06/12/20 06/12/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: frorom new york city, one f the e epicenters of this p pand, this is democracy now! >> the fact we can n now openlny call for the abolition of mode ofment as existing punishment and the abolition of policing as ththe major form of sesecurity in ouour world, we oe

that to people who stood up for us many decades ago. amy: as protests against police brutality and racism continue across the globe, we spend the hour with legendary scholar and icon and activist angela davis, author of many books including "freedom is a constant struggle." >> it is our responsibility to do the work and the responsibility of younger people, too, to make sure that you do the work that will keep keepdeas alive, that will the possibility of freedom alive. because it is not going to happen tomorrow. we know that. but it can happen. it can happen sometime in the future. amy: angela davis for the hour

on the historic protests, calls to defund the police, the tearing down of racist statues, what abolition means today, the 2020 race, and much more. all that and more, coming up. welcomome to dememocracy n now!, democracynow.org, quarantitine report the war and peace report. , i'm amy goodman. around the globe, as countries continue to ease on coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions, the number of confirmed covid-19 cases has topped 7.5 million and the death toll has topopped 420,000. coronavirus cases continue to surge in india with nearly 300,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. india surpassed britain as the world's fourth most affected country. india is now behind only the united states, brazil, and russia. public health officials in india could soon run out of hospital beds.

confirirmed coronavavirus casesn latin america have topped 1.5 million. in brazil, critics of far-right president jair bolsonaro's disastrous handling of the covid-19 pandemic dug 100 graves and placed black crosses in the sand of rio de janeieiro's copacabana beach in a tribute to the more than 40,000 brazilians who have died of the coronavirus. brazil has become an epicenter of the pandemic in the global south h with over 802,000 confirmed cases -- the world's worst-hit country after the united states. in guatemala, as confirmed coronavirus cases top 850000 and over 300 people have died, medical staff warn hospitals are on the brink of collapse. this comes as morgues are also reportedly overflowing. this is marco antonio barrientos, director of one of guatemala city's hospitals speaking to reporters thursday. >> the hospital is reaching its

limit. we d definitely have reached the peak of the situation. we are overflowing with patients. the medical staff is struggling with eveverything. they are tired. they are exhausted. amy: herere in the united state, the coronavirus death toll is approaching 114,000 but that is widely viewed to be a vast undercount. in maryland, "the baltimore sun" has revealed the state is significantly underreporting counts in nursing homes and other elder care facilities. many states are reporting a new surge in cases following the reopening of businesses. in oregon, the state has paused reopening the state's economy due to a new rise in cases. another 1.5 million u.u.s. residents filed for state unemployment benefits last week. more than 44 million people have now applied for jobless benefits since e d-march. meanwhile, the dow dropped nearly 7% on thursday in its biggest fall since march as many states are reporting a surge in

coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. in news from mininnesota, cnn is reporting former minneapapolis police officer derek chauvinin could receive more than $1 million in pension benefits even if he is convicted of killing -- murdering george floyd. in some states, public employees convicted of felony crimes related to their work lose their pension but that is not the case in minnesota. meanwhile, thomas lane, one of the other officers arrested for the murder of floyd's killing, has been released on $750,000 bond. all four officers are scheduled to b be next in court on june 2. the minneapolis police chief arradondo has announced the department is withdrawing from contract negotiations with the police union which has a long history of blocking reform efforts within the department. this comes as calls are growing for minneapolis police federation president bob kroll

to resign. kroll has long been accused of holding racist views and for shielding officers accused of abuse. last week he described george floyd as a violent criminal. he once described black lives matter as a terrorist organization. in october, he spoke at a trump rally in minnesota wearing a "cops for trump" shirt. a wararning to our listenerers d viewers, the following stories contain graphic images and sounds of police violence. in austin, texas, city councilors voted unanimously thursday to ban the use of tear gas and to restrict the use of rubber-coated bullets, bean bag rounds, and pepper spray. the vote came after councilmembers heard two days of harrowing public testimony about recent police attacks on protesters that left 31 people hospitalized -- two of them with serious head injuries. austin's city council also voted thursday to reinvest some police department funds in other agencies and to limit the use of police deadly force.

thursday's city council meeting opened with a moment of silence for 42-year-old michael ramos, a black and latinx man who was killed by austin police on april 24 after a 911 caller falsely reported he had a gun. video of ramos' final moments shows in with his hands up and showing was unarmed when a rookie officer shot him with a bean bag round. ramomos retreated to his car and tried to drive away when another officer opened fire with a rifle, hitting ramos three times. he was pronounced dead at a local hospital that evening. the travis county district attorney has promised a grand jujury investigation.

authorities in kentucky have revealed a member of the national guard fired the bullet that killed the owner of a popular bbq stand in louisville on june 1. the state says david mcatee was [no audio] amy: still have not been charged. in more news from kentucky, democratic governor andy beshear

the website intergroup intentionalally targeted legal observers for harassmentnt, assault and arrest at recent protests.

official nypd policycy acknknowledges theigight of lell observers -- who wear signatatue fluorescent-green hats at demonstrationsns -- to monitor police activititand to recorord the names of thohose arrested. in oklahoma city, newly released police body cam footage shows the violent arrest of 42-year-old derrick scott, who died may 2 2019 after three oklahoma city police officers pinned him t to the ground with ththeir hands and kneeees for 13 miminutes, even after r he becee non-responsive. the graphic video shows scott pleadingng for his life, repeatedly saying "i can't breathth to which h one of the officers replilies, "i don't cacare." amy: a coroner reported the cause of scott's death was a collapsed lung. derrick scott's mother, vickey scott, says the release of the video has reopened old wounds.

>> reliving this all over again isis like his death all over again. there are a lot of george floyds and my f family is one of them.. amy:y: in tulsa, oklahoma, newey releasased bodycycam footage shs two officers pressing a 13-year-old african american teenager face first against a curb and handcuffing him after he allegedly jaywalked in a quiet street with no sidewalk on june 4. >> why are you putting handcuffs on me? cooks because. >> all he was doing was jaywalkiking? amy: in the video the boy calls officers racist and says, "you want to see me in jail or dead." tulsa police say the incident is "under investigation." the trump campaign will require

attendees at the president's first rally since the start of the coronavirus pandemic to sign liability waivers acknowledging the risks of covid-19 and promising not to sue if theyey contract the disease at the event. trump scheduled the oklahoma rally on june 19, despite cdc guidelines warning against large events and mass gatherings. the rally will take place onon juneteenth, a celebration of african americans' liberation from slavery, in the city of tulsa, w where 99 years ago aa whitite mob killed as s many as0 people, most of ththem black. california senator kamala harris tweeted in response -- "this isn't just a wink to white supremacists -- he's throwing them a welcome home party." while calls are growining for cities t to defundnd the policee presumptive democratic presididential nomominee joe bin is calling for an increase in police funding. in an op-ed in "usa today," biden called for police departments to receive an additional $300 million to

"reinvigorate community policing in our country." on wednesday night, biden discussed polilice funding on "e daily showow." >> i don't think the police should be defunded, but i think conditions should b be placed un themem where departmtments haveo take significant reform. we should have a a national usef force standard. amy: the country's top military officials said thursday he regrets joining president trump in photo op on june 1 after national guard troops and riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets, flashbangs to disperse peaceful protesters near the white house so president trump could pose with a bible in front of st. john's episcopal church. general mark a. milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, apologized in a prerecorded commencement speech for the national defense university. >> i should not have been there.

in thatt environment, created a perceptionon of military involvd in domestic policy. a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that i have learned from. amy: video surveillance has been released showing as many as 13 chicago police officers broke into congressman bobby rush's campaign office on may 31. his district office. in the video, the officers can be seen making popcorn and coffee and taking naps. rush criticized the officers for lounging in his offices while nearby businesses were being broken into. congress member bobby rush is a former b black pantherer. in immigration news, a newly published government accountability office report says customs and border protection used portions of a $112 million emergency humanitarian fund -- meant to buy food, medical supplies and hygiene products for immigrants in their custody --- to purchase all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, boats, dog food, and even

riot helmets. the findings come after congress urged the gao to examine cbp's books to determine how the agency had spent emergency funds allolocated in 2019 afafter a se of asysylum seekers arriving at the u.s.s.-mexico border, and after reports of people being held in overcrowded, squalid cbp processing cells. in lebanon, protesters took to the streets thursday as anger mounts over the country's catastrophic economic crisis, actor it's currency plummeted to its lowest value on record. from tripoli to beirut, people marched through the night denouncing the country's cocorrt political elite, blocking major roads and setting buildings on fire, including several banks. thursday's demonstrations were among the largest and most widespread since a coronavirus lockdownwn was imposed in march. the trump administration announced sanctions thursday against investigators with the

international criminal court amid reports the icc has evidence of rape, torture, and other war r crimes committed by american forces ininfghanistana. hina shahamsi, directotor of the aclu's national security project responded -- "president trump is grossly abusing emergency powers to block one of the only avenues left for justice to victims of terrible american human rights violations. he has repeatedly bullied international organizations, and is now playing directly into the hands of authoritarian regimes by intimidating judges and prosecutors committed to holding countries accountable for war crimes." and here in new york, gogovernor andrew cuomo on ththursday reiterated his support for monuments to christopher columbus after protesters in minnesota, massachusetts, and virginia took direct action to tear down or decapitate statues honoring the 15th century italian mercenary.

has come toe was -- represent and signify appreciation for the italian-american contribution to new york. so for that reason, i support it. amy: governor cuomo's remark came as thousands of people signed a petition calling for manhattan's columbus circle to be renamed and its monument removed. it reads in part -- "christopher columbus was a white colonist who slaughtered thousands of native americans on their own soil. honoring him is honoring those murders." meanwhile, in birmingham, alabama, comedian jermaine johnson is pleading not guilty to charges of inciting a riot after he urged protesters at a may 31 rally to march on a statue of charles linn, a former officer in the confederate navy.

>> we got a confedatate statue in our city to rind us to stay in your damn place. amy: protesters went on to topple the charles linstatue, while vandalizing the nearby confederate sailors and soldiers monument. birmingham officials later removed the monuments, erected fences around downtown parks and ordered a ban on protests, including nearby kelly ingram park in the birmingham civil rights district. the park is adjacent to the 16th street baptist church, where four african-american girls were killed by a white supremacist bomber in september of 1963. anand those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. after break, we wilill be joined by civil rights,s, human rightss icon angela davis for the hour. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, demomocracynow.org, the r r and peace report,he quarantntine report. i'm amy goodman. as the nationwide uprising against police brutality and anti-black racism continues to roil the nation in the world, bringing down confederate statueues and forcing a reckonig in city halls and on the streets, president trump defended law enforcement thursday, dismissing growing calls to defund the police. he spoke at a campaign-style event at a church in dallas, texas, announcing a new executive order advising police departments to adopt national standards for use of force. trump did not invite the top three law enforcement officials in dallas who were all african-american. the move comes nearly three this is trump speaking

thursday. pres. trump: they want to get rid of the police forces. that is what they do and that is where they go and, you know that because at the top position, there's not going to be much leadership. there's not much leadership left. instead we have to go the opposite way. we must invest more energy and trainings in police and community engagement. we have to respect our police. there protecting us. if they're allowed to do a job, they will do a great job. he always have a bad apple no matter where you go. he had bad apples. they're not too many of them, i can tell you. there are not too many in the police department. amy: democratic presidential nominee joe biden is also calling for an increase to police funding. in an op-ed in "usa today," biden called for police departments to receive an additional $300 million to "reinvigorate community policing

in our country." on wednesdayay, night biden discussed police funding on "the daily show." >> i don't believe the police should be defunded but i think conditions should be placed upon them or department have to take significant reform related to this. we should have a national use of force standard. amy: but many are arguing that reform will not fix the inherently racist system of policing. since the global protest movement began, minneapolis has pledged to disismantle its polie department, thmayoyorsf los angeles annenew yo city have promised tslash poce departnt budgetsanand cass toefund the policece a beingng heard in s spaces that would hae been unthinkable just a few weeks ago. well, for more on this historic moment, we are spending the hour with the legendadary activist ad scholar angela davis, professor emerita at the university of california, santa cruz. for half a century, angela davis has been one of the most

influential activists and intellectuals in the united states and an icon of the black liberation movement. angela davis' work around issues of gender, race, class, and prisons has influenced cririticl thought anand social movements across several generations. shshe's a leading advocate for prprison abolitition, a position informrmed by her own experience as a prisoner and a fugitive on the fbi's top 10 wanted list more than 40 years agogo. once caught, she faced the death penalty in california. afafter being acquitteted on all charges,s, she spent her life fighghting to change t the criml justice system. angela davis, welcome back to democracy now! it is great to have you with us today for the hour. >> thank you very much. it is wonderful to be here. amy: do you think this moment is a tipping point, turning point -- you, who have been involved in activism for almost half a

century, do you see this moment as different -- perhaps more differerent than any period of time youou have lived thrhrough? >> absolutely. this is an extraordinary moment. i have nevever experienced anything like the conditionons e are currently experiencing. the conjnjuncturee created by te covid-19 pandemic the recognition of a systemicc racim that has been rendered visible under these conditions because of the disproportionate deaths in b black and latatinx communi. this is a moment i don't know whether i ever ask acted -- expected to experience. when the protests began, of course around the murder of george floyd and breonna taylor and ahmaud arbery and many others who have lost their lives to racist state violence and

vigilante violence -- when these protests erected, i remember times to many encourage activists who also feel the work they do is not leading to tangible results. i often asked them to consider the very long trajectory of hask struggles and what been most important is the forging of legacies, the new arena of struggle that can be handed down to younger generations. said one nevern knows when conditions may give rise to a conjuncture such as the current one that rapidly shifts popular consciousness and suddenly allows us to move in the direction of radical change. and one does not engage in the ongoingg work with such a moment

arises, we cannot take advantage of the opportunities to change. and of course this moment will pass. the intensity of the current demonstrations cannot be sustained over time but we will have to be ready to shift gears and address these issues in different arenas, including, of course, the electoral arenana. amy: angelela davis, , u have lg been a leader r of the critical resistance movement, the abolition movement. i am wondering if you can explain the demand as you see it, what you feel needs to be done around defunding the police and then around prison abolition. theell, the call totoefund police i think is an abolitionist demd, but i it reflects onlnly one aspect of te process represented by the man.

the police is not simply withdrawing funding for includingement and nothing else. it appppears as if this is the rather s superficial understandg that has caused biden to move in the direction he's moving in. it is s about shiftiting public funds to new services and new institutions -- mental health tonselors who can r respond people who are in crisis without arms. it is about shifting funding to education, to housing, to recreation. all of these things help to .reate security and safety it is about learning that safety safeguarded by violence is not really safety. i would say evolution is not

primarily a negative strategy. it is not primarily about dismantling, getting rid of, but it is about re-envisioning, building a new. awould argue evolution is feminist strategy and once he's in these abolitionist demands pivotalging, the feminist series. amy: explained that further. well, i want us to see addressingt only as issues of gender, but rather as a methodological approach, of understanding the intersectionality of s struggles and issue counters --minism

unfortunately assumes issues such as violence against women can be effffectively addressed y usingpolice force, by imprisonment as a solution. of course, we know joe biden in 1994, who claims the violence against women act was such an career,t moment in his but violence against women act 1994 crimewithin the act.the clinton crime for is ae calling ,rocess of decriminalization

not recognizing that the threats to safety, threats to security come from not primarily what is defined as crime, but rather from the failure of institutions in our country to address issues of health, issues of violence, education, etc. abolition is really about rethinking the kind of future we want, the social future, the economic future, the political future. it is ababout revolution, i woud argue. amy:y: you right in freedom is a constant struggle -- "neoliberal ideology drives usus toto focus o on individuals, ourselves, individual victims, individual perpetrators, but how's it possible to solve the massive problem of racist state violence by calling upon individual police to bear the burden of that history and assume that i prosecuting them,

by exacting revenge on them, we would have somehow made progress in eradicating racism?" explain what you are demanding. assumes that logic the fufundamentatal units of soy is the i individual. i was say the abstract inindividual. according to that l logic, like people can combat racism by pulling themselves up by their own individual bootstraps. or fails,ic recognizes rather, , to recognize they arae institutional barriers that cannot be brought down by individudual determination. if a b black person is interiory unable to attend the university, the solution is not affirmative action, they argue, but rather the person simply needs to work harder, get good grades, do what is necessary in order to acquire

the funds to pay for tuition. iss drew -- neoeoliberal logic taking more about the similar solution, which is free education. thinking abobout the fact that e the needs foree of these institutional strategiess, at least since 1935, but off course befefore, but i''m choosg 1935 because that was the year when wep do boys published his journal. the question was not what should individual black people do, , bt rather how to reorganize and s societye post-slavery in order to guarantee the corporatioion of thohose who hae been formally ensnslaved. society could not remain the same -- or should not have remained the same. resists change at

the individual level. it asks the individual to adapt to conditionons of capitalism, o condnditions of racism. angelawant to ask you, davis, but the monuments to racist c colonizers, confederate that are continuing to fall across the united states and around the world. in st. paul, m minnesota wednesday, activists with the american indian movement tied a rope around a statue of christopher columbusus and pulud its from its pedestal on the state capitol grounds. the aim members then held a ceremony over the e llen monument. in massachusetts, officials said they'll remove a columbus statue from a park in boston's north end after it was beheaded by protesters early wednesday morning. in richmond, virginia, protesters toppled a statue of confederate president jefferson davis from monument avenue on wednesday night. in the nearby city of portsmouth, protesesters used sledgehammmmers to destroy a

monument to confederate soldiers. one person sustained a serious injury and was hospitalized after a statue fell on his head. in washington, d.c., house speaker nancy pelosi on -- joined other lawmakerss demandining the removal l of 11 confederate statatues from the national statuary hall in the capitol. meanwhile, president trump said he will not even consider renaming u.s. army bases named after confederate military officers. there are 10 such bases -- all of them in southern states. trump tweeted wednesday -- "these monumental and very powerful bases have become part of a great american heritage, and a history of winning, victory, and freedom." trump's tweet contradicted defense secretary mark esper and joint chiefs of staff chair mark milley who suggested they were open to a discussion about renaming the bases. and republican committee in the

senate just voted to rename these bases that are named for confederate e leaders. meanwhile, in her hometown of birmingham, alabama, angela, comedian jermaine johnson is pleading not guilty to inciting a riot after he urged people to march on a statue of charles linn. did you think you would ever see this? you think about b bree newsom after the horror and mother manual church in charleston, south carolina, who shimmied up that flagpole on the grounds of the south carolina legigislature and took down the confederate flag and they put it right on back up. what about what we are seeing today? >> of course bree newsom was

.onderful pioneer i think it is important to link this trerend to the campaign in south africa. roads must fall. i think this reflects the extent to which we are being called on the o deeply reflect racism thatorical has brought as to the point where we are today. racism -- racism should have been immediately confronted inin the afterermath of the end of slavery. his is what dr. dubois' analalysis was about. not so much of what we were going to do about these poor people who have been enslaved 70

generations, but rather how can we reorganize our society in order to guarantee the incorporation of previously enslaved people. the attention is being turn now to the symbols of slavery, the .ymbols of colonialism of course, any campaign against racism in this country has to address in the very first place the conditions of indigenous people. i think it is important we are seeing these demonstrations, but i think at the same time, we have to recognize we cannot simply get rid of the history. we have to recognize the devastatingly negative role t tt history has played in charting of the trajectory of the united

states of america. t these assauaults on statues represent an attempt to begin to think through what we have to do to bring down institutions and re-envision createeorganinize them, new insnstitutions thahat can ad to the needs of all people. amy: what do y you think shoulde done with statues, for exampmpl, too, oh, slalaveholding founding fathers like george washington and thomas jefferson? know, thesese things can play an important educational role.e. i don't think we should get rid of all of the vestigiges of the past, but we need d to think of- figure out context with which people can understand the nature

of u u.s. history and the role that racism and capitalism and hetero patriarchy have played in forging that history. amamy: can you talk about racism and capitalism, often write and speak about how they are intimately connected and talk about a world that you envision. >> racism is linked to capitalism. i think it is a mistake to assume that we can combat racism by leaving capitalism in place. robinson pointed out in his book "like marxism," capitalism is racial capitalism. of course just to say for a arx pointed outm capitol doesn't just appear r fm nowhere. the original capital was

provided by the labor of slaves, the industrial revolution which pivoted arounund the prproductif capital was e enabled by slave labor in the u.s. i am convinced the ultimate eradication of racism is going to require us to move toward a more socialist organization of our economy, of our other institutions. i thinkk we have a long way to o beforere we can begegin to talk about an economic system that is not based on exploitation and on the super exploitation of black other, latininx people, and racialized populations. bubut i do think that we now hae the conceptual means to engage aboutcussioion, discussions ---- occupy gave us new languag. the notion of the prison industrial complex requires us to undnderstand the globalilizan

of capitalism. anticapitalist cononsciousness helps us to understand the predicament of immigrants who are barred from the u.s. what is going to be created by the current occupant. these conditions have been ieated by global capitalism. think this is a period in which we need to begin that process of popular education which will allow people to understand the interconnections of racism, hetero patriarchy capititalism. amy: a angela, do you think we neneed a truth and reconciliatin commission here in this country? >> well, that may be onone way o begin n but i knknow we're goino need a lotot more than truth and reconciliation stuff is certainly, we need t truth. to thensure how

reconciliaonon i is going toto emererge. i think the whole notion of truth and reconciliation allows aboututink differently the criminal system. it allows us to imagine a form that is not based on revenge, a form of justice that retributive. i think those ideas can helplp s to begin to imagine newew ways f ,tructuring our institutitions such as, well, not structuriring the prisons because the whole point is we have to abolilish tt institution in order to begin to envision new ways of addressing to massitions that leaead incarceration, that lead to such horrendous casasualties as the

mumurder of george floyd. amy: we're going to come back to this discussion and also talk tout president trump going tulsa on juneteenth. we're speakining with angela davis, w world-renownened abolitionist, author, activist and professor at the universitiy ofof california, santa cruz. author of many booksks, includig "freedom is a constatant ststggle." stay witith us. ♪ [mumusic break]

amy: "s"shanty tones" by filastine. we spend the hour with legendary activistst and scholar, angela davis, prorofessor e emeritus ae university of california, santa cruz. president t trump has announced he's holdingng his first campain rally sinince the lockdkdowns as

the country,y, since the pandem, holding it in tulsasa, oklahoma, on june 19 -- a hihighly symbolc day. it was on june 19,9, 1865, that enslaved africanans in texas fit learned they were free, two years after abraham lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation. the day is now celebrated as juneteenth. california senator kamala harris tweeted in response, "this is not just a wink to white supremacist, he is throwing them a welcome home party." marked the 99th anniversary of one of the deadliest mass killings of african-americans in u.s. history. tulsa riot, one of the deadliest massacres in history, where a white mob killed as many as 300 people, most of them black. a police major is coming under fire after denying the systemic

racism insight african-americans probably should be shot more. listen carefully. this is major travis yates in an interview. more violent, crimes, than that number is going to be higher. all of the research says we're shooting african-americans about 24% less than we probably ought to be based on the crimes being committed. amy: "we a are shooting them les than they probably o ought too ? tulsa's mayor and police chief have blasted yates for the comment, but he remains on the force. president trump will be there. angela davis, your thoughts on the significance of the moment, well,l, that is -- you know, ii can't evenen respod

anything he does anymore. it is just so ridiculous. it is, however, important to repepresents ahat he sesector of the populatation ins country that wants to return to the past. again" witha great all his white supremacy, with all of his misogyny. this moment, we are recognizing that we cacannot be held back by s such forces as those represented by y the currt occupapant of the white house. whethervery seriously the people who come out to hearr

this historiric day -- of course, all over the country, people of africann descent will be observing an emamancipatory moment in our history. is tothinknk our role translate some o of the energy d passion into transfoforming institutions. the process has already begun. it can't be turned back -- at least, not by the currenent occupant of the white house. i am not suggesting it is s easy to create lasting change, but at least now we can see that it is possible. when someone like roger goodelll says "black lives matter," even though he did d not mention tony

capra nick and he pbably didid not really mean it, what that that is the n nfl recogognizes it has to get a new process. there's a further expansion of popular cononsciousness. in new york, you need to ask whether you really want to create new jailsls in the borous in thehe aftermath of closing records or whether you need new services. i've been ththinking about the case of jussie smollett and i''m wondering why and chicago givenn the e conditions surrounding the murder of laquan mcdonald, the police department s should be thoroughly investigated and we need to ask, how is it that the public could so easisily be rallied to the police narrative ofof what happenened in the casf jussie smollett? there is so much work to be done. i think the rallies thahat the

current o occupant of the white into is holding will fadade ---- don't even merit a footnote in history. amy: angela davis, i want to about another event taking place on juneteenth -- june 19. the birmingham civil rights institute is finally going to issue the fred l shuttlesworth award during a virtual event on juneteenth. i wanted to ask about this because yoyou returned your hometownwn of birmingham alabama last february after the institute had first rescinded during the bds movement and your support of palestinians. after outcry, the institute reversed his decision. more than 3000 people gathered to see you talk in an attorney turn it up event which was hosted by the birmingham committee for truth and reconciliationon. this is a clclip of your comment that day.

that became clear to me this might actually be a teachable moment. moment might seize this to r reflect on what i it meanso live on this planet in the 20th century and our responsibility not only to pple in ourur immediatate community, but to peopople all over the planet. amy: we were there covering this amamazingg moment t where the birmingham civil rights institute had rescinded the award to you, the fred l shuttlesworth award. went through enormous turmoil. the mayor of birmingham, so many people across the spectrum, criticize them for it but in this process happened and yoyou are going to be awarded this. can you talk about the significance of this moment and what you plan to say on juneteenth, the day that president trump will be inin tulsa? thank you for reminding

me these two events are happening on the same day. of course, that was -- i think the last time i saw you i in person, amy, in birmimingham, a lot has happened over the last yearss including within the context of t the birmingham civl rights institute. reorganizedcompletely -- they have organizized their board,d, have been involved in conversations with the commmmunity. of course, as you know, the mayor birmingham was threatening to withdraw fufunding from the institute. there was a generalized uprising in the black community. while at fifirst it wasas a totl shock to me that they offer this award toto me and then they rescinded it, and i'm realizing now that was an important moment

people to encouraged think about the meaning of human rights and white is it that palestinians could be excludeded from the process of working ?oward human rights palestinian activists have long supported black people struggles against racism. when i was in jail, solidarity coming from palestine was a major source of courage for me. andd ferguson, palestinians were the first to express international solidarity. been this vevery important connection between the .wo struggles for many decades so i am going to be really happy to receive the award, which now of thents a rethinking

rather backward position the institute assumed that palestinians could be excluded from the circle of those working toward a future of justitice, equality, and human rights. amy: s speaking about what is going onon in the west bank rigt now, about the whole issue of thernatioional solidarity, global response to the killing the occupiedyd, in west bank, protesters denounced floyd's murder and the recent 32-year-old palestinian special needs studenent who was shot to deathy israeli forces in occupied jerusalem. black reportedly checking lives matter and palestinian lives matter when israeli police gunned him down my claiming he was armed. thesese links s you're saying, t only in palestine and the united

states, but around the world, the kind of global response -- thousands of people who o marchd in spain, who marched in england, berlin, munich -- all over the world, as this touches a chord and they make demands in their own countries, not only in solidarity with what is happening in the united states. then i want to ask about the u.s. election that is coming up in november. activistsalestinian have long supported black people struggle against racism, as i pointed out. that today's young activists recognize how important palestinian solidarity has been to the black cause and that they recognize we have a profound responsibility to support palestinian struggles as well. i think it is also important for

us t to look in the directitionf brazil, whose currrrent politicl with our current in mamanyleader dangerous waways, i would say. aazil -- if we think we h have problem with racist police violence in the united states of america, look at brazil. franco was assassinanated becaue she was challenging the militarization of the police in the racist violence unleashed. i think 4000 people were killed last year alone by the police in brazil. i am saying this because -- amy:y: the president of brazil, close ally of president trump. we ononly have two minutes and i want to the election.

when i interview do in 20, you said you would not support either main party candidate. what are your thoughts today f r 2020? my position has not changed.. i'm not gogoing to o escalate support of f either of the major candidates, but i do think we have to participate in the election. that i isn't to say i won't vote for r the democratic candidate. what i am sayiying is in our elecectoral system as it exists, neithehe party represents the fututure that we need in this country. both parties remain connected to corporate capapitalism. but the election will not so leaead a about who gets to the country to a a better futur, but rather how w we can support ourselves and our own ability to continue t to organize and place

pressurere on those in power. i don't think there is a question about which candidate would allow that process to unfold. i think we're going to have to translate some of the passion that has characterized these withinrations into work the electoral arena, recognizing that the electoral arena is nott the best place for radical -- eradication of politics. if w we want too continue this work, we cerertainlyly need a pn in office who willll be e more mass pressurere. and to make, t that is the only thing thahat someone like joe biden represesents. but we have to persuade people to go out and vote toto guarante that the current occupant of the ousted.use is forever

amy: angela davis, thank you for this hour. world-renowned abolitionist, author professor at the , university of california, santa cruz. author of many books, including "freedom is a constant struggle: ferguson, palestine, and >> thihis is al jazezeera.

>> coming up in the next 60 minutes, overwhelmed with the number of dead, hospitals in india struggle as the coronavirus caseload becomes the world's fourth-largest. the fight for libya and oil. there's no sign of a cease-fire. u.s. haveoss the heard the call to defund the police. what happened in the city where they did just that?