla iii was intercepted monday about 100 nautical miles off the gaza coast. organizers say the flotilla is carrying solar panels and medical equipment for gaza residents. the passengers have been taken to an israeli port in what the freedom flotilla coalition calls "an act of kidnapping." president obama has announced plans to extend pay for overtime

workers, guaranteeing time and i have wages for working over 40 hours a week. the current maximum for overtime eligibility is over $23,000. two major networks have cut ties to donald trump over his recent comments denigrating mexican immigrants. announcing his republican presidential bid this month, trump branded mexicans who move to the u.s. criminals and "rapists." calling trump's remarks "insulting," univision, the largest spanish language tv network in the u.s., says it will no longer air the trump-owned miss usa pageant. nbc also says it will no longer broadcast miss usa. it will continue airing the the reality show "celebrity apprentice," but without trump's involvement. and the former death row prisoner glenn ford has died at the age of 65.

he was african american and tried by an all-white jury. he was one of the longest-serving death row prisoners ever to be exonerated. the prosecutor who sent him to prison apologized to ford for his ordeal. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in greece where tens of thousands of greeks protested monday against further austerity cuts. the demonstrations come as the country confirms it will not meet the deadline for a $1.8 billion loan repayment due by 6:00 p.m. eastern time tonight. >> we have come here today because we want to tell the government and the whole of europe that the greek people have suffered a lot and this must end. amy: the european commission

wants greece to accept an austerity package in exchange for new loans that would help it avoid a default. but greek prime minister alexis tsipras has refused to accept the bailout deal, calling it a "humiliation." over the weekend, tsipras announced a national referendum set for this sunday on whether the country should accept the terms of a new bailout. the european central bank followed by rejecting greece's request to extend an emergency loan program until after the vote. in response, tsipras announced the closure of greek banks and the stock market, as well as restrictions on bank transfers. during a nationally televised interview monday night, tsipras called the rejection of a loan extension "blackmail" and on called for greeks to vote no this sunday. prime minister sippy us -- tsipras: if the greek people

want to have austerity measures with thousands of people leaving for abroad, high interest rates if this is their choice, we will respect it, but we will not be the ones to carry at out. if we want to clean a dignified future for our country, we will do that together. people have power in their hands when they decide to use it. amy: meanwhile, german chancellor angela merkel played down prospects of a breakthrough with greece in the coming days but said she would restart talks after sunday's referendum. chancellor merkel: the talks were a generous proposal for a compromise. we made clear that if greek government seeks more talks after the referendum we will of course, not say no to such negotiations. amy: well, well for more we go to greece, just outside of sparta, where we are joined by costas panayotakis.

he is professor of sociology at the new york city college of technology at cuny, and author of "remaking scarcity -- from capitalist inefficiency to economic democracy." welcome back to democracy now! can you describe what is happening right now in greece? costas: well, the atm's were closed yesterday. there is a limit to how much they can withdraw. from foreign accounts they can draw. beyond that, politically speaking, there is a lot of tension. even though it is a an unprecedented situation, it was very orderly and on the day where the government closed on the banks there was a massive rally in support of the government because people are

angry with austerity measures that have devastated greek society. so this is some of the things that have been going on in the last few hours. amy: so, greeks are allowed to take out 60 euros from the bank. that is like 67 u.s. dollars. what is going on in the streets? you have the referendum called sunday mast -- mass protest taking place. costas: i lost the connection. amy: what has been the response in the streets? costas: i think it is a mixed response. on the one hand there is anxiety and people going to the atm trying to get money, and some degree of frustration. there is also some understanding

that previous policies were not working. so, it is a mixed response. the same people often have contradictory feelings, and then there is a divide within greek society with some people being in support of the government. others are more critical. amy: can you explain exactly what the referendum puts to the people of greece on sunday? costas: yeah. there are two documents with the proposal of the europeans regarding the measures adopted by the greek government in order to get the latest installment of the loans they would need to keep servicing is that in the coming months. -- it's debt in the coming months. these are harsh measures. the idea that angela merkel

suggested this was a generous offer would seem like a cool joke to all greeks -- rule -- rule -- cruel joke to all greeks , even those opposed. you are talking about people that have seen living standards decreased dramatically in the last five years. amy: on monday, the eu commission president jean-claude juncker accused the greek government of betraying efforts to broker deal. mr. juncker: this is not a game of poker -- either we are all winners or all losers. we are deeply distressed by the spectacle europe gave paired the european conscience has taken a heavy blow. goodwill has somewhat evaporated.

amy: that is the european commission president jean-claude juncker. can you respond? costas: he wants to seem he is above the dispute and bring the sides together, but later in the speech he basically attacked the greek government, lying to the people on what the terms were. he claimed there was not a proposal to cut greek pensions. so, there is an element of hypocrisy there and we also have to keep in mind that he was the prime minister of luxembourg, which has been a tax haven that has undercut the finances of other european nations and

might've contributed to the debt crisis he wants to resolve. amy: on monday greek prime minister alexis tsipras responded to critics who say greece could be pushed out of the euro zone. prime minister tsipras: the cost of default to the european central bank alone of 120 billion euros is enormous and this will not happen in my view. my personal view is their plan is not to push greece out of the eurozone, but the plan is to end hope there could be a different type of plan in europe. costas: i think greece was optimistic in reversing austerity and that created difficulty, but it was obvious that angela merkel and other leaders would not want to be

responsible for the rupture of the eurozone, not for economical regions -- reasons that the premise are mentioned, but also geopolitical reasons. amy: so, what does this mean for this experiment, the whole movement that has arisen in greece. what do you think will happen and how would you evaluate the prime minister alexis tsipras? costas: for a long time, they have been making significant concessions. they had made significant concessions when compared to the platform of the party. we are talking about a country that has over 25% unemployment, and yet the greek government was willing to basically propose budget surpluses.

this is a policy that went to the right of keynesian economics. unfortunately, in the eurozone today, there is no economics because the policy that would be to the far right of the party in the u.s. is the only economic policy allowed by the eurozone, even though the policy is basically destroying european society and greece is a good example. amy: your book is called "remaking scarcity: from capitalist inefficiency to economic democracy." what would you say is happening with greece now? costas: my book takes the

argument that basically the free market is the best way to make effective use of scarce resources. what we have seen with the greek crisis is the refutation of the claim. in an economy were 55% of the labor force cannot find a job they need to, would like to work, it is not an efficient economy. an economy were the most educated young people have to leave the country after the country investigated in their education and go somewhere else is clearly not an efficient economy. so, even though my book was not specifically on greece -- it mentioned greece, but it was not just on greece. i think greece is a good example of how mythical the new liberal claim is that free markets make efficient use of scarce resources. amy: if you might look at the

crystal ball for us in this last minute that you have, what you think will happen on sunday and ultimately what is going to happen in greece? costas: the first question is whether the referendum will happen on sunday. i think the european response clearly makes it clear they want to sabotage the very possibility of a referendum and, you know the situation is very much in flux. things have been very orderly as i said, which is good for the government and it increases the likelihood of a no vote. it would be, of course unwise to try to make a prediction, and i think one of the factors that will play a role, if there is a yes vote, and the prime minister said he would not continue being prime minister, that brings up

economic disruption, political instability, and then you might have a situation where the party wins again because that is what recent polls have shown. people are concerned about economic disruption or instability, but may find out that they actually realized that even if they are frustrated, a yes vote would not necessarily cause -- help the problem. amy: thank you for being with us professor of sociology at the , new york city college of technology. when we come back, another deadline looms. it is in iran. that is where we are going. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. today marks the deadline for iran and six world powers to

reach a comprehensive agreement on curbing iran's nuclear program. iran has dispatched two top officials to vienna in a last-minute push for a diplomatic breakthrough. on monday u.s. state department spokesman mark toner expressed confidence a deal is within reach, but said negotiations may slip past today's deadline. mark: these talks, and it is looking more likely now it could go beyond june 30 four a few days if we need additional time to conclude, frankly, a strong comprehensive agreement and that is still our attitude. we are still focused on getting the most comprehensive agreement possible, and if we have to work longer to do that, the team in vienna will do so, obviously, but no one is talking about a long-term extension. amy: meanwhile, foreign minister javad zarif has returned to iran to discuss a final negotiation position with the country's top leadership.

secretary of state john kerry and zarif acknowledged gaps remain. secretary kerry: it is fair to say we are hopeful. there is a lot of work to do and we look forward to getting to the final effort here to see whether or not a deal is possible. i think everybody would like to see an agreement but we have to work through some difficult issues. minister zarif: i agree, maybe not on the issues, but we are determined to make progress and move forward, in order to do everything we can, but it depends on a lot of things and we're going to work on them and find out. amy: the outstanding differences include access to international inspectors and iranian nuclear activity in the deal's final years.

negotiators are also trying to determine the timing of sanctions relief and the scope of tehran's nuclear research. for more, we go now to tehran, iran where we're joined by reza sayah. he has covered iran for cnn international for the last seven years. after his coverage of the 2009 anti-government protests iranian authorities denied him permission to work for two years. he later returned to tehran to report on the ongoing nuclear talks, the 2013 presidential elections, and last year's signing of the interim nuclear deal. he also works with the blossom hill foundation, which helps children impacted by war. reza sayah, welcome to democracy now! reza: well, there is a possibility of reaching -- the sides are in vienna. there are officials demanding a

deal. top officials are there. of course, did woman's from the -- there are diplomats there. they are looking at engaging where they stand. all sides have done a remarkable job in keeping things under wraps. in the next few days, there will be a lot of waiting in the anna. the country is -- vienna. country is eagerly awaiting and that will be very case until they decide to come out until they make an announcement. there are a lot of vague comments. they seem to be optimistic a deal is in reach, but there are also taking points and obstacles. amy: what are the sticking

point? reza: the numbers and types of sanctions. in the deal signed, iran agreed to reduce centrifuges from 19,000. it is not clear if they are looking to keep more. iran has said all along that will allow the inspection of nuclear facilities. the framework was agreed on. they add -- agreed to additional protocol for higher authority to increase inspections, but the less -- but the u.s. has given indications they want to inspect military facilities and iran has said that is a redline. the west wants to decreased

research and development in the nuclear program, and finally the pace of the sanction. iran and since -- insists the sanctions should be listed once the pen hits the paper. the u.s. has said it will be gradual lifting. the most likely scenario is that it would be gradual lifting, but it remains to be seen what the timeframe is and how long it will take. obviously iran wants it to be faster and the u.s. doesn't. amy: can you talk about the main forces against it? reza: it is important to point out the main forces against the agreement are in the minority, meaning the israeli government which -- mainly the israeli government who can -- continues to raise doubts, the saudi's are

concerned, and then you have the u.s. congress. last month they pushed through a bill that enables them to review the agreement once it is signed. if the deal is signed before july 9 congress has 30 days to review it. if it is signed beyond the july 9 date, they have 60 days to sign. other than these three groups, u.s. congress, the israeli government, the saudi government, the majority of the world, including the world powers, are for a negotiated agreement for iran to have a peaceful nuclear program however those against the deal have a lot of influence. they oftentimes dominate the media and that is what you will see if an agreement is signed --

the israeli government, the u.s. congress raising the alarm again and it will be interesting to see where things go from here. amy: we are having a little trouble with your audio, so i want to thank you for being with us. reza sayah has covered iran for cnn international for the last seven years. after his coverage of the 2009 anti-government protests iranian authorities denied him permission to work for two years, but then he later returned to tehran to report on the ongoing nuclear talks, the -- there. we moved to egypt were a national holiday celebrating the ousting of mohamed morsi was canceled after the country's

public prosecutor was killed in a bomb attack in cairo. hisham barakat died in hospital monday after a remote bomb detonated next to his car outside his home as he drove to work. eight others were also hurt in the blast. barakat became a target of militants after he sent thousands of islamists to trial following the overthrow of morsi in 2013. he is the most senior figure to have been targeted for assassination since a 2013 attempt on the life of the then-interior minister. the bombing came as an emergency arab league meeting was underway in the egyptian capital following recent attacks in tunisia and kuwait for which the islamic state claimed responsibility. on friday, a lone gunman shot dead 38 people in the tunisian resort town of sousse before being killed by police. most of the victims were european tourists. the self-proclaimed islamic state also took credit for a simultaneous attack in kuwait, where a suicide bomber killed 27 people at a shiite mosque. egypt's ambassador to the arab league, tarek adel said it must fight to eliminate the terrorist threat.

ambassador adel: egypt will not stand by. until it is uprooted and defeated completed. amy: for more we are joined now in our new york studios by sharif abdel kouddous, democracy now! correspondent usually based in cairo, egypt. he has also reported recently from yemen. he wrote a piece for foreign policy headlined "saudis above houthis next door, and death all around" and his nation piece was called "death and devastation in sanaa." sharif, welcome back to -- it is great to have you in new york. can you talk about what has taken place in egypt? sharif: this is an escalation. he is the first top efficient to be killed and more than a

quarter of a century. a -- he is really the highest profile official to be killed since the ousting of mohamed morsi. it comes on the eve of mass protest. it really deals a blow to the government. he even wrote power -- it is power on the promise of stability and order. he has testified -- justified this to eliminate the militant threat. the war on terror is his raison d'etre, if you will. there are more terrorists in egypt then there are -- in the past two years that we have ever had. amy: i wanted to go to a clip

responding to the death sentence recently handed down to mohamed morsi. the ruling came in the case of a 2011 prison break, one year before morsi became egypt's first democratically elected leader. he was later ousted in a 2013 coup. morsi's attorneys say they will appeal. the decision drew international criticism, including from the u.s., a key ally of the egyptian regime. white house press secretary josh earnest said the u.s. is "deeply troubled" by morsi's sentence. secretary earnest: we are deeply troubled by the politically motivated sentences that have been handed down on president morsi and several others. we understand that mr. morsi's attorney hence to appeal the sentence. the united states has been concerned with a variety of the

sentences and concerned it is conducted in a way that is contrary to universal values. amy: in a report on egypt quietly submitted to congress last month, the obama administration found "the overall trajectory for rights and democracy has been negative." but the report concludes that despite a series of abuses and the undermining of a free society, egypt is too important to u.s. interests for any cuts to annual military aid. sharif: the u.s. policy toward egypt has not changed in significant ways in decades. we have seen them prioritize those objectives over other objectives like human rights and the rule of democracy. with regards to the targeting of the public prosecutor, it is significant because it marks a move from the militant groups, which has almost exclusively targeted police and army forces to targeting the judiciary.

when we look at the judiciary in egypt, it really has shed any semblance of neutrality over the past few years. during the mubarak era well there were certainly judges loyal to the state, you could get some court rulings that were not favorable to the government, so you had the mubarak government exhorting to exceptional courts. since the revolution, many state traditions have adopted a mentality in what they view as the next essential threat and we have seen them go from being a curb on impulses to being a willing partner in oppression. we have seen the targeting of islamists, where you had, for example, hisham barakat put on

trial. mohamed morsi, the first democratically elected president, has received a life sentence. the head of the muslim brotherhood has been sentenced to death in five separate cases. many of the revolutionary activists that were at the heart of the 2011 uprising, it has gone beyond that to anyone that has spoken up against the government and included human rights advocates, civil society workers, trade unionists and journalists. the committee to protect journalists, just last week, put out a report that found it is the highest number of journalists jailed in egypt since they began keeping records in 1990. there are 18 behind bars. 16 of them have been sentenced to death. many are accused of belonging to the muslim brotherhood, which is a band organization, but with regards to hisham barakat

himself, he was a highly controversial figure. he was appointed one week after the coup that overthrew mohamed morsi that was backed by the government, and he has come under previous threat because of this crackdown. despite that, he seems to have been very poorly detected. he took the same routes from his home to his office and this is where he was attacked from, similar to an attack against the van interior minister -- then interior minister, a car bomb going from home to work. no one claimed response ability for this attack. the state information service has been quick to point at the muslim brotherhood has been responsible. the muslim brotherhood has rejected the violence, but has said the government was responsible for it because of the violence perpetrated against civilians, however it does bear

the hallmarks of a group -- a jihadist group that has since pledged allegiance to the islamic -- islamic state and calls itself the sinai province. it posted a video on sunday that appeared to threatened -- threaten more attacks on the judiciary and showed what looks like the killing of three judges in may who were gunned down. there have also been other groups that have sprung up especially in the last year, smaller groups with names like revolutionary punishment and things like that who have pledged to commit violence against a state in the face of what they see as overwhelming crackdowns. they tend to do smaller attacks but we will have to see who will claim response ability. amy: any relation to isis? sharif: this group has pledged

allegiance to isis and calls itself the province of sinai. the degree to which they actually get logistical support, weapons support financial support, it is highly questionable. it might be more ideological and they have targeted police and secured a forces. attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure has been limited. amy: you talked about the number of people, journalists islamists, dissidents in jail. what about the leading dissidents? sharif: the leading face is serving a five-year prison sentence. his sister is serving a sentence. amy: how old is she?

sharif: she is 20. i was at the protest where she was arrested and it was a largely peaceful one. it was an unelected cabinet that band all demonstrations in egypt and we are seeing an unprecedented crackdown in egypt. we have seen up to 40,000 people from in prison. now the cabinet has passed an anti-terror law that is extremely draconian. the internet is one of the last spaces for defense in egypt and there is healthy defense on facebook twitter and other outlets and now this anti-terror bill as a cybercrime element to it that allows authorities to imprison people for up to five years for very vague crimes such as harming national security and so forth. the human rights group has recently put out a report that

found that 270 people in the last year alone were killed by the police, either in police stations, on the streets, or while they are in custody and this is the worst your documented -- year documented for human rights. we have seen this come with complete impunity. there are hardly any police officers that have been sentenced to prison for the killing of hundreds of people thousands of people, and we've seen acquittal after acquittal for former regime officials. amy: i wanted to switch gears and go to yemen, where you just came from. on monday, you end -- un secretary ban ki-moon -- this is the spokesperson.

farhan: the secretary-general strongly believes this incident only underscores the imperative that all parties of the conflict must end the fighting and return to the negotiation table as the only possible way to achieve peace in yemen. amy: your response to what is happening in yemen? sharif: a saudi-led bombing campaign has damaged the country, targeted infrastructure and enforced a naval, eric, and land blockade, which has increased the humanitarian crisis. they have also cut off access for food, using food as a weapon, cutting off access by road to starve their opponent.

it is a story of civilians being caught between two warring sides. the u.s. provides logistical and intelligence support for the campaign which really has no end game that is clear. the saudi's are bombing yemen. they want to restore an exiled president to power who has no support on the ground. it is also an incoherent policy that is conducting drone strikes on al qaeda in yemen and also leading the fiercest rivals of al qaeda in yemen and we have seen aqip increasing in strength. a lot of the world is complicit in what is happening to yemeni civilians who are on the brink of starvation, have hardly any

water, and have no one to turn to. this is not a story that gets a lot of headlines in the media. amy: thank you very much foretelling it to us here on democracy now. he will head back to cairo egypt now. thanks for being with us. we will link to his piece and his "nation" piece. when we come back it is the 100 anniversary of grace lee boggs. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "we almost lost detroit." we and the show saying happy birthday to grace lee boggs. happy 100 birthday. she turned on june 27th. 100this is the trailer about her life called "american revolutionary: the evolution of grace lee boggs". grace: i feel so sorry for

people who are not living in detroit. people are always striving for size, to be a giant, and this is a symbol of how giants fall. keep recognizing that reality is changing, your ideas have to change. do not get stuck in old ideas. >> grace has made more contributions to the black struggle than most black people have. >> how did you become a philosopher? grace: i just go back 70 years. i am not sure why i am who i am. i think it does have something to do with the fact that i was born female and born chinese. >> folks did not think about grace as a chinese-american. she was just one of us. grace: i think the lightbulb

goes on very often in the conversations that people have and we do not pay attention to it. >> the talk was not cheap. she made all kinds of people cry, myself included. >> how would you describe where we stand now? grace: coming out of depression, you get a concept of messiah. we are the children of martin and malcolm. i do not know what the next revolution will be like, but we might be able to imagine it if the imagination were rich enough. amy: a clip from "american revolutionary: the evolution of grace lee boggs".

we revisit an interview. i asked her about her experiences with malcolm x.. grace: i first met malcolm through his brother. my sense of malcolm and the movement is very different from that of many people, partly because i thought of mr. mohammed not so much in terms of his concepts, but someone who like many muslims, i think, today, had a sense of themselves has part of another development. there must be another way. i heard the head of the nation

of islam make some of these speeches. i met wilfred malcolm's brother for the first time. i began to host meetings at my home where he could talk to people and give them the sense that most people think of the black movement in the 1960's mainly as a struggle for rights, but for muslims or people that joined the nation, it is a question of creating our own identity. it was more a part of the identity movements of the 1960's than just the rights movements and i wanted folks to understand that, so i began working with malcolm. i was one of the organizers of the progressive leadership conference where he made his famous speech. amy: in detroit. grace: in detroit. amy: that speech being

"prospects for freedom?" grace: in 1963, a few weeks prior to the assassination of jfk. he made his remarks, which led to his suspension. after he was forced out of the nation, he was looking for what he should do. a group of us came here to new york to meet with him and asked him to come to detroit to work with us because we understood malcolm's hunger for new ideas. he was a person always searching to transform himself. we met with him and asked and he said no, he was going to be an evangelist and he could not become an organizer with us. amy: would you mean, and

evangelist? grace: he felt his voice was what needed to be heard. he made this enormous discovery that is not a question of biology, that there are people of all ages that were part of this humanist journey and he came back to this country and he said -- most people do not know he said i am a revolutionary and i am a muslim, that is all i know about myself. where i am going to go, what ideology i am going to develop i do not know, but i must crawl before i walk, i must walk before i run, and i do not think i will have time. this was november, december of

1964. he was killed on february 21, 1965. so, we will never know what malcolm would have become. he was a person, and all of us are, in the process of transformation. amy: how would you describe knowing him, meeting him, his personality -- what struck you about him? grace: he was one of the gentlest people i've ever met. people do not know that. i can remember attending a meeting and i remember young people getting up and saying malcolm stands for by all means necessary. they had taken that little bit of him and made it him which isn't true. i mean, it is not true of any of us obviously, but it is particularly not true of malcolm. i think people that read autobiographies to this day understand that it was a process

of transformation and i think it was one of the most important qualities of a revolutionary, to be transforming yourself, to be expanding humanity as events challenge you. amy: and grace lee boggs, what was your understanding of the murder, where were you? grace: it was a very snowy day in detroit. i was picketing a church of the reverend said -- had made a terrible remarks about militancy , so we came back -- my husband jimmy and i, and i got a call from pat robertson in new york that malcolm had been assassinated and we did not know who it was. we were not ready to attribute

murder to the nation, so we tried to convene an international tribunal that would include version russell and jean-paul sartre. it was very hard at that point when unity seemed the answer to so many of our issues, to think of something disasters happening inside the black -- something disasters happening inside of the black community. we did not know that malcolm because of the conduct of mr. mohammed, had already slipped. amy: how would you compare what malcolm x. represented to dr. king? you had not met dr. king, but you were living between these movements.

grace: in detroit we thought king was a little naive. detroit is made up of many people that come from the south, so we were very happy, we welcome to montgomery march. in fact, it was so interesting many blacks who had escaped from the south and had come north had considered blacks in the south were backwards and began to recognize something might come from the south been rather from the north, but then the issues that were facing people in the south were not the same as those facing us in the north, so we had to redefine what was necessary in the north. amy: legendary american revolutionary grace lee boggs. that was great speaking in 2008

in 2008. june 27 she turned 100 years old. the film "american revolutionary -- the evolution of grace lee boggs" has won major awards. 500 people came out to the african-american history museum in detroit to celebrate. grace was not able to make it. she lives comfortably at her home in detroit surrounded by her beloved community. a very happy birthday to you grace. that does it for our broadcast. a very happy birthday to isis phillips. and fond farewell to anna ozbeck and sam ridell. democracy now is produced by -- democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who

appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013.