09/06/19 09/06/19 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> my island of abaco, everything is gone. no banks, no stores, no nothing. it will take at least four to five years -- i don't not how long it will take for threst of the islands. nothing is here. everything is gone. just bodies. amy: as hurricane dorian lashes north carolina and continues its path north, the death toll in the bahamas has risen to 30

people and counting. hundreds, if not thousands, are still missing. we will go to the bahamas. then former zimbabwe president robert mugabe is dead at the age of 95. he helped liberate zimbabwe but then went on to rule the c couny fofor 37 years. there will alwaways be the in control.mbabwe amy: we willllpeak to sysyracuse professor horace campbell and then joined by lononime grassroots organizer lisa fithian, authohor of the new bok "shut it down." >> we're living in one of the most difficult eras i seen in my lifetime. i've seen my entire let people working together can change things. it is the only thing that really changes the course of history. so i'm hoping to ignite people's imagination, help people understand the have the power to

change things. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. hurricane dorian is continuing its long path of destruction, lashing north carolina's outer high with heavy winds, seas, and flash floods. it triggered tornadoes in south carolina as the eye of the storm crept slowly up the east coast just out to sea. by friday morning, dorian had been downgraded to a category 1 hurricane, but will threatens coastal residents with life-threatening storm surges. this comes as the death toll from dorian in the bahamas has risen to 30 people will stop the actual number is expected to be far higher with hundreds, if not thousands, still missing. the island nations health minister said the number of dead "could be staggering. after the headlines, we will go to the bahamas.

as bahamians reaeal from the historic devastation of hurricane dororian, "the washington post" reports that president trump personally used a black magic marker to alter a map showing the storm's projected path in an effort to support his false claim last weekend that alabama might be hit by the hurricane. the national hurricane center never included alabama in any of the forecast cones for dorian. on thursday, trump spent the fourth straight day defending his false statements treating -- tweeting " "i accept the fake news apologies." in brazil, roman catholic leaders are condemning a massive series of fires raging in the amazon, adding to pressure against far-right president jair bolsonaro to stop illegal miners, farmers and ranchers from destroying rainforest critical to slowing the climate crisis. speaking with the guardian, archbishop erwin krautler called the fires a true apocalypse, whwhile archbishop roqueue paloi warned of the ririsk of genocide against indigenous people defending their forests against illegal fires.

thisis comes after bolsonaro attacked michelle bachelet, the former president of chile who now serves as u.n. high commissioner for human rights, after she warned that brazil's government is failing to stop widespread police shootings, while environmentalists, indigenous people and human rights defenders are increasingly murdered with impunity. on thursday, bolsonaro taunted bachelet over the 1973 coup in chile, which saw augusto pinochet topple the democratically elected government of salvador allende. >> she now on the human rights agenda is accusing me of not punishing polilice officers w wo are killing many people in brazil. that is her accusation. she is defefending the human rights of vagabonds. she says more, still. she says brazil is losing its democratic arena. the people led by pinochweet, today chile would like cuba.

coup,fter the 1973 michelle bachelet was arrested and tortured along with her parents. her fafather, alberto bachelet, died in prison. human rights groups say at least 3000 people were murdered or disappeared by the pininochet dictatorship between 1973 and 1990. in afghanistan, the televangelist climbing responsibility for a suicide bomb attack near the u.s. embassy in the capital kababul thursday that killed 12 people and wounded 42 others. among the dead were two nato soldiers -- one from romania and the other from the u.s. the blast came as a u.s. state department negotiator was returning to doha, qatar for the next round of talks with the taliban aimed at ending the longest war in u.s. history. according to the pentagon, there have been at least 2437 u.s. troops killed in afghanistan since 2001. zimbabwe's long-timime authorititarian leader robert mugabe has died at the age of 95. born in n 1924, mugabe w was jad at the age of 40 by brbritain's

cololonial rulers s in rhodesia after they banned the party mugabe co-founded, zanu, zimbababwe african national uni. after his release from prison 10 years later, mugabe rose to become the commander of zanu's military wing. he took power as head of state when zimbabwe overthrew white-minority rule and won its independence in 1980. for the next 37 years, mugabe ruled zimbabwe, often deploying violence and torture to retain power until he was ousted in a coup in late 2017. the political analyst told al jazeera "young zimbabweans will remember him as a tirade who squandered their futures and destroyed their countries. many older zimbabweans will look back in history and will remember him as a revolutionary fighter." we will have more on robert montgomery's life and legacy later in the broadcast. democratic leaders are demanding an inquiry into vice president mike pence trip to ireland this week after the vice president and his entourage stated a trump

golf result -- state at a trump golf resort. tonight at over 180 miles away on the opposite side of ireland from dublin or he was meeting. the e former direcector of the office of government ethics said "this may not technically be illegal, but it is an atrocious abuse of power to line the president's pockets and a continuation of two years of profiteering by president trump." on thursday, vice president pence was welcomed to 10 downing street in london by the british prime minister borisis johnson where he voiced u.s. support for britain's decision to leave the european union, adding u.s. would begin trading ocean with the u.k. wants brexit is complete. this comes as prime minister johnson is under increasing pressure over his attempts to force a no-deal brexit ahead of in october 31 deadline. on thursday, boris johnson's brother, jo johnson, resigned from parliament, tweeting --

"in recent weeks i've been torn between family loyalty and the national interest -- it's an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as mp & minister." prime minister johnson later downplayed his brother's resignation. he was speaking during a visit to a police training c center. >> jo is not agree with me about the european union because it is an issue that obviously divides families and divides everybody. amy: the prime minister faced a revolt from some of his own members. members of parliament also rejected johnson's call for a snap election. earlier today, london's high court gave johnson a boost, ruling that his decision to suspend parliament for five weeks leading up to the brexit deadline is legal. but that ruling is likely to be appealed to britain's supreme court. back in the united states, a federal judge in virginia ruled thursday a federal watchlist of people deemed by the government to be known or suspected terrorists violates the rights

of u.s. citizens. the list of at least 1.2 million names contains nearly 5000 mark in citizens who the court ruled are protected by the constitution. hina shamsi of the aclu's national security project said -- "the government watchlist stigmatizes people as terrorism suspects based on a vague and error-prone standard and secret evidence, and causes real harms. it violates due process." the trump administration said thursday it supports the privatization of fannie mae and freddie mac pair of massive , a government-supported companies that back about half of all mortgages in the u.s. the federal government assumed control of fannie and freddie in 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis, which was triggered by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. trump's plan drew immediate fire from democratic leaders. ohio senator sherrod brown, the ranking democrat on the senate banking committee, tweeted -- "president trump's housing plan will make mortgages more expensive and harder to get.

i'm urging the president: make it easier for working people to buy or rent their homes, not harder." the trump administration's former top official overseeing oil and gas drilling on federal lands is joining an oil company that's seeking to expand its operations in remote parts of northern alaska near the arctic national wildlife refuge. joe balash stepped down as the interior department's assistant secretary for land and minerals management last friday. and this week, he confirmed he's joining the papua new guinea-based company oil search as a senior vice president. danielle brian of the project on government oversight told "the washington post" -- "it is hard to have confidence that decisions he was making while he was working for the taxpayers were not impacted by his aspirations or hopes to go work for a company that was materially affected by his work." san francisco's board of supervisors has voted unanimously to declare the national rifle association a domestic terrorist organization

and is calling on other cities and countries around the u.s. to follow suit. the resolution was authored by supervisor catherine stefani. and in massachusetts, at least a dozen people were arrested thursday evening at an amazon office in cambridge as they held a sit in protest against the online retailer's contracts with immigration and customs enforcement. video from amazon's office cameras showed activists with the jewish-led group never again action blocking elevators. there -- they left a protester outside the banner reading "never again means no tech for ice," condemning amazon's attempts to sell its controversial facial recognition technology to ice. earlier that day, hundreds of protesters marched from boston holocaust memorial to amazon's cambridge building chanting slogans like "never again means abolish ice." this is s one of theheroteststs. >>s j js we areitnessedow tenology cpapaniesilill partner with racistoverernmen

to suprt stateioiolenc know w l of this has happened foren n theorst t tng can ppen. cocompan called inteatationa bs.iness systems o i w was a0's, amican c cpany.. it hasubsidiars a lowed thworld. tls to press millio [indiscnible] am never ain actiohas le severaprotestsround th countragainst migratio jailand ice. and those are so of the helines. this is mocracy w!, mocracyn.org, thwar and ace repo. 'm amgoodman. as hurrine dorian lashesorth caroli and connues itsath north,he deatholl in t bahamas has riseto 30 people. it is s expected to soar.

the acactual number is expectedo be far higher with hundreds, if not t thousands, still misissin. the island nation's health minister duane sands said the number of dead "could be staggering." hurricane dorian hit the bahamas as a category 5 storm over the weekend, lingering for days and leaving nearly unimaginable destruction in its path. the airport on grand bahama island has been completely decimated. entire neighborhoods have been razed. hundreds remain missing. this is hurricane survivor ramond king describing the widespread devastation he witnessed on abaco islands, the worst hit area in the bahamas. ismy island of abaco finished. everytything is gone. no banks, no stores, no nothing. it will take at least four or five years to complete -- i don't know how long it will take you the rest of the island, but nothing is here. nothing at all. everything is gone. just bodies. amy: a massive search and rescue mission is currently underway on the islands hit hardest by the storm, one of the most powerful to ever hit the atlantic. hurricane dorian is now just off

the north carolina coast where heavy rains, flooding, and have left more than 100,000 without power. this morning and been downgraded to a hurricane 1 hurricane but still threatens coastal residents with storm surges. for more, we go to the bahamas where we're joined by susan mangicaro, the senior advisor for emergency response at the international medical corps, a nonprofit group of volunteer doctors and nurses who deliver emergency health carry and other services. susan mangicaro, welcome to democracy now! you are on nassau right now. explain what is happening in the bahamas right now, the number dead is 30, though the n numbers expected to soar with hundndreds to thousands missing.. >> sure. thank you for r havingng me. we are here on nassau and we arrived yesterday, along g with multiple other emergencyededical teams. we are here to p provide help fr the government of the bahamas

and life-saving intervention. we h have a five person assessmt team right now. we workiking under the directitn of the government of the bahahas in court nation with other local and international monetary anand grgroups to determinene where te greatest gaps are and the greatest needs are. amy: what do understand as you arrived in the bahamas of the extent of the damage? >> it has been devastating on the islands. initially during a disaster such as one of this nature, it is chaotic, as you can imagine. their first goal is to get out there and determine what the situation is. the islands, some of them being wiped out completely or nearly, it has been difficult for search and rescue teams to get out there. it is been difficult to get out and do the assessments and determine what the situation is

in every island. in the meantime, at the same time, you have multiple emergency medical teams on the ground here getting ready to go to wherever we are needed. so right now the assessments are happening. search-and-rescue is continuing. there -- it has been challenging to get to some of the islands with the loss of the airports, the waterways, and the tollenges that are faced getting there. right now we are in that phase of getting everything here ready to go so we can m mobilize as sn as we are given direction. amy: you're working with specialists in waterborne diseases. can you explain what is happening around that, what you are most fearful of and what you're trying to deal with? >> sure.e. afteter thininitiakindnd of cris and the trauma care, then in an incident such as we have here with lots of standnding w waterh

the heatat and humidity, it is t uncommon to bear shortly ththereafter the watererborne illnlnesses. as a result, what we're doing is a mensch -- merge of the medical team, make sure we have the supplies necessary to trtreat those illnesses. once that does occur or if it does occur. things like having proper oral hydration, iv solutions, medications, antibiotics. all of the medicines needed in order to take care of if a waterborne illness should corrupt. amy: and if peoeople are looking for help, where do they go? >> this is a tough one. the government is trying to coordinate search for each island and fight for the locals to go to. we're also going to very shortly be deployed to one of the greatest impact in areas. they will be instructed -- word-of-mouth as well as people on feaeature go house to house r sesearch and rescue and provide

the information where medical care w will bebe available, sucs when we set up a clinic in other emergency medical teams do as well. amy: yet the physical and then the terrible emotional trauma even for survivors. how do first responders deal with this disaster? how do you make people feel safe? are trained in this. this is w what we do. we provide e emergency medical care across the globe, so we have training ourselves on how to handle e the crisis, the menl health issue. we will bring on board a mental health psychosocial expert so they can help not only deal with the folks that are suffering, all of the victims of this horrible disaster, but the staff as well. so that is how we are dealing with it and most others. amy: any last wowords you want to s share?

how manyny other groups our on the ground? whahat is the united states government doing? what is the bahamian government saying they need, especially with the airports? you have got the airport in grand bahama that was c complety destroyed. you have another airport underwater. >> it is a challllenge. the bahamian governmt t is askiking that we work thugugh tm in aoordinated effort. the last thi t that needed when you have multiple people shshowinup is utilizing resourss that are already cotrtraine th is fifit and foremost. secondarily, the u.s governntnt, i've seen sesearch-and-r-rescue teams om rginia, california on the grou, mumultle ememeency medical teams such as our organization and several others onon therounund. coorornating those efforts and being sure we are going to the stst imptedd area, taking care ofof theost t vuerablele loss preventing furer

life a sufferi. am i want thank you so mu, susan ngicaro, senior advisofor emerncy respse at thenternatial medic corp a nonprit groupf vonteer doors and rses who delir emergey healtharry and otheservices joininus from hamas. we ce back, wspeak with the bahamianbout therisis toy neeateed doeshat the bahians need most. she is in miami. stay with us. ♪ [ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman. as we continue to look at the devaststating hurricane dorian,e go to miami, florida, where we are joined by erica moiah james, an assistant professor in the department of art and art history at the university of miami. founding director and d chief curator of the national art gallery of t the bahamas.

her op-ed in "the new york times" is headlined "hurricane dorian makes bahamians the latest climate-crisis victims." erica moiah james, welcome to democracy now! explain exactly what you mean and talk about what you ha heard a family a f friends inn e babahas now.w. >> i almost don't t know wherero gin. in terms of climate, the bahamas , as i said the op-ed, we ha a a versmalall otprininin the world. that we have been experienci the impact of climate chgege for ththe la 40 0 yes. am a little bit older, just slight o olderhann that, and i can remember personally -- i can you personal stories out ththe ways in which rising sea lelevelsnd c chaing envonments has fefectedy life personally and e e way livive the hamas.s. so we know we are on the frfrontline. and we know, according to the frontline..

and we know, according to the latest u.n. climate change report, that we are ground zero for the effects of global warming in the world. and though we are a small footprint, it is moments like these that bring this reality home to us. and in terms of my own what has happened, it is devastating. we are experiencing sublime conditions of horror. i am looking at all of the foote anand erythihi that people are sending me fr the bahamas. la night i was loongng thrgh theyeses oa cld whose eyes justst in recounting what he saw me know, dead bodies floating, as he tried to save his own life . he could not believe it. it was almost beyond the capacity of his young mind to comprehend what he was experiencing. and these are happening more and more. the bahamas is one part of the caribbean. year, it is puerto rico one year, the virgin islands another year, dominica another year.

we know the language of this horror all too well. and unfortunately, i think one of the reasons i wrote the op-ed was to really communicate to the wider world what that means. to feel what we feel and use language in a way to communicate was sometimes becomes almost impossible to believe with our own eyes. i wanted us to feel this through language. that was my primary goal with the op-ed. i think in terms of my own family, we have family on abaco and grand bahama. it is a small community. we have 400,000 people. we are scattered across a vast amount of ocean. we are connected, interconnected with various islands. my primary concern was my cousin who is on dialysis who is in need of a kidney. you know, getting from abaco to nassau. securedrealized she was

, it gave me almost permission to worry more about my family, my other friends, and people that i have come to love, you know, just in terms of my professional life. professor erica, moiah james, in your piece, "we watch as the governments of small island states like our own tied to multinational agreements are forced to make decisions that are not in the best interest of the people they serve while our electrical grid fails and we are made more dependent on fossil fuels rather than renewable energy. too expensive, they say, for whom, we reply, is costilla consideration?" explain what you mean. >> that is a very complicated statement. i tried to pack a lot in there but in recent months, his reports would have told you, he said the bohemian electrical grid is failing.

for many years, we've had a massive amount of sun, wind, all of these means to reduce alternative energy. we've always wondered, why are we taking advantage of alternative energy yucca we seem -- all of the elements are there. to be honest, there had been legal blocks to the average bahamian, ordinary bahamians taking advantage of alternative energy. we have one electrical company that dominates the main island. it was government-owned for a very long time. it uses fossil fuels. it is committed to agreements with certain multinational companies. and we are kind of stuck in that relationship. governmentalal and

roadblocks are put in place. and they are not always laws. sometimes they are just the difficulties of getting permission to do things or the rules become very ambiguous that you can't go from step one to step 10 in order to see something through. multinational -- in small countries like ours, i think we come to realize very early that multinational companies have become more powerful in small nationstates. and part of their power lies in the fact that they operate multiple countries. while we are consumed, you know, or acts are focused on xenophobia, and tightness of across each other. what global warming tells us is these ideas of nationhood and things like that, that is one way to see it but innocents, we need to learn to understand we are part of a global ecosystem.

and what one person does in one country really impacts the lives of others. the caribbean, the bahamas, we are small. but when the united states sneezes, we catch a cold. when something happens elsewhere, we're the ones come innocence, we catch the wind, so to speak. i think dorian can be seen as a metaphor in ways in which small nations like the bahamas are impacted by global concern. amy: interestingly, the bombs are the richest country outside of canada and the united states wiwith tourism, with the financl industry. and on that issue, a huge tourism industry coming your response to mainland americans looking at the island as a utopian retreat for a vacation and then forgetting about the island when it comes to climate change or when it is devastated, as it is now. >> i think that term you use "richest" is a relative term. we also spend 10 times as much

for electricity than i do here in miami. be200 electrical bill will $2000 in the bahamas. so on paper, we may say, ok, our gdp is ex-wife z per person, but what is the cost of living in? i think we have to understand that life is not just about, you know, what is on the gdp. it is how expensive is it to live there? and to live in the bahamas is extremely expensive. richest, yes, you may take in this money, but your isendent on an industry that innocence designed to take the money that is produced there out. most of those companies are foreign entities. a lot of the prophets do not is the silly remain in the country. it is produced in the country, but the profits end up

elsewhere. amy: how can people help recovery efforts. you mention in your "new york times piece, groups like had knowles. >> i can truly say that living in miami, i have been gratified -- if there's something beautiful in this horror, it is the ways in which communities, at least in south florida, who are attached to these communities -- they go there, they understand it in a physical and real way. they have homes there. they have mobilized most of the bahamians helped build miami. they built some of the oldest structures in the city. we don't talk about age much in miami, but some of the oldest structures in key west, the first houses were built by bahamians from abaco. there is a historical tie. and now i am seeing those roots fruit in the sense that

people are mobilizing. i support ngos on the ground and i supported the work of lee ahead and gina knowles, the two women that run the head knowles foundation. wherever you are in the world, wherever you are in the community, there are drop -off points. we're doing multiple projects in order to assist. work is our research based there. in south florida, you can drop off things that any fire station. historically, bohemian churches as becomome a major point where you can drop off things. i am gratified, actually, at least here in south florida, about the amount of interest in the amount of generosity y and

community, the feeling of community that people care, that they want to assist the bahamas is here. and it is sustained. like your guest said earlier, this is going to take some time iston amy: erica moiah james, want to end by asking about the end of your peace. things, but of please, no tossed towels. i am wondering what you think of the emphasis right now. president trump's obsession right now with saying that alabama was about to be hit, the magic marker on the map, and endlessly tweeting about this, perhaps more than about the bahamas, and the historic devastation that we have seen, president trump a climate denier himself. >> i find it deeply disturbing. it is incomprehensible. i think part of the reason -- we are becoming almost sadly i mean

do that. one of the things i wanted to awaken in that piece is empathy and feeling and speak from a position of truth. that is becoming increasingly remote. i think we can create the facts, -- in thes not even end, that doesn't hold water, as we say in the bahamas. bahamians are very straightforward. they want help, but they want it to be done in a respectful way. for my puerto rican brothers and sisters, that was a move of deep respect -- disrespect. they felt very insulted, i think, by that action. i wanted to end with that because i wanted it to be a reset button in terms of how large countries sort of regard those smaller countries and regard those who are facing crcrises like this. we want your help, but pleasaseo it respectctfully. yeah. otherwise, there's going to be

weakere are weapons that people use and one of those is disregard. in some cases we've had to disregard actions of the president simply because they are so outrageous and d really just h have to put our focus and our energies elsewhere. amy: erica moiah james, thank you for being with us assistant , professor in the department of art and art history at the universityty of miami. founding director and chief curator of the national art gallery of the bahamas. we will link to your op-ed in "the new york times" is titled "hurricane dorian makes bahamians the latest climate-crisis victims." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we turn now to the latest news out of zimbabwe. zimbabwe's first post-independence leader robert mugabe has died at the age of 95. in 1963, he helpeded found t the zimbabwe african national union. it was an effort to liberate zimbabwe from years of white

minority rule. he was then jailed from 1963 to 1974. once freed, mugabe became a leader of the liberation movement which successfully led to the formation of an independent zimbabwe in 1979. he became zimbabwe's first prime minister in 1980, but would continue ruling zimbabwe for the next nearly 40 years. his death was announced by his successor, president emmerson mnangagwa, who wrote on twitter -- "it is with the utmost sadness that i announce the passing on of zimbabwe's founding father and former president, robert mugabe. mugabe was an icon of liberation, a pan-africanist who dedicated his life to the emancipation and empowerment of his people. his contribution to the history of our nation and continent will never be forgotten." while mugabe has been hailed as one of the most significant anti-colonial leaders of the 20th century, he was widely criticized for how he led zimbabwe and his refusal to hand over power until he was ousted in a coup in 2017.

human rights groups long criticized mugabe's record. a political analyst told al jazeera, "young zimbabweans will remember him as a territory to squander their futures and destroyed their countries will stop many older zimbabweans will look back at history and will remember him as a revolutionary fighter." under mugabe, zimbabwe's economy also collapsed. at one point, unemployment topped 80%. its currency became essentially worthless. in 2009, mugabe accused western nations of conspiring to ruin zimbabwe's economy. >> the western countntries comon particular the united states of the european union, who imposed illegal l sanctions against some s surprise,e drawn reresed to remove those sanctitions.

-- rehabilitating our economy, could they please, please stop their filthy clandestine divisive antics? micco that was robert mugabe speaking at the u.n. 10 yearars ago in to talk more about the 2009. legacy of robert mugabe, we are joined by horace campbell, professor of african american studies and political science at syracuse university. he has written extensively on african politics. his books include "reclaiming zimbabwe: the exhaustion of the patriarchal model of liberation." professor horace campbell, your response to thee news early this morning that the president, the former president of zimbabwe robert mugabe,e, had died, his significance, his record?? >> good morning. about zimbabwe, i would lilike to join witith yu and d all the listeners of demomocracy now! to express our solidarity with the people of the bahamas and what they're

going through as a result t of this h hurrica a and the devastatioion of global warming. we also want to extend our solidarity with the people of some bob way, who have lost a leader who is part of the liberation struggle. robert mugabe who joined the liberatition struguggle of the peoples of southern africa as a decisive moment when the peoples of africa were fighting against apartheid, colonialism, and white supremacy. but after being in power for 20 years, the situation in zimbabwe deteriorateded and the mugabe political leadership joioined a clasass of exploiters that turnd against the zimbabwe working peoples. so while we mourn the loss of mugabe who served in the ranks of the liberation movement of africa, his record in the endd was one where he turned against

the very people he was supposed to be part of inner struggle with social and economic transformation in africa. as analk about him anti-colonialist independence leader taking o over the what minoririty rule in rhodesisia, d then t talk about how things changed as he became president and when they changed most of how he held onto o power for 37 years, professor campbell. >> thank you. i think we should not personalize the coming to power of mugabe bececause the independndence struggle forr zimbabwe was one that t was carried over by the rank-andnd-file of the zimbabwe woworking p people, especially e women, from workers, workers, students and ordinary soldiers. there were two main political

and organizations that develop out of the working peoples. they were both the zimbabwe african national union led by mugabe, who himself emerged out of a struggle inside of that political organization. then there was the zimbabwe people's union. those two political organizations formed unified front called the patriotic front in order to pushsh the struggle for r independencece. at i is important t was that the struggles for independence theme so intense that african apartheid regime, along with the west, organized to bomb mozambique where the zimbabwean guerrillas were fighting from. in something that is not usually known is that the west carried

out biological warfare against the cymbalta when people fight unleashing people by anthrax. the colonial leader was a man called ianan smith who vowed blk pepeople wouould not rule zimbae until l 2020. the zimbabwe independent struggle was one that brought oppressed peoples from alall ovr the world to support them, ofther it was in the rest africa to the front li the global pan african movement, and marley went to zimbabwe in 1980 as part of the global expression ofofupport for the zimbabwen liberation struggle. and bob marley was insightful

ofugh to say at the time independence, soon we will find out who are the real revolutionaries. that is a very important statement in the song that was sung by bob marley. s he did notining mugabe will liberate zimbabwbwe. becaususe mugabebe himimself lan turned around and said they were dirty because they were long here. so the point that must be on the importanceugabe's came at the moment in the history of africa when he was part of the liberation struggle of africa. but as an individual, he has learned a lot from the struggles in southern africa, from -- but whilile in political power n zimbabwe, slowly he was aligning

himself with a new class of africans in zimbabwe who wanted to accccumulate wealtlth. soso in the first 10 y years of independence, there wewere major strides in relationshipp to forpandining opportutunities relocations or e even tododay, 9 years after indedependence, t te said bob lands are s some of the st -- zimbabweans for some of the most educated people e in africa. there was s an attttempt too transfsform the health sysystemn zimbmbabwe, trainingg doctorsrs, atattempts to better the lilivig ststandards of the symbolic win people. an people.lic z zimbabwe this was all for nototecause off thee economic structural adadjustmentnt programs. economicic programs wawas part f thee attacack of interernational

capital against african peoples in general andnd in the particur casese of the symbolic way peope to increase the burdens on ththe workining people's s intensifyig their explication. the e responsese of the robert mugabebe goverernment atat that, instead of joining with the working people's was to joioin zimbabwan class of capipitalists who wanteted to ue the language t to export thehe working people. but the evidencece of the change in zimbabwe came very early from the position o of women i in zimbmbabwe. the politicacal leadership in zimbabwe used very crude language in reference to wowomen in zimbabwe. it w was even more crude inn relationship to same gender lovi persons in zimbabwe. robert mugabe became

internationally known for his extreme homophobia. chip ine generation relationship to the youth and the university, in relationship to women come in relationship to students, and relationship to same gender loving persons -- it alall came to a head by 2000 whn the question o of the future of the workrking people's came in e formation of a new political organization. and by 1999, one million workers in z zimbabwe were out on strik. this was the turning p point. because mugabe could havee moved with the workersrs and organized with the workers to turn the trade union and an organized workers into a united force against imperialism. instead, mugabe turned to

popularizing the land invasions that were taking place by the landless people of zimbabwe. the landless people of zimbabwe were exercised about the white minority and controlled the majority of the best agricultural land in zimbabwe. amy: we only have a minute, so how wowould you summarize his legacy in this last year's until he was really essentitially takn out as president in a coup? >>'s legacy in zimbabwe is mixed. in the last years of the period of mugabe, he turned against the working people, oppressed the working people of zimbabwe, was actually homophobic, and he was removed from power at the moment when he lost legitimacy among the peoples of zimbabwe. amy: horacace campbell, thank yu

for being with us professor of , african american studies and political science at syracuse university. written extensively on african politics. his books include "reclaiming zimbabwe: the exhaustion of the patriarchal model of liberation." when we come back, we will speak with longtime grassroots authorer lisa fithian, of "shut it down." stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman. we end today's show by looking at how people are engaging in non-violent direct action to demand action on the climate crisis. thursday was a global day of action for the amazon, with protests outside brazililian embassies and the e offices of corporations profiting from record destruction of the rain forest. this comes after cnn hosted a climate crisis town hall wednesday with 2020 presidential candidates, and on the same day "the new york times" announced it will no longer sponsor one of the world's biggest oil industry conferences after pressure from climate activists, including extinction rebellion.

later this month on friday september 20 and 27th, youth activists will lead a global strike for the right to a future. for more, we are by someone to share the protest over the past four decades. she was just in the streets of manhattan yesterday at an action outside brazil's mission to the united nations. lisa fithianan is a longtime grassroots organizer and non-violent direct action trainer who is currently on the national team of extinction rebellion u.s. her new book, published this week, is titled "shut it down: stories from a fierce, loving resistance." she is on a book tour now and doing a new workshop called "escalating resistanance: mass rebellion training." welcome back to democracy now! >> it is a pleasure to be herer. amy: we don't usually see you in the studio. we see you out at protests. happenedt what yeyesterday. talk about extxtinction rebelli, the latest group you on the board of, that you're one of the

leaders of. >> extinction rebellion for me right now is the one movement giving me a lot of hope because the crisis is so great that we do need people rising up and taking action in ways wewe have never imagined before. and at a skill we never imaginid beforere. when we saw this kickoff and the u.k. last year, shutting down to bridges, thousands going jail, it has inspired people around the world and that is beginning to build power. just yesterday there were actions on six continents in over 20 countries. dozens and dozens of actions. the power of action does change thing. it was not just at the embassy, but some of the groups were out blocking intersections, doing a dance in the middle of the intersection with drums dressed in black. it was amazing the response. people came from everywhere and were filming it. when we were done there were like, thank you so much.

there was a tear coming down a woman . i think it is an extremely important movement. it has a lot to learn and i think anyone with political experience that has been in the streets, you get involved and help raise up a new generation. amy: we're talking about the slamamming of the bahamas with these climate change intensified hurricanes in the fires in the amazon. >> my heart goes out to the people of the home of. it was bringing flashbacks to me after being in katrina and the devastation, the sense of an apocalypse has happened. over the summer when the arctic started burning, i was like how can startrt to be burning? in the amazon started burning a was like, i don't even know if i can bear what is happening. ,t is incredibly painful time but we can't let that pain destabilized us. again, what i've been learning is when we are feeling afraid, when we are feeling we can't

take it anymore, the most important thing to do is reach in and take actction and to do something. because that is where we begin to get a sense of our power that we can make a difference. if history has shown us anything, unless we actually organize, we are not going to make changes. it is a crcritical time. amy: talk about the various tactics. that is what you are a master of, tactics. the corporate media, they barely cover protests, but certainly whichg into the way in the protests are carried out, that is way beyond the corporate media radar screen. talk about your life of activism. you were there at occupy wall street. you were there in the 1980's leading a shut down, attempted shutdown of the cia because of the u.s. history of involvement

in shoring up military regimes in latin america at the time. iswhat we do in the streets going to make a difference of whether we actually create the change and build our power with more people coming involved. we need to be willing ash i was say, you need to be willing to shut things down. when i trained people who are maybe trying to stop the destruction, are you prepared to block the bulldozers? because if you're not, you're probably not going to win. what i have also seen as people are willing to take risks if they think it is going to be meaningful and important. this mass marches, rallies -- that has all got its place, but fundamentally, it is not triggering a sense of power and community that will sustain us. it is more like a one off and that was great, but where do we go from here? our tactics have to be escalating. they have to be beautiful. they have got to be telling our story through the pictures of

it, which is why when i block bridges, i like to do it with the image of what we're fighting for like the bus and funding of education were going to a key target like we did at the cia. the cia has been behind the destabilization of so many countries. in the 1980's, both in south africa and in latin america, they were destabilizing right and left. when people rose up like they did in nicaragua and overthrew a u.s. backed dictator and begin to build a new society, the u.s. was going to invade it. there's no question in my mind hundreds of thousands of people across this country who committed to civil disobedience and shut down federal buildings and went to military installations and blocked her sections, prevented that invasion. what i do know is we have to be willing to go beyond where we were before and you are so afraid to do things. we get so nervous because we

know this is a government that will repress and bring violence on us. but that is why i'm also a trainer. we cannot just go and shut things down without being prepared. again, we won't be a will to build our power. so we have to prepare ourselves physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually to face what is going to come at as and to be a part of that transformative change. amy: you begin chapter one with president trump, or i should say president trump welell at the time, donald trump, election night, the crisis we are in. talk about the opportunity that you see was created by what you saw as the crisis, the book growing out of a handbook that you called "kicking corporate booty." >> yes. so much of the problems that we're dealing with go back to the founding of this country of

white supremacy and patriarchy and capitalism. donald trump him at the president come is like the academy of all of those things in terms of how he is engaging his presidency. we knew and standing rocock when he was elected that our fight to stop the devil thai fund would not prevail because we knew he was going to let it go forward. as he began his administration we moved with the muslim ban saw people rising up. the women's march. people shutting down airports. it was very inspiring. but what we did not see is the continued organizing in the continued resistance on all of those fights, even with family separation two years ago we rose up and it actions. but then it went away to the next crisis. so part of what i think we have to understand is we can't just react. we do not win by reacting. we have to dig deep, organize people, stay on the offensive,

and disrupt business as usual. amy: what does nonviolent resistance mean? >> f for me it is simply a willingness not to do harm to other living things. it is a philosophy, a strategy -- just like direct action is a loss to be strategy. for me, it is a way of life. in this movement work, there is a historical debate about what is violent and nonviolent. it can be very destabilizing, but fundamentally, property for me, you know, it is not a living thing. the way property has been embraced is quite destructive to living things in this country. for me, itit is not doing harm d really having approach rooted in rerespect and compassion. not just for humans, but the planet itself and all of the species on this planet. amy: we will do part two and post it online. shutting down. the final story you want to share or message you want to

leave? >> there so many stories and so many that have not been told. i think part of the message is learn your history. i try y to share history heree because it will inform our future. get to know the people close to you, reach out. every time you get afraid or think you can't do something, ss for yourself because you can do it. you're probably just afraid to because of what might happen. this book is full of stories from our willingness to tear down a fence in cancun that helped lead to the collapse of the deadly teedo in 2003, to the people in ferguson rising u up interest resistance to violence and oppression, to people coming to new orleans after katrina and organizing in the complete militarized state to take care of one another and make sure people got the basic necessities met. king ow, dr. martin lutheher called it the beloved community.

we cannot do this without one another. thank you forian, joining us. look for part two online at democracynow.org under web exclusives. lisa fithian, a longtime organizer. her book "shut it down: stories , from a fierce, loving