08/08/1818 08/08/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacificaththis is democracy now! >> can you believe how close this is? ballgame, anded you made this possible. amy: two years ago donald trump won ohio's 12th congressional district by 11%. but tuesday's special congressional election in the district remains too close to call. is this a sign the democrats could retake the senate and

house in november? we will look at all of tuesday's elections results from ohio, michigan, kansas, missouri, and washington. then we speak to black liberation activist debbie africa, the first member of the move 9 to be released on parole after serving nearly four -- 40 years in jail. she was arrested during a massive police raid on the move house years 40 ago today during which one police officer was killed. >> i could distinguish the kids crying. very clearare was calling a for help. >> two minutes later, hoses are blasted at the house. amy: at the time of her arrest, debbie africa was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with her son, mike jr. he was born inside prison. newly reunited, they will join us today from his home. all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. on tuesday, voters headed to the polls for a special election in ohio and primaries in michigan, kansas, missouri, and washington. in a surprise in ohio, the special congressional election in a staunchly republican district remains too close to call, although republican troy balderson has already claimed victory over democrat danny o'connor. balderson leads by only 1754 votes and thousands of absentee and provisional ballots still need to be counted. in kansas, the republican gubernatorial primary also remains too close to call. the race pitted the state's new governor jeff colyer against the state's former secretary of state kris kobach. kobach is a key architect of the republicans voter suppression efforts nationwide, and he led trump's widely discredited so-called voter fraud commission.

in michigan, former state legislator rashida tlaib, won her democratic congressional primary race and is poised to become the nation's first palestinian-american congresswoman. in michigan's gubernatorial primary, gretchehen whitmer, a formerer leader r in the micichn state sesenate, beat outut progressive candidate drdr. abdl el-sayed. in missouri, meanwhile, voters overwhelmingly rejected a right-to-work law in a statewide referendum tuesday. the results are a victory for labor unions, which organized to oppose the republican-backed law, saying it would suppress wages and weaken collective bargaining rights. we will have more on tuesday's primary elections after headlines. in a victory for immigrant rights organizers, a federal judge in washington state has certified a class-action lawsuit alleging systematic wage theft at geo group's for-profit northwest detention center. detained immigrants are paid only $1 a day to work inside the

jail. judge robert bryan's ruling comes as geo group is facing increasing scrutiny over its role of profiting off detention and family separation. on tuesday, the human rights group the dream defenders held a national day of action to protest the for-profit prison company, which is the immigration and customs enforcement agency's largest contractor. at least 16 actions took place in more than a dozen cities, including in boca raton, florida, where more than 100 people protested outside the geo group's headquarters. in more immigration news, a federal appeals court has ruled that the family of a 16-year-old mexican boy who was fatally shot in the head by a u.s. border patrol agent can file a civil lawsuit against the agent in the u.s. government for damages. jose antonio rodriguez was unarmed and walking along a sidewalk in nogales, sonora, in mexico, when border patrol agent lonnie swartz shot him 10 times through the border wall

from the u.s. side in 2012. in april, a federal jury has -- had acquitted agent swartz on murder charges. he's now facing a retrial on manslaughter charges. in colombia, right-wing politician ivan duque was sworn in as colombia's next president. he was hand-picked by former president and vowed to to roll back key parts of colombia's landmark peace deal with farc rebels. u.s. ambassador to the united nations nikki haley met with duque ahead of his i inauguratin to discuss u.s.-colombia rerelations and the u.s.-backed war on d drugs in latin america. duque opposes drug legalizatati. on tuesday, prprotesters gatherd across colombibia to protetest s inauguration. and to dememand an end to the we of assassinations of human rights leaders. this is arley valencia. life, formarching for peace, for the democracy that was defeated on june 17, brought

by the -- bob at the national registry and the former president uribe. we are here with the threat and social leaders. we are not with the newly inaugurated president because he is not represent us. amy: ethiopia's government has signed a a deal to endnd hostils with thehe oromo liberation fron which thethiopian n governnt had prpreviously lababeled a terrorist t group. the ororomo liberationon front s been fighting for r dedes for the self-determination of the oromia region, home to the oromo pepeople. it follows a historic peace agreement between ethiopia and neighboring eritrea brokered last month. in bangladesh, massive student protests demanding improved road safety continue in the capital dhaka. bangladesh authorities have shut down mobile internet nationwide in an effort to suppress the growing protests. authorities have also attacked and arrested journalists covering the protest, including the acclaimed bangladeshi photographer shahidul alam, who was arrested at his home by 20 police officers only hours after

doing a skype interview with al jazeera about the protests. the 63-year-old photographer was reportedly beaten in custody so badly that he was unable to walk by himself when he appeared in court the following day. in california, six youth activists were arrested after holding a sit-in protest at california governor jerry brown's office to demand action on climate change. ir!we need clean a exemptions! no new gas extensions! jerry brown, this is your last chance! amy: the youth sit-in protest at governor jerry brown's office comes as fire officials say the mendocino complex fire, the largest fire in california history, is expected to burn uncontrollably for at least the rest of this month.

it is currently the size of los angeles. and in more climate change news, a group of leading scientists are warning the cascading effectcts of melting ice, warmig seseas, shifting currents and dying forests could push the planet into a "hothouse" state, in which efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are increasingly futile. their study was published in the journal proceedings of the national academymy of sciences. puerto rico is planning to transport 3200 prisoners to private prisons on the u.s. mainland, thousands of miles away from their families on the island. the proposal is part of a slew of austerity measures being pushed by puerto rico's unelected fiscal control board in the wake of hurricane maria. officials say the plan will save puerto rico $400 million over four years. but prisoners are opposed to the plan, saying it will make it next to impossible for them to receive visits from their family members.

in tennessee, lawyers for death row prisoner billy ray irick are appealing to the u.s. supreme court to stay his scheduled execution thursday. irick was convicted in 1986 of the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in knox county, tennessee. he is one of 33 death row prisoners who are challenging tennessee's plan to use a controversial three-drug cocktail for executions, which includes the sedative midazolam, which has been used in multiple painful, botched executions in the past. the prisoners say the drug cocktail amounts to being tortured to death. and new york city mayor bill de blasio has signed a new law to allow prisoners to make free phone calls from inside new york city's jails, following a long campaign by activists demanding an end to the exorbitant and exploitative rates charged by the billion-dollar prison phone industry. currently, the privavate company securus, which manages phones in new york city's jails, reaps $2.5 million every single year off prisoners' phone calls. about 75% of the people

incarcerated in new york city's jails have not been convicted of a crime and are awaiting their trials. and those are some of the headlines. this democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. juan: and i'm juan gonzalez. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. on tuesday, voters headed to the polls for a special election in ohio and primaries in michigan, kansas, missouri, and washington. a special election in ohio's 12th congressional district remains too close to call but republican troy balderson has already claimed victory over democrat danny o'connor to serve the remainder of former republican congressman pat tiberi's term. balderson leads by just 1754 votes and thousands of absentee and provisional ballots still need to be counted. o'connor is hoping to pull off a major upset. >> can you believe how close

this is? we are in a tied ballgame. and you made this possible. juan: president trump had won the district in 2016 by a margin of more than 11%. regardless of who wins the special election, the two candidates will face off again in november. in kansas, the republican gubernatorial primary also remains too close to call. the race pitted the state's new governor jeff colyer against the state's former secretary of state kris kobach. earlier this week, president trump endorsed kobach, who had helped run trump's widely discredited presidential advisory commission on election integrity. amy: in michigan, rashida tlaib won the democratic primary primary for john conyers' old seat.. the palestinian-american politician had received endorsements from many progressive groups, including

our revolution and the greater detroit democratic socialists of america. in another closely watched race in michigan, gretchen whitmer, a former leader in the michigan state senate, won the democratic gubernatorial primary. dr. abdul el-sayed, who had been endorsed by bernie sanders, placed second. he was attempting to become the nation's first muslim governor. shri thanedar placed third in the race. meanwhile in missouri, labor unions scored a big victory as voters rejected a republican-backed right-to-work law that would havave banned compulsory union fees. and in another missouri race, ferguson city council member wesley bell unseated st. louis county prosecuting attorney robert mcculloch who was widely criticized for his handling of the police shooting of michael brown in 2014. to talk more about tuesday's results and what they mean for the midterms in november, we are joined by two guests.

in washington, d d.c., zaid lali is a staff reporter at the intetercept. anand in madison, wisconsin, is john nichols, political writer for the nation. we welcome you both to democracy now! begin with, let's you. talk about the significance of these races. which were you watching most closely? >> we had also reported from kansas and we reported from a number of these locations. michigan in particular was interesting because we had about a dozen muslim americans running for offices. everything from governor down through congress to state house seats. in particular, we were watching dr. el-sayed race. a microcosm of sort of a populous base fighting with establishment backed by both labor unions and corporations. named who a wildcard put 11 main dollars of his own money into the race.

amy: that race between whitmer and dr. el-sayed, talk about the significance of the wind. i mean, you had bernie sanders going out and campaigning for the former -- well, for the detroit health commissioner dr. el-sayed, also here in new york, alexandria acosta cortez was there come also campaigning for him. and what that victory means for whitmer. >> whitmer was basically the quintessential establishment candidate. she came from the state legislature. she was backed by virtually every labor union with the exception of the michigan nurses. she was a former daughter of the shield.lue cross/blue their lobbyist raised $144,000 for her at a single event. they basically had the support of most elected officials across the state. that was the basic establishment lineup. when it came to dr. el-sayed, he was polling a single digits when

this race started. he finished over 30% last night. so i think compared to where he started and what he was trying to do, which was score a this sort when, he made a lot of progress. the real wildcard, he put about $11 million of his own money into the race despite the fact politicald to consultants as running as a republican. he was clapping along with marco rubio. this man already achieved more than 15% of the vote basically by pumping money into detroit by buying off some influential african-american pastors who did well with the african-american vote. i'm for choi, that sort of created a situation where sayed by his presence in the race running ads claim in his the most progressive candidate in the race, running as claim the was for civil care, helped siphon votes that essentially allowed whitmer to win outside of detroit and

allowed sayed to build a base of him people but not the full base that satyrs used to defeat clinton in the state earlier in 2016. juan: i would like to bring john nichols in the conversation. what is your big take away from the results yesterday? >> it was a really exciting day politically. ouour media sometimes is so washington-them says that it misses a lot of what is happening out in the states. to be the most powerful signal came from missouri. in missouri, we saw a right to work law put on the booksks by a newly elected republican governor in combination with the republican legislature. we have seen that all over the country in places like wisconsin and michigan and indiana as very powerful interests have pushed these right to work laws, which are anti-labor legislation,

meant to make it hard for unions to organize and collectively bargain and participate in the political process. in missouri, that attempts to put the law on the -- they had a chance to put the law on the ballot, to essentially let the people overturn it. by a two to one margin, remarkable numbers, two to one margin missourians rejected the anti-labor law. this is one of organized labor's busiest victories -- biggest victories in a number of years. it paralleled ohio in 2011 when they put an anti-labor law on the books and it also lost by roughly two to one margin. i think that is a very, very big result and one that we have to pay attention to. i also think that rashida tlaib victory in the primary to fill john conyers seat in michigan, which you discussed a little bit, is a huge result. rashida tlaib ran as an exceptionally progressive candidate.

is an activist. she is somebody who was a state legislator, but also was in the streets working hard on a host of issues, speaking out a lot on immigrant rights as well as refugee issues. and basic economic justice issues. finally, the other race i thought was incredibly significant last night was the forouri race in st. louis the prosecutor seat. remarkable is just win theough prosecutor's race that might be the pinnacle r race in the couny because this is the prosecutor who did not respopond effectivey to ferguson. and here you have a city councilman from ferguson running against the incumbent 28 year veteran prosecutor on a platform of criminal justice reform, addressing cash bail, and winning by a small margin --

looks like wesley bell's victory will be in the range of 5 57-43, so that is a v very big victory. one tow i i want to turn to a video of furnaces city councilmember wesleyey bell speaking last night. >> i know it is bigger because it is about change that will not only a fact your county, but south kent, was counted, mid county. we have to start working on bringing this region together. juan: john, the impact of what we're seeing across the country now, very progressive folks going after district attorney, a prostitute -- prosecutor sees, and therefore having a major impact potentially on the criminal justice system. >> absolutely. our media a tends to cover congssssional races in washington, d.c.c., which is logigical and last night you haa big one in ohio and thahat was very important.. and these prosecutor races around the country are contest

that really toucuched pelele's lives at the most fundamental levels. prososecutors havehehe ability o put people in jail or to decide tt to take cases to courtrt. they affect especiaially our commununities in urbrban arerea, community's wiwith people of color, immigrants cocome all sos of other folks who tenend to coe into contactct with the law and need folks in n office who are derstanding, who respect their rights. instead, we're seen so many prosecutors around the country who don't show that respect. now you have got a generally young generation of activist lawyers from of engaged lawyers, running for these prosecutor positions and winning them. i will emphasize, to have a 28 year veteran prosecutor turned out of officice in st. lou in just agususon region is

remarkable resesult. i think we have to pay a lot of attention toto it. i do agree with yoyou, my senses th is somemething we will sesee more o of a prosecutor races aroundnd the country as the year proceeds. there are quite a few of them on the ballot this fall. talkzaid jilani, can you about the major special congressional election between balderson and danny o'connor, still too clclose to call? the republicans poured $5 million into this race. democrats board $1 million into it. it is traditionally a longtime republican district going back to 1920 come only a a few years under democratic control, and trump went there last weekend. alderson has declared victory. trump has taken credit for it immediately last night. but again, the absentee ballots have not been counted. there are thousands of them and the provisional ballots and the

differences something like 1700 votes. ohiothink the results in near those of many special elections since president trump has been in office. in the sense we're seeing a tremendous democratic advantage in traditionally republican districts. this started really in georgia with a special election in which kerry -- carry handle one. it had been in republican hands for decades. we're seeing it again and again. something like eight out of nine of these went for the republican side. every single one was far too close for the republicans versus say a normal election year. i think his accommodation of two things that took place in ohio and nationally. one, i think the republican base sort of his depressed right now. the same thing that happened to the democratic base in 2010i think is happening to the republican side. we're seeing reduced turnout, reduced voter turnout in these districts. and we're seeing kind of energized democratic party in

each of these districts. although, i think it is more the former. small republican turnout that we are larger democratic turnout. i think that is what was at play here in ohio. i'm sure republicans probably will declare victory at the end of the day. they are saying it is too close to call. most likely it will be with through publicans. the fact that a district that has been in public and hence for that long is so close, does not bode well for the republican party going into the midterm. how long will that dynamic hold? in that direction. i would be curious after 2020 if we will see a return to the pattern starting with the democrats losing seats, including losing ted kennedy's seat in the senate originally to scott brown. i think that really gets to the foundational question. in a system where there is two parties, when one party screws up, the other one actually benefits. but the question is whether it will ping-pong or if they will

address core issues that matter to working people and middle-class people. issues like making sure everyone has a good paying job, making sure everyone is addressing health care. health care is still by far the most important issue and all of these elections when they pull people. people say health care is the top thing on their mind. the question is whether democrats will be able to govern after winning what i expect them to win quite a few elections over the next couple of years, if they're able to do that, i think they will have a sustaining governable coalition. otherwise, i think it will be the opposite. of this whole issue of what is happening within the democratic party, clearly, there are been a lot of challenges to establishment democratic party candidates from the left, for much more progressive candidates, but that a whole lot of them have resulted in what happened here cortezexandra carr show in the queens congressional election. i'm wondering what you are thinking about in terms of the

balance of forces within the democratic party? >> i think on the overall scorecard, the establishment has some pretty well since 2016. they prevented keith ellison from taking control of the political party. they defeated most of the challengers. they did have a strong advantage , especially among older voters, particularly older african-american voters. basically, every race, whether it was bernie sanders for cecile are clinton, to garcia versus rahm emanuel. alexandra cortez lost among traditionally african-american neighborhoods in her district. that is a really kind of difficult -- i think rashida a goodis race is example. her campaign was aimed at younger people. she understood that brenda jones and doorstep by detroit's mayor and many powerful labor unions had a strong end to the traditionally older

african-american community's. she focused on the younger coalition, much of it white, to get her when across. that is a lesser progressives need to know. basically the establishment is good at turning out the voters it once. hillary clinton did not fight for the youth vote much because she knew she lost it to bernie sanders. in 2008 when heller clinton lost the south, she does invested and started investing heavily in the midwest and out west. i think going into 2020, bernie sanders or maybe elizabeth warren will have to think hard if joe barden is leaving a massive amount, does it make sense to invest their? i think progressives feel like they have to win every vote. basically have to represent every person was they take office. no excuse for not representing everyone whether they voted or not. gretchen whitmer basically abandon detroit because she knew she resented are bought off a potential

players. despite the fact it went strongly against sanders and thandedartrongly for this time. the establishment still has way more money. whitmer had labor you backing and corporate backing. almost all of these races are established because they don't let the members vote and they cut off the base. the second lesson is you need to go for the votes were you think your strongest rather than try to get every vote for the heck of it. that is something cynthia in a senate is going have to think about running against andrew cuomo. one will has a massive lead among the older african-american vote. does it make sense to campaign to the population or more since did try to turnout millennials and young women and those of state voters who are not so captured by democratic machine and feel disenfranchised by the democratic party? that strategic question is what is one to keep being on progressives mines going into 2020. amy: i want to quickly go to

this issue of the women's vote. according to the center for american women in politics, at least 180 two female major party nominees will be running for the u.s. house, the highest number ever. i want to turn to michigan congressional candidate or she till he be who speaking on cbs new york. she won last night. >> i felt tremendous day to get into the ring rather than sit on the sidelines. i always tell people in some ways trump being elected president of the united states was cut of like the bat signal for many women acrcross the country, not just muslim women, but women from all backgrounds. amy: john nichols, your final comment on what has taken place them also kansas is too close to call, kris kobach, the attorney general still in the lead, leader of the so-called voter fraud commission, very discredited. and then i want to ask a about what happenened in m madison ine last few dayays. >> welcome you put a few t thins

on thehe table. let's talk about th quicklyly. i do think you are exactly right about the rise of women in this electoral cycycle. wewe are seeing wowomen nominatn races across the countryry and r a number of governorships. remember, inin michigan, you now have a democratic woman running for governor w with i think a significant chance of winning that race. rashida tlaib into the detroit ea -- in the detroit area's am a surly going to win her race. again and again you are seeing these races where women are stepping up and prevailing. it is an importatant factor ando many of them like rashida tlaib were thrown into this competition by their completes i think shock and anger at the election of donald trump and many of his actions since then. yoyou alsosksked aut k kris kobachch. kris kobacach is narrowly y ahe. that wl l be aacace that probably goes to a recount.t. nominated, this is

the siificant thing in kansas. was out there couple of weweeks ago. it is vevery striking he will running, if nominated, against wonwoman who very easily her democratic primary and has a real chance of primary -- prevailing in this primary because cobol is so offensive. not nearly two democrats, but also to good many republicans who simply think he is too far right and to extreme on a lot of these issues. finally, the o one last thing i would circle around toto is in kans, , there was a another rare that was importa, , a primary, were youou saw james t thompsona candidate that bernie sandersrs came in to campaign fo thompsonon is a candidate who ws neglected,or at least by d.c. . democrats when he rann a special election last year.

he caps on running. he just won his primary by a two to one margin and really is one of those candidates you u should keep an i on because it has been that kansas disict wherere the democratic party did not step up inin a special elelection last r who has an opportunity to step up this year. the question is whether they will step up v very progressive populist who was aggressively backed by bernie sanders and only show cortez -- amy: alexandria. >> and remember, this thompson is really doing g a tremendous b on the groround if you look at him. and this is something that i think people have to get o out d lookok at these candidates a ard the country. i'm struck b by what a number of them are doing. and you go i want to ask about what happened in madison where you are right now, in madison, wisconsisin, a mass gunman openg fire in madison commmmunity raro stationn wort release a new morning, injuring one person.

station dj was shot and taken to the hospital, later discharged. -- theyce say this was don't leave the attack was motivated by hatred of the media. can you tell us any more about what to place? it was a shocking incident. he did happen in the middle of the night. it was one of people had to catch up with to some extent. the police have said they do not think it was an attack directed at media or a politically motivated attack. they are still searching for the attacker. the stations that it got some prank calls, but it had not had sort of direct threats that might tie into politics or some sort of anti-media, anti- wort sentiment. it still has to be investigated. you are right to focus on this.

wort is a station that really has reached far beyond madison. it h has been, for many many years, one o of the leading independent community stations, maintaining a news operation justice week -- later this week debatell sponsor a between the candidates for governor. it is a big deal station will stop thihis attack has really shaken a lot of people. amy: who want to thank you both for being with us, john nichols of the nation, talking to us from madadison, wisconsin. anand zaid j jilani is a staff reporter at the intercept. this is democracy now! when we come back, we will be speaking to a mother and her son just newly reunited after almost 40 years. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: youth singing outside governor jerry brown's office to manning action on climatete chae as the largest fire in california history burns uncontrollably. the mendocino complex fire has hourly scorched an area the size of los angeles. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and

peace report. i'm amy goodman. today marks the 40th anniversary of a massive police operation in philadelphia that culminated in the siege of the headquarters of a radical grgrop known as move, dedicated to black liberation and a back-to-nature lifestyle. the group was founded by john africa, and all its members took the surname africa. it was august 8, 1978 when police tried to removeve move memembers from their communal le with w water cannons and batterg rams, , even as some continued o hide in the basement with children. this is how an eyewitness described the scene in the documentary, "move: confrontation in philadelphia." >> i was standing on the porch. 3207. 20ould hear -- only about feet from here. i could hear voices. i could distinguish who is calling. i could distinguish the kids

crying very clearly, calling out for help. >> and two minutes later flight hoses are blasted. juanan: during the siege on n 's house, gunfire was exchanged and a police officer named james ramp was killed. as move members were forced out, they were beataten by ofofficer, including delbert africa, who was unarmed and half-n-naked a v newsws cameras fililmed policece grabbing him by his dreadlocks and throwing him to the ground, and kicking and stomping him. two years later, nine move members were convicted of third-degree murder in ramp's death. they were sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison and became the move 9. amy: philadelphia police attacks on move would reach later new -- would later reach new levels on may 13, 1985, when they surrounded the move house, fired thousands of rounds of ammunition, and then dropped a bomb onto the house from a helicopter. the fire from the attack incinerated six adults and five

children, and dedestroyed 65 homes. well, today we look back at the attack 40 years ago in 1978 that preceded the 1985 bombing, and led to the arrest of those who became known as the move 9. we are joined by debbie africa, the first of the nine to be released from prison. at the time of her arrest, she was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with her son, mike jr. he was born inside prison. on june 16 after nearly four decades behind bars, she was released and reunited with her son, who now also joins us. they are speaking to us from mike's home just outside of philadelphia. debbie is on parole and unable to leave the county she is in to travel to our usual studio in philadelphia, or here in person in new york city. i should note that two members of the move 9 died in prison. the others, including debbie's

husband, mike's father, remain eligible for parole. debbie and mike, welcome both of you to democracy now! how does a few to be free -- how does it feel to be free? >> it feels good. it feels good. a heavy load has been lifted off of my heart, particularly talking about my son and being united with him. it is not even really arena vacation because i've never been with them. a reunification because i've never really been with him. it also feels a little bit heavy sisters were not released at the same time. we were all up for parole in may. i was released, but they were not. so leaving prison was a good feeling for me, but it was also

not a good feeling. because they did not get released. as i have been saying, we were all arrested the same day, not only my sisters, but also the rest of the move 9. the samell arrested day. we were charged with the same charges. we were tried together. we were given the same sentence as was stated by the judge at the time, he said, since you say you are a family, i'm going to oblige you and sentence e you aa family.. so we were all giviven 30 to 100 years each. but when i it came time for us o be released, we were not released as a family, as the judge said. we were not released together. even more blatantly, they were not released with me. their case, everything was the same. juan: debbie, you came up for

parole several times before they finally granted your parole. could you talk about that process of applying for parole and what made the parole board this time change their mind, if you have a sense of that? gap, -- well, yeah, i have been up for parole as well asas the rest of my mov9 family since 2008. we were all eligible in 2008. we were denied repeatedly year after year. some were given two years at a time. i personally was given a year and then another year hit and then another year and then another two years. but they were saying the same thing. they were putting on our reports different issues, lack of remorse, lack of motivation for success. and then this time, which would time goingy eighth

up for parole this time in 2018, we finally just had to get somebody else involved, somebody who could actually have the legs and have the means to be able to take all that we have done, all that we have done while in the prison, to put it right in front of the parole board met to put it right in front of the da, to put it in front of philadelphia to see that move people, we are still -- we are still good people. they had to see that, so we had to get an attorney to actually make that point. and because of all of the support that move has, has had over the years, you know, it just helped bring that point home and helped bring it to the forefront. so the support that john africa generated through some terrible examples that happened through was just theit

support of the people that pushed the issue. and with the attorney being the ones that have the legs and had the means to be able to present a packet to the parole board to make them just really pay attention. that is what i feel made the difference. were allie africa, you convicted of third-degree murder. they said that you were involved with the killing of this police officer from your home. the move 9 have always claimed innocence, denying they shot anybody, blamed the officer's death on accidental fridley fire of other officers. -- friendly fire of other officers. they never accused you directly up killing officer ramp. would you like to comment on this 40 years later as others wait in jail waiting to be free, including your husband mike africa?

>> no, i was never directly said to have had a weapon or to have killed the officer. edit this .40 years lateter, it has been 40 years and it is 40 years later. what i want to say about that is it was a tragic day. it was not a good day. i don't to glorify it. glorificationonny feelings inn me to even really relive it because it t was a tragic d day. i really don't even like bringing it up. pepeople have suffered and arere still l suffering behind it. the main thing i would like to --us on is not only getting not only helping pull people together and unifying people to push forward for a better day, for not only move but for a lot

of people who are suffering out here, but also to bring about the example about the move 9 nine being innocent. amy: i want to ask your son might, who is sitting next you, mike junior, the guardian newspaper described you as a penal often of the black power movement. y yrs, you're visiting your mother or father into different penitentiaries. the first time you're together with your mom in this month, not involving bars, how does it feel and what are your comments on reuniting after 40 years? you were born in prison. >> yeah, i was born in prison. first of all, i wowould like to say thanks for having us on the show. i appreciate the exposure to get this information out. how does it feel? said, itlike my mom

feels bittersweet. it does feel really good. the feeling of bringing her out knowing i amn and visiting this prison that she is in for the last time, like, that felt before. this is amazing. this is something i've been waiting for all my love, something i've been working so hard for the rest of the people, my family, the move organization. it is been so good. it felt so good to be able to take her home, put her in my car, and never have to go back there for her. but it did feel bittersweet. every visit i have ever been on with her since i have been in the organization, i've seen janet and janine, too. to leave the prison with her and take her home knowing that they are still back there, that was heartbreaking. likethinking about it now,

, i almost felt t like i was turning my back k on them. just walking away. i hadad to do it to take mom ho, in leaving janet and janine prison was devastating. it is also devastating, too, that although mom is home, my dad is still in prison. eddie is still in prison and delbert. when i think about the other when i think about the other people, i think abouout the fact thatat janet and janinine specificically, two other childn were in the bombing w where the city of philadelphia, the police, dropped the bomb on our house and janet and janine's kids were shot to death and burned alive. remain injanine prison. that to me is a total injustice. it is bittersweet. it is nice to have her home. i would be telling the story about how the first that she

came home i went to her bedroom and i knocked on her door and she told me to come in, and it went in. as she was standing there, we were talking. i looked down at her feet and i noticed she was barefoot. when i looked down and i saw her feet, i realized that was the first time i had ever seen her feet before. i was tatalking to my frieiend y and i was explaining to him what happened. and bobby said something that was so profound. he said, you are learning for 40 first time at almost years old what babies learn about their mothers. it is really true. time capsule. there are so many things that has happened in the 40 years that she has been locked away. adjusted tot her life out her on -- out here on the streets, learning the

technology, learning the way cars are on the streets, learning the way people -- different things i did not exist 40 years ago like home depot or cell phones or cds, whatever. that process is really interesting and fascinating and is also very enjoyable going through this. it is a must like a role reversal, like -- she described it as a fatherly-type relationship currently. it is really good, but we really need to focus on the other people that are still in prison. amy: we have to go to break that we will come back to this conversation. mike africa and his mother debbie africa, one of the move 9 on june 16, after nearly four decades behind bars, she became the first of the move 9 members to be released from prison. we are back with them in a moment. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan

gonzalez. our guests are mike africa and his mother debbie africa, one of the move 9. on june 16 after nearly 40 years behind bars, she became the first of the move 9 members to be released from prison. they're joining us from mike's home, outside of philadelphia, because she cannot travel to a studio inside philadelphia or to new york. juanmy goodman with gonzalez. said, -- as, as you your sunset, 40 years is a long time behind bars. many people listening to this broadcast were not born or have not heard of move. of philadelphia in 1978. i was just about to begin my journalism career at the philadelphia daily news but i was not yet a reporter. i clearly remember the

movedsion footage of that standoff with the police and of the beating of delbert africa, long before the rodney king video. ofeotape terrible bebeating delbert africa as he was beaten in plain view. i remember also alfonso who was then the head of the guardian, the black police officers, probably condemning the police abuse and the mayor at the time frank rizzo going on television and saying, "i want a piece of him myself." could you talk about with the climate was like in philadelphia at that time, the racial climate under mayor rizzo, and also what did move stand for? why were the police and the establishment so determined to stamp out move? move was anuse

organization that represented life. wholest basically, this significance of the city of philadelphia one thing to stamp move out is because move represented the fact that we would not stand for injustice. and our believe is about stopping the suffering of life. and because life is what people use to make money on, they exploit life in order to make money, it is big business. enslaving lifelike zoos and enslaving lifelike circuses and enslaving life like inincarceration, enslaving peope -- all of those things are moneymakers. they're all industry. -- allalaces, pet shows of those things are industries. they are making money.

they are exploiting life. -- exposingosed in the kind of wrong, people did not want to hear it. they did not want to hear because it was a direct attack on her industry, on their money, on what they wanted to do. you know how it is when some but he tries -- when you want to do something and summit he doesn't want you to do it, and they're going against it and it is a strong force, you get mad. you get mad and you want to hurt some people because they are a direct threat of what you're trying to keep going. inc. about it. youou smoke or you drink or just like to ride bikes and your wife or husband or your child or anybody don't want you to do it, you get mad. you get mad and you're like, don't stop me from smoking, i want my cigarettes. everyot to have my drink week. people get mad. listen, i've to go on this hike every week. i don't care if it will disrupt your party this weekend.

but they don't want that. so that was the whole issue really behind the philadelphia administration at that point against move most of amy: debbie, you are free now. two others died in jail of move 9 and the others remain in jail. you went up with the other two --en, with janine and with for your parole hearing as you had done many times before with and they didnet not give parole, but you did. you are not, oddly enough, now able to communicate with your husband sr mike.. i ththink we have a picture of y with a number of awards he has one while he has been in prison. you're not allowed to communicate with him in any way right now? and you have not seen him since 1986 or more than 30 years? when you are behind bars you

were able to write to him, but now because you're considered a codefendant, you not allowed to comedic it in any way? mike, you're the go-between to pass information to let this couple speak to each other? >> right. that is the way it has been. when my mother or my father want to communicate something in a more detailed fashion, oftentimes i have been for the last i don't know how many years , i would pass messages from one to the other and that was t the most of a connection that we all had together as a family. so if my dad wanted to know something or talk about something, yeah, i would pass messages. if my mom wanted my dad to know something, same thing. that is the most family bond we .ave had >> at this poioint, we're not en

allowed to have that just because of the stipulation right now. i am sure he will lift at some point because, you know, that is pretty much the way things go with this holding but we will see. i'm not even really a allowed en to have in direct contact with him. and i'm living in his house, but his dad calls him and talk to him but i'm not allowed to talk to him or have any indirect conversation with them either. i'm not allowewed to give mike . a message or anything, and i don't, to give him. juan: debbie, i wanted to ask you after 40 years in prison, what has been your biggest surprise coming out into the rest of the world? i think the -- i'm not going to say surprise, but i think the biggest thing the that just is so kind of to buyve to me is having

water. bottled water. i think that is the thing that has annoyed me. and i say not surprising because john africa warned us about this over 40 years ago and said if the system keeps going the way it is going, that we would be having to i water, drink water, air,to scarf for water and at this point. and so to have to buy water when water is supposed to be running free, free of germs, free of poison, you know to have toto by that i is just a testament to wt john africa has been telling as, has told us over 40 years. and how serious things are. amy: move was a back to natuture movement. we only have a minute, but debbie, you gave birth behind bars in your determined that officers would not be involved. how did you do it? >> very quietly. very quietly just because i did

not want them to know because i did not know what was going to happen after that. because we were locked in isolation at the time, our cells -- we were the last four cells on a wing of like 84 people. the officers did not come back there much. because i had had a baby naturally are ready at home -- already at home, pretty much knew what to do because i had already had a baby at home two years before that. janine was myself meet at the e at themy cell mat time. i'd just have him angst to the teaching of john africa giving me the understanding of knowing i could do it. amy: you are with mike for three days alone without him being taken from you? >> yes, it was about three days. a total of about three days.

they did not know it. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us. we're going to do part two and posted online at democracynow.org. debbie africa and her son mike africa together after almost 40 years. i'm amy goodman with

hello. welcome to nhk "newsline." it's 9:00 a.m. on thursday in tokyo. i'm miki yamamoto. people along japan's eastern coast are being warned to stay safe as a strong typhoon heads up the pacific kohl's. officials are warning dangerous conditions will be prolonged as the typhoon