03/29/19 03/29/19 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york this is , democracy now! >> last week my attorneys and i filed a claim against harvard. i am asking for the return of my enslaved ancestors images. in the complaint is more than images, complaint about it is a history lesson. in specifically, it points to the exploitation of slaves and

how universities like harvard continue to profit. amy: who has the right to own photos of slaves? we will speak with tamara lanier, the great great great granddaughter of renty who was captured in a photograph currently owned by harvard. we will also speak with her attorney. the albert woodfox was the longest-standing solitary confinement prisoner in the united states. he was held 43 years in isolation in a six-by-nine-foot cell until he was released just two years ago. today he joins us in studio with his new memoir "solitary: unbroken by four decades in solitary confinement, my story of transformation and hope." >> solitary confinement is probably the most brutal form of torture because the primary

effect is mentally and emotionally. as for now, my life -- i have been free three years. everything is first-time experiences. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. new york state announced a sweeping lawsuit against members of the sackler family, the owner of purdue pharma, which makes oxycontin, the highly addictive drug at the center of the opioid epidemic. new york attorney general letitia james accused the sacklers of masterminding a scheme that "literally profited off of suffering and death." this is james speaking at a news conference thursday. opioidsce more and more

, the sackler family transferred wealth toore and more their personal accounts. held uphe lawsuits have against the sackler family and purdue in their role in this crisis, they continue to move and yes,o trusts, offshore accounts. amy: purdue pharma and t the sackler family are facing multiple lawsuits. a group of over 500 0 cities, counties, and native american tribes filed a a lawsuit against the sacklers last week, accusing them of lying about the dangers of oxycontin and deceitful marketing of the drug. the new york suit names five other opioid manufacturers, including johnson & johnson and the israeli company teva. the justice department said thursday that special counsel robert mueller's full report is over 300 pages long, as democrats continue to call for its full release as well as the underlying evidence. generals argue attorney william barr's four-page summary, released just two days after receiving mueller's report, cannot be trusted and

question his conclusion that trump did not obstruct justice -- a charge mueller did not reach a definitive conclusion on. barr reportedly told house judiciary chair jerrold nadler he would not commit to sharing the full report. he is currently redacting the report, which he says could take weeks. the department of housing and urban development is suing facebook for violating the fair housing act.t. hud says facebook allows companies that advertise housing on the social media platform to block their ads from select groups of users based on factors such as race, religion, familial -- gender and disability.. some of the categories available to advertisers include "foreigners," or people who selected "hispanic culture" or "hijab fashion" as an interest. facebook says it is working on the issue. last week the company reached a settlement with civil rights groups, agreeing to overhaul its micro-targeting system to curb

discriminanatory advertising. hud is reportedly also reviewing twitter and google's targeted adadvertising practices. the war of words between president trump and puerto rico governor ricardo rossello heated up thursday, two days after trump told republican lawmakers that puerto rico h has received too much aid since 2017's devastating hurricane maria. this is governor rossello speaking to cnn's jim acacosta. >> does it feel that way sosometimes? that you're dealing with a bully? pres. trump: if the >> is the bully gets too close, i will punch the bully in the mouse. amy: in response, trump told reporters, "i've taken better care of puerto rico than anyone, ever." president trump has still not acknowledged more than 3000 people died in puerto rico after the hurricane. in the philippines, award-winning journalist maria ressa has been freed on bail after authorities arrested her friday for the second time in two months. the arrest stems from charges

barring foreign ownership of press, an accusation ressa denies. ressa is the founder of the independent news site rappler and a vocal critic of the philippines' authoritarian president rodrigo duterte and his war on drugs, which has killed thousands of people. ressa spoke to reporters after her release. >> you cannot harass and intimidate journalists to silence. we will stand up and fight against it. as lonong as we are a democracy under a constitution, , which hs a bill of rights, we will demand our rights be respected. amy: in venezuela, the government of president nicolas maduro has banned opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president juan guaido from running for public office for 15 years. venezuelan government officials cited irregularities in guiado's financial disclosures. the opposition leader dismissed the charge and called on his supporters to keep taking to the streets. in saudi arabia, authorities temporarily freed three of the 11 women activists who were imprisoned on what human rights groups say are trumped-up

charges. among other issues, they were protesting saudi arabia's ban on women drivers. their arrest over nine months ago came just weeks before the kingdom lifted the ban. some of the women have reported physical and sexual abuse while imprisoned. in somalia, a car bomb detonated on a busy road by a hotel and restaurants in the capital mogadishu thursday, killing at least 15 and wounding at least 17 others, according to locall reports. al-shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the attack. this is a witness and mogadishu resident speaking after the deadly attack. >> as a mother, it is shocking for me and i request those behind the explosions to stop. we are crying every day over dead bodies, and it is very hard for us to talk about. amy: the attack comes just days after a car bomb and a gun battle between security forces and al-shabaab militants killed at least 15 people at a government building in mogadishu. in news from egypt, pro-democracy activist and

blogger was freed from prison after five years. he was convicted of inciting at 2013 protests that broke a law barring public gatherings without government approval. he still faces five years probation, which means he will have to spend 12 hours in a police station every night. just two weeks away from the new brexit deadline, british lawmakers will vote on a framework for britain's relationship with the european union through the end of 2020. earlier this w wk, prime minister theresa may said she would step down if her deal, which was already rejected twice by lawmakers, passed in parliament. lawmakers on both sides fear the failure of today''s vote could result in a dreaded no-deal brexit. united nations secretary general antonio guterres warned leaders to come to an upcoming climate summit with concrete plans to stem climate chahange, as the u. presented a new report by the world meteorological organization on thursday. >> every week brings a new example of climate-related devastation.

no country or community is immune. the case, theisis poor and vulnerable are the first to suffer. global climate marches are sending a clear message. young people are demanding that today's leaders act on behalf of future generations. i echo that demand. president trump told reporters amy: thursday he was reversing a proposed budget cucut to the speciall olympics after educatin secretary betsy devos came under fire for requesting government zezero out its funding for the third straight year. "i've overridden my people," trump told reporters. in health care news, federal judge and washington, d.c., struck down a trump administration rule enabling so-called association health plans, which allows small businesses to jointly offer less expensive and more restrictive health plans outside of the affordable care act. trump promoted the rule to business owners as a way to circumvent the aca and save money. the ruling comes days after the

justice department argued the aca should be fully overturned, siding with a texas judge who declared president barack obama's signature health law uncoconstitutional last decembe. wells fargo ceo tim sloan is stepping down as the banking giant faces multiple scandals related to its predatory lending practices and misleading and defrauding customers. senator elizabeth warren tweeted in response to the news -- "about damn time. tim sloan should have been fired a long time ago. he enabled wells fargo's massive fake accounts scam, got rich off it, & then helped cover it up. now, let's make sure all the people hurt by wells fargo's scams get the relief they're owed." earlier this month, democratic lawmakakers grilled sloan on consumer fraud, as well as wells fargo's relationship to the nra, private prisons, and the fossil fuel industry. the following day, wells fargo increased his salary to $18.4 million, incncluding a $2 millin bonus. maryland has become the latest

state to adopt the $15 minimum wage after the legislature overrode republican governor larry hogan's veto of the bibil. companies must adopt the law by 2025, or 2026 if they y have fer than 15 employees. maryryland is now the sixth stae to sign a $15 minimum wage into the law. and organizers in gaza have called for a million-strong demonstration saturday, on the one-year anniversary of the start of the great march of return protests at the occupied enclave's separation barrier with israel. a recent u.n. report found that 189 palestinians were killed between march 30 and december 31 last year. local reports put the total number of deaths at over 200, with thousands of others wounded. israel has ramped up its military presence in preparation for the march. and those are some of the headlines. this is 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.

we begin in massachusetts, where the descendant of two enslaved people who were captured in mid-19th century photographs has sued harvard university y accusg , the university of unfairly profiting from their images. tamara lanier of connecticut argues in a lawsuit filed this month that she and other descendants of renty and delia -- two people held in bondage 169 years ago -- should hold the rights to their photographs, not harvard. renty and delia were forced to pose for the photographs in 1850 by a well-known harvard professor, louis agassiz. he commissioned the images to support his theory of polygenism, which purports that human races have different origins, and that africans and african-americans were inferior to whites. the theory was used to justify the ongoing enslavement of black people prior to the civil war, as well as segregation.

amy: the images of renty and delia were used in a recent harvard conference titled "universities and slavery -- bound by history." this comes after administrators at harvard and other elite universities have admitted they were founded largely through the labor of enslaved african people and profits generated by the slave trade. well, for more, we are joined by two guests. tamara lanier is the plaintiff in the lawsuit against harvard university. she is the great-great-great granddaughter of renty, the enslaved man whose image was captured in the mid-19th century daguerreotype owned by harvard. also with us is civil rights attorney benjamin crump. he is representing tamara lanier in the lawsuit against harvard university over the images of her ancestors. we welcome you both to democracy now! , explain how you discover that harvard had these photographs of your relatives, of your ancestors. >> it is quite an amazing story that started with a request on

my mother that i document our genealogy. at her passing, i set out to do exactly that. that was in 2010, where the internet was not as -- the information was not as readily available as today. i happened to be out walking for lunch one afternoon and i stopped into a small ice cream shop. i was speaking with the owner about my dilemma. he offered to help. it was actually him, richard moore some, who found the images on the internet. amy: and how did you know that renty was your great great great grandfather? >> as a child, my mom often talked about her enslaved ancestors, particularly the man in the image she fondly referred to as pop-up -- papa renty. the facttalked about

of our lineage, how our family was broken apart by slavery will stop she remembered some of the family names. soso when i met with rich that afternoon, i gave him the names and the information that my mom had shshared with me. i did not return to the ice cream shop for a while thereafter. it when i did return, he said he had found amazing information on the internet, in particular, a picture of my grandfather. images -- the information rich sent me included a narrative about who louis agassiz was. but he sent me in the know with a numbmber of links. i remember reading information about louis agassiz and being overwhelmed and shocked by it. then when i open the link to the picture of renty, it was a momement for me because i knew immediately that this was the man i had heard so much about throughout my childhood. juan: benjamin crump, couldld yu

talk about what you know of how harvard acquired or utilized these photographs and why your lawsuit argues that they never legally owned the i images that they are profiting from? >> certainly. was to direct see mcqueen who told the story of solomon northrup in "12 years a slave does quote well, renty is 169 years a slave. the basic questions that our longit asks is, one, how will harvard continue to condone slavery and, , too, when will harvard unersisity finalally fre rentnty? harvard university's professor louis agassiz was a racist.

while abraham lincoln was talking about emancipation proclamation, he was going around the country professing that he could prove scientificalally that black peoe were inferior to white people. he was a nickel opportunity bigot because he -- eagle opportunity bigot because he also fought to keep jews and people from ireland out of harvard university. but in particular, he was focused on black p people, provg they were infeferior. so he wrwrote all of these horribible thihings about t blak people to justify the continued enslavavement of black people. and he sought to obtain ocular proof. that is why he went down to south carolina because he was looking for a pure african. on transporting slaves and importing slaves into 07, many of the

slave masters had sexually assaulted so many black women that there were very few pure africans as louis agassiz had noted. so he went to charleston, south carolina, and started looking there but he found in columbia, south carolina, at a plantation, renty and his daughter delia. they were referred to as the black africans. askingber tamara lanier her mother, why do they call them the black african? we're all from africa. she did not know at that time about louis agassiz and that he was referred to as a black african because everybody knew he was a pure african. and this is what louis agagassiz have an looking for to support his racist beliefs. --n: in terms of how harvard

harvard only discovered these photographs -- they were stored in a file cabinet in one of its museums, back about 40 years ago. can you talk about how they have used them since? >> yes, sir. harvard has used the pictures. they have licensed them. these daguerreotypeses are very committed valuable. they are the earliest known photographs of american slaves. in some of the earliest known photographs in america using this daguerreoeotype. harvard licensed them to be used. they were seen apparently in " and several books. they're located in the peabody museum that charges reproduction fees and such. but really, it is priceless to tamara lanier and her family because they are the descendents. lincoln -- one abraham

and the e united states freed black k people in america, we dd not have any land. we did not have 40 acres and a mule. we at least leave when we were freed, we had the r right and ownership to our person. inning, and that was our image. but harvard is telling tamara lanier and her family, no, no, renty still belongs to us. he is still our property. abouts law suit is not the descendents of renty, it is about the linear descendents of all african slaves in america because slavery was meant to make sure that we had no familiar pedigree, that we could not trace our lineage. that is why they would break up the male and females after they procreated and take the children

from their parents because they did not want us to have the concept of family. they wanted us to think of ourselves only as property. and that is why it is so miraculous what mss lanier has done and being able to prove the linear descendents of her family. many of us black people in america, we cannot do that because the primary foundation of slavery was to make sure we could not do that when they sold us off and changed our last names to whoever the plantation owner was. amy: in 2016, harvard university installed a plaque to commmmemorate four enslaved peoe who lived and worked at wadsworth house, the one-time home of harvard presidents. in an article for the harvard crimson, then harvard president drew faust wrote -- "slavery is an aspect of harvard's past that has rarely been acknowledged or invoked. but harvard was directly complicit in america's system of racial bondage from the college's earliest days."

this is harvard university former prereside fauststpeakinig at t the unveililing of the e pe >> today we will unveil a plaque that will document the presence of four enslaved individuals in the househehol of two harvard presenents who liveded in wadswoworth house. livedhere, to the plaque is tetendedo remeerer them and horr theand remind us that svery was not an abstraction, bua cruelt inflicted oparticular humamans. the pa never ds or dippears. it continues to apape usn waways we shohod not t to erase o ignore. we musnever foet. psed harvdi univsity predent drefaust eaking athe unveing of this plae. tara lanie your tughts?

>> intertingly enough, receed noticof that eting from seone on cial media a i wre to her a asked ii cod attendhe eventnd i was denied or ias told no ithatones with m atement when she talks about e past wl neverie anit will ntinue tshape us in waythat we should n igre or foet. thats exactlwhat she d with ren and his legacy. at that time, she knew about renty. she knew about me. she knew the stories i have shared with evereryone else. i specifically asked her, why is it that harvard, the keeper of these images, is seemingly not interested when the entire world is amazed? and that would have been a great opportunity to reference their legacy with slavery in renty, but every time they have the opportunity to do the right thing by renty, they chose not

to. juan: this lawsuit comes after numerous attempts by you to contact different parts of harvard university to try to get some response. could you talk about that? who you reached out to and what led you finally to say to follow lawsuit? >> virtually everyone. i sent emails. i think dr. faust was the last person in harvard i reached out to. at that time, i think there was the web dubois institute. at that time i spoke with professor -- amy: what did charles ogletree say? >> he was very supportive. he referred me to the cambridge in aa cp branch. i attended a meeting where this was discussed, but not really much traction from that resource. history departments, .istory professors

as i explained in my imo to dr.. faust,t, i have sent imo's almot to the point of a nausea and a no response. juan: i am curious to the response of henry louis gates. >> he did not response. amy: benjamin crump, you called your lawsuit the m most importat lawsuit since brown v board of education. talk about why. >> certainly. especially as it relates to civil rights. an attorney and i have put forth this claim based on well-established precedents of property law. we argued conversion, unjust enrichment, and something very argue the 13thwe amendment of the united states

of america, which gave blacks not only the right to be free, but also the right to own property and enter into contracts. in 1865,y was freed incumbent and that was his right to own his own image. this is critical when you think about what harvard is saying that "we own the rights, not your linear descendents." black people did not get any inheritance from any of our family members because we were slaves. we could not own anything. speak this lawsuit will to m men issues that americaca s nevever sought to grapple with. thathave just assumumed descendents of africans should not be given anything for our contributions to this country.

free labor,rs of building this economy, bearing the cross on our back to make sure that america was able to thrive in the world. and so this lawsuit will speak to that. if it is successful, he will be the first time descscdents of africacan slaves are ever given anywayd of compensation the harm has been repaired from slavery. until harvard condones -- condemns what louis agassiz -- because they've never done that, there will be a stain on their legacy as one of the world's leader in educational situations, their alumni diplomas will have a taint on

it, and though always be that asterisk their that they are continuing to condone slavery because your actions speak louder than your words. and so far, your actions to tamara lanier has been outrageous when you think about their dismissive nature to her. harvard, you are better than a. juan: in terms of this long history of the country failing to live up to what was done during slavery, this calls to mind henrietta lacks story with johns hopkins and the benefiting from her cells. it also comes at a time when at least if you for the first time, presidential candidates raising the issue of reparations for descendents of slaves here in the united states. i'm wondering g if you can put t in that broader context of the reparations issue? >> certainly. even though this is well-founded

and propoperty law, , we would e naive to assume people won't see this as s a reparations lawsuit. however, we understand that courts do not want to create laws. they leave that for the legislature. but make no mistake about it, it is landmark in its scope because it will be the first time that descendents of african slaves in inrica have been compensated any way, fashion,n, or form from an american institution. and remember, harvard is readily believed to be the leading american educational i institutn with an n endowment of $30 billion. these photographs have invaluable meaning to ms. lanier , but also to many people who are descendents of slaves. and why should it be locked away

at harvard university? why should these the girl types, these photographs be used to tour the country and be able to talk about -- good there are daguerreotypes, these photographs be used to tour the country? supremacy may white we as societyas have proved it to be. by many people and have the president of the united states say that there were good people on both sides is even more alarming. it makes renty's fight even more relevant. in the young people, students all around the country, have beenen signing petitions and starting to have more tests to free renty. it really hardens me and reminds meof what i did -- heartens

and reminds me of whatat i did n college with nelson mandela meeting to have abolishment of apartheid in south africa. they don't always get it right in the c court of law, but we te great solace andnd notice that e are on the right set of history and harvard is not on the right sidede of history. what do youlanier, want to see happen to these photographs? >> well, i certainly want to consider all of the options. the one thing that i have talked about with my attorneys and with my family is it is imimportant r me that people know who renty is and also who renty was and who louis agassiz was. i hope there is a greater education or reteaching of history so that we can dispute the legacy that louis agassiz has kind of stained my family

with. amy: his name is all over harvard. >> it is. his name is all over this country and parts of south carolina and the world. i think that is also an interesting point to share. i'm not only getting support from people all over this country, i am getting international support. and i heard from a young lady in helsinki, finland, the other day where she said the world is watching. she believes that the united states has never atoned for the sins of slavery and she believes this case will be the first opportunity. amy: i want to thank you, tamara lanier, for joining us today. she is suing harvard for the return of the images of her ancestors, her great great rate grandfather papa renty and his daughter delia. thank you in dallas, ben crump, t representingamara. we will follow this case. when we come back,

"solitary: unbroken by four decades in solitary confinement, my story of transformation and hope." woodfox, of robert held in solitary longer than any person in the united states. out after 43 years. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "black myself" by our native daughters. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: we spend the rest of the

hour with a former politicic prisoner who was held in solitary confinement for 43 years until he won his freedom just over three years ago. albert woodfox is now traveling the world to discuss his new memoir "solitary: unbroken by four decades in solitary confinement, my story of transformation and hope." in it he writes about his childhood and how his mother struggled to keep the family cared for, how as a teenager and young man he was in and out of jails and prisons, and how he became radicalized when he met members of the black panther party and went on to establish the first chapter of the organization at the louisiana state penitentiary in angola, louisiana, to address horrific conditions at the former cotton plantation. not long after this, he and fellow prisoner herman wallace were accused in 1972 of stabbing prison guard brent miller. the two men always maintained their innocence, saying they were targeted because of their political activity. woodfox, wallace, and a third man, robert king, became

collectively known as the angola 3. for decades, amnesty international and other groups campaigned for their release. amy: robert king was freed in 2001 when his conviction that he had killed a fellow inmate was overturned. herman wallace was freed in 2013, only after a federal judge threatened to jail the warden of angola prison if he refused to release him. wallace died one day later of liver cancer. but louisiana refused to release albert woodfox until years later. the state successfully tried him a second time in 1998 after his first conviction was overturned. then in 2014, a federal judge ruled he should be set free on the basis of racial discrimination in his retrial. when louisiana attorney general buddy caldwell announced plans to try woodfox yet again, u.s.

middle district court judge james brady ordered his release, but the u.s. fifth circuit then approved woodfox's continued detention. then after being held in isolation in a six-by-nine-foot cell almost continuously for 43 years, woodfox was released on his 69th birthday, february 19, 2016, after he entered a plea of no contest to charges of manslaughter and aggravated burglary. when he left the jail where he'd been held pending his trial, his first stop was to visit the grave site of his mother who , died while he was in prison. >> and need to say goodbye to oy mother. i was not allowed to go to her funeral when i was in angola. and my sister as well. amy: that was 2016. now two years later, albert woodfox joins us here in our new york studio to discuss his

incredible new memoir "solitary: unbroken by four decades in solitary confinement, my story of transformation and hope." we welcome you back to democracy now! to thewoodfox, we spoke day after you were released. we have followed your case for so long. i was just thinking about the time that you and robert king -- you were in prison, robert king was free, you are the angola 3 -- went to go visit herman wallace to say goodbye to him. he was dying in prison, dying of cancer. and as robert came in from the free world and you were brought in i in shackles, you both leard that the judge had demanded herman wallace be freed immediately. is it true you are the ones who gave hermon that news? it was a momentous occasion.

it was totally something that none of us expected. the reason robert and i were for a year, the state of louisiana had denied us the right to meet with our attorney as a group. and finally, our attorneys went to court and judge brady ordered them to allow us to have group sessions with our attorney. so what the state did was they ved hermon to the southernmost part of the state --and thed a ccr utmost northern part of the state -- to make it very difficult for our attorneys to have group counseling. that, i had toof hoursl with some 6, 7 b

each time. amy: and this was your last time seeing hermann? >> we actually had three visits. the first visit, hermit had just gotten the diagnosis because up to a certain point, the staff -- it wasg him he had only after our attorneys hired a generic doctor to come in and examine herman and i that they transferred him to the hospital in new orleans and he got the diagnosis that he is liver cancer. amy: i want to go to a clip of hermon in his own words describing the impact of solitary confinement on his body. thereke in phone calls were featured in the documentary "herman's house." >> being in a cage for such an --ended period of time, it

you may not feel it coming may not know it, you may think you however.ust move about when it was removed from out of that type of situation and placed in an open environment where e you are breathing oxygen and getting it into your lungs and feeling sosomething grgrowig within you, and you begin to develop a different mode within your body. i even watched my body

amy: that is a clip of hererman wallace speaking an "herman's house." -- here is describing he is describing a dream he had. listen carefully.

amy: that is herman wallace describing what it would feel to be free. you have just celebrated, albert woodfox, your 72nd birth day. >> and the third year of freedom. amy: and how do you feel today? how have you adjusted after 43 years in prison? >> well, i hope. robin and i still travel around across america. and outside of america. we talk about solitary confinement, which we believe is the most horrible and brutal nonphysical attack upon a human being by another human being. throughout my four decades plus of solitary confinemenent, i watched men go insane. i watched men physically hurt themselves. withnow, trying to deal

the pressure of being confined to a nine by six cell 23 hours out of every 24 hour period. and being free now, i still suffer claustrophobic attacks. i'm able address them better now because i physical movement is beyond nine feet now. i can walk in my house. i can go in the backyard of my house. i can go on the sidewalk or there is a park, which i often visit, a block and a half away from my house. the only remedy for me when i had cluster phobic attacks was this pace. so this has made it easier to deal with it. juan: i want to go back because your book is really a gripping at count. so much of your adult life was spent in and out of jails and then in angola. if you could talk somewhat about

your early childhood and as you ro wing of a booou neg charity hospital. talk about your early days in the family, the time you spent with the stepfather who was in the military so you are traveling around, living in different parts of the country? >> yes. , would imagine my childhood you are aware of your condition based upon the level of consciousness. my childhood was typical. i would imagine. because i had nothing to compare to. . knew no better my dad was a career military man. he served in the navy for 20 plus years. and at some point in time, he was forced to retire.

he was in charge of the galleys on an aircraft carrier. he had a great deal of responsibility and respect. the world of military and as the world of reality -- there is the world of military and the world of reality. after being muscled out, we moved back to a small town in north carolina, lagrange. we lived and the world of reality began where he was constantly being disrespected and it was difficult to get a job. it affected him in a way where he became abused. and the abususe got to where myu nties pleaded with my mom to leave. they felt if we stay there, he might kill in one of his rages.

became a point on, i .ingle parent house and writeld only read her name. as time went on, i began to realize that in spite of this handicap, she was one of the most wisest women i had ever known. even to this day, there's a point in my book, even to this in athere are times situation where i can hear echoes of some of the things she would say to me. me as wellll serves as she did when i was a child. to: we're going to come back this discussion, albert woodfox,

longest standing solitary confinement prisoner in the united states, held in a six-by-nine-foot cell almost continuously for 43 years. released just over two years ago. we will be back with him in 30 seconds. ♪ [music break]

juan: you talked about your family moved -- your mother moved and you recount her you got involved in a bunch of petty incidents with police and arrested. you eventually end up in the new orleans parish jail where you discovered there's a whole wing of prisoners that are black panthers. could you talk about your first involvement with those members of the black panthers and then what happens in new york when you come across in the manhattan house of detention, many of the panther 21? >> well, you know, my first panthers upth the close and personal was in harlem, new york. and eventually -- juan: you escaped from jail at one point? to 50 day i was sentenced

years, i escaped. eventually, i wound up in harlem. this was a different harlem from the harlem known him a criminal life. -- harlem i had known in my criminal life. i saw the black panthers and the community. i saw them helping senior citizens. cleaningm in charge of up the neighborhoods and stuff. the thing that impressed me the most them all my life, had always been able to see a certain fear in black people. no matter what position they held, you k know, i could always sense their fear. very first, my life, i saw black men and women who had no fear. this year i could not sense i i, i could not feel it.

a police car was patrolling. the fear a normally saw and black people, i saw in these police officers. that was quite an impact. andtually, i was arrested was placed in the manhattan house of detention. while i was there, the panther 21 incident, the shoot out with new york police occurred. on thembers -- i was eighth floor in a cell block. four members from that group were placed there. a panther by the name of offered was in alford king leadership position. the panthers immediately started making an impact in conversations. that was my first real close encounter with the panthers.

, a turning point in my life guy who had come down on appeal, had a book called "a different drummer." up to that point, i was listening to what the panthers were saying at the meetings but oh stop hearing what they were saying. after reading this book, i started to hear and understand what they were saying. some of the things that happened to me. notalized that it was because i was bad, it was ecause i was black. they had determined at that time one in every four black men would go to prison. one of those i was that wound up in prison. amy: you end up in solitary for close to 43

years? >> well, it was 44 years and 10 months. but there were a few breaks in between that. i was granted a new trial. i was discharged on my original prison sentence in 1996. to tangipahoared parish and placed in jail. i remained there from 1998 until april -- aprilil 1998 until december when i was re-convicted. amy: you write "gassing prisoners was the number one response by security to deal with any prisoner at angola who demanded to be treated with dignity. in the 1970's, we wewere aghast, so often every prisoner in ccr almost became immune to the tear gas." you are being gassed in solitary

confinement? >> the surgeons were provided with these -- it is like a little deodorant can. if you would try to get a certain -- like more toilet paper were you complain about the toilet in your cell not officers didif the not like the way you were talking or if you are try to defend yourself for being handled in a disrespectful manner and such, they would squirt the gas in your face. usually, that would be followed by -- they would come into your cell and the eu and handcuff you and bring it in what is called the dungeon. juan: in the book, you describe very graphically the situation at angola when you first got there before you were e in solitary in the rampant rapes that were coming in a prison. once you became politically

conscious and you work returned ere, you talk about how you insisted in your section that there was going to be no more rapes. talk about t that and the imimpt that your political or the way you dealt with fellow prisoners. i was in my dormitory. kid was assigned to be across from me. the saddest thing i've ever witnessed in my left is to look at another human being and see as his spirit has been shattered. and this kid, no, he was just sitting there. i could see tears rolling out of his eyes. life, andeved in individual incident raises your level of consciousness. so once your level of

consciousness is raised, you conditionse whatever and individuals. so how you responded that camino, is pretty much determined on that level. said, iat that moment i can no longer accept this. i can no longer tolerate this. so the next day, at a talk with herman wallace. the footballut on field. that is how we staff our meetings. like we work practicing football -- like we were practicing football. we discussed with the other and slaveout the rape trade that was going on in angola. provide protection for kids coming in and let them know they had other options other than being made victims.

usually, a kid, 16, 17 years old comes in. you before we end, how did maintain your sanity? 44 years in solitary confinement. >> well, i think the fact that i was a member of the black panther party. i had a political consciousness. i had guys and principles instilled by my mom that i grew into. i did not realize how much my mom had set a foundation in me, even though i was resisting it. decades, weer the had programs geared towarard making men better. we had schools. we used to hold schools and political classes. as we said, as many

men as we helped keep their sanity, we lost twice as many men. there were times when i had to fight really hard for my own sanity. i think the fact what i was doing -- you know, throughout all of this, i developed an unbelievable love for humanity and dedicated myself to doing whatever i could to better humanity. and so i remember reading amething from mr. mandela, if cause is noble, you can carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. i fell what we were doing was a noble cause. so we were prepared. so the beatings and the gassing and the decades of solitary confinement was really painful

and difficult, it never got to the point where they were able to break us. amy: we're going to leave it there and do part two and posted online fast democracynow.org. albert woodfox austria's book, "solitary: unbroken by four

hello. this is the newshour. live from london. coming up in the next 60 minute. >> the nose have it. anchor: the british prime minister's brexit deal rejected a third time. parliament has two weeks to come with a new plan or crash o out f europe. hundreds of thousandnds of peope have taken to the streets of algiers, demanding an overhaul of the entire political establishment. also, >>