08/14/20 08/14/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, thisis is democracy now! pres. trump: this is a truly historic moment. not since the israel-jordan peace treaty signed more thahan5 years ago has so much progress been made toward peace in the middle east. amy: israel and the united arab emirates have reached a u.s.-brokered agreement to fully normalize relations in exchange for israel temporarily suspending plans to annex the

west bank. palestinians are condemning the deal. but is it truly historic or is it another step toward war with iran? israel and the uae have been secretly cooperating for years iran. we will speak to professor rashid khalidi. then, as calls grow to release people from prisonon, especially amid the pandemic, a n new seris looks at why breaking the cycle of incarceration is so hard, especially for w women. >> i l lost my mom to thth criml justice system for55ears. i can't helelp but wonder, how would my life be different if she did not keeeep going back to jail? when they tookd you. >> she wasas one of ththe 77% of incarcererated womenre rerested within ni years. amy: we'll speak with lmmaker messiaiarhodes a deanna hoskinofof juseadederspusa, whicwiwill ht anan ent at t e democratic national convention next week with the biden-sanders unity tasksk force t that centes

formerly incarcerated d voices. it's called "rebuildiding the table." all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.o.org, the quarante report. i'm amy goodman. the united statetes recordrded nearly 1200 covid-19 deaths on thursday, as the n number of confirmed coronavirus cases passed the 5.25 million mark, the highest in the world by far. u.s. nursing homes reported another surge in infections that threatens the lives of the country's most vulnerable population. in los angeles, school bus drivers led a noisy protest caravan thursday, circling city hall to demand more funding for coronavirus safety measures before schools reopen. this is john lewis, who's driven a school bus in l.a. for three decades. >> i miss work.

i love my job. i love the students and the people i work with, but i understand what we cannot be at work right now because it is just not say. amy: across five states, more than 2000 students, teachers, and school employees have been quarantined after hundreds tested positive for the coronavirus at the start of the school year, including nearly 1200 people quarantined in the cherokee county school district outside atlanta, georgia. on thursday, georgia's republican governor brian kemp dropped a lawsuit seeking to revoke a citywide mask mandate imposed by atlanta mayor keisha lance bottoms. kemp's office said the governor would instead issue a new executive order allowing private businesses to opt out of mask mandates. on tuesday, georgia recorded 137 coronavirus deaths, its highest daily death toll since the start of the pandemic, and georgia cocontinues to confirm thousanas of new cases each day. in delaware, presumptive democratic presidential nominee joe biden on thursday called for a nationwide mask mandate.

biden's call came as dr. robert redfield, the director of the centers for disease control and prevention, said u.s. residents must adopt public health measures or face its worst fall for public healtlth in histo. >> wear a mask k i'm a social be smart t abouteast crowds. if we don't do t that, as i said lastst april, this couldld be te worst fall from m a publicic heh perspectctive we have ever hada. amy: meanwhile, republican leaders have adjdjourned thehe senate until aftfter the l laboy holiday afafter failing to reach agreement with house democrats on a new coronavirus stimulus bill. vermont senator bernie sanders tweeted in response -- "during the worst economic crisis since the 1930's, mitch mcconnell and senate republicans think they can take a long vacation while millions of americans face hunger and eviction. that is morally obscene."

india reported more than 60,000 new coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day. at the largest jail in indian-administered kashmir, one in five prisoners has tested positive. the united kingdom has imposed new travel restrictions on visitors from spain and france after a surge of new coronavirus cases in western europe. in peru, officials have imposed new social distancing restrictions, as confirmed coronavirus cases topped a half a million. infections have spiked in peru since the government lifted a lockdown on july 1. meanwhile, mexico and argentina have agreed to mass produce hundreds of millions of doses of an astrazeneca vaccine developed by oxford university in case the vaccine proves safe and effective against coronavirus. it's currently in phase 3 of clininical trials. israel and theninited arabab emirateses have reached an agreemement to f fully norormale relatitions after years of secretetly working together on countering i iran and other issues. under the deal, israel has agreed to temporarily suspend plans to annex parts of the west bank, a move that appeared to

have already been on hold due to international condemnation. the uae is the first gulf arab country to normalize relations with israel and just the third country in the arab world to do so after egypt and jordan. the palestinian authority rejected and denounced the trilileral deal l and recalledes ambassador to the uae. meanwhile, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu admitted israel may still annex the west bank. after headlines, we'll get the latest with professor rarashid khalidi. in the gaza strip, israeli tanks and warplanes attacked palestinian neigighborhoodss overnight for the fourth time this week. israel said the e raids were retaliation for incendiary balloons launched by hamas. one israeli missile struck a united nations elementary school in the crowded al-shati refugee camp but failed to explode, prompting an evacuation. this is 12-year-old student lianne al-musawabi. shocked. i went hohome and told my mother

what happened. i was crying, w why are they hitting the school? amy: back k in the united stata, president trump admitted thursday he's working to undermine the u.s. postal service in order to make it harder to vote by mail in november's election. in an interview with the fox business channel, trump said republicans rejected a new coronavirus stimulus bill over democrats' demands for $3.6 billion in aid to states to bolster election security, and $25 billion to support the postal service. pres. trump: they need that money in order to have the post office work so we could take all of these millions and millions of ballots. in the meantime, they are not getting there. by the way, those are just two items. but if they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting. amy: despite trump's attacks, the president and first lady both requested mail-in ballots for tuesday's primary election in florida, according to palm beach county records. in oregon, the u.s. postal service confirmed thursday that it has removed dozens of public mailboxes from the streets of

portland and eugene after photos went viral showing usps workers lifting several of the signature blue boxes onto trucks. a spokesman for usps claimed the removals were due to a decrease in the volume of mail sent during the pandemic. meanwhile, the u.s. supreme court on thursday declined to overrule a rhode island court order that will make it easier to vote by mail in november. the lower court's ruling overturned a requirement -- backed by state republicans and the republican national committee -- that rhode islanders must fill out mail-in ballots in the presence of two witnesses or a notary public. president trump on thursday questioned whether kamala harris is eligible e to become vice president after a trump campaign official retetweeted a column ba right-wing legal scholar arguing she's ineligible to run because both her parents were immigrants to the united states. this is trump speaking at a white house press briefing answering a question thursday. that trump: i heard today

she doesn't meet the requirements. amy: in fact, kamala harris was born in oakland, california, in 1964 and is a u.s. citizen eligible to run for vice president and president. trump's remarks have been compared to his past support for "birtherism" -- a racist and discredited d conspiracy theory that president barack obama was not born in the united states. during thursrsday's press confnference, president trump refused to answer when asked if he regretted all the lies he's made to o the american pubublic. this is trump being questioned by huffpost senior white house correspondent s.v. date. >> mr. president, after 3.5 years, do you regret at all on the line you've done to the american people? all the dishonesty? pres. trump: that to us done? > that you have done. pres. trump: p please, p please. amamy: h he tweeted thatat he hd waited to asask that question years. a "washington post" tally finds

trtrump has s made more than 2 0 false oror misleading claims sie takiking office. jared kushner has confirmed that he and ivanka trump recently met in colorado with her popstar kanye west, who has launched alongside -- longshot run for president. speculalation is growing that it is part of a coordinated republican effort to siphon votes from joe biden and help trump win reelection. "the new york times goes report republican lawyers have assisted kanye west and getting on the ballot in arkansas, colorado, vermont, wisconsin. kim kardashian west recently revealed he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. she said "anyone who has this or who has a loved one in their life who does knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand." belarus's interirior ministry hs released hundreds of anti-government protesters as evidence continues to mount of beatings and torture in police custody.

mass protests erected after long-term authority and credit -- long-time authoritarian president alexander lukashenko claimed victory in sunday's election, while his main challenger fled to neighboring lithuania after refusing to concede. european union ministers are meeting today to discuss possible sanctions against fellers protesters.. meanwhile, workers at major factories across belarus have but on strike, anchors at state-run tv stations have resigned, and dozens of former police and soldiers have shared videos on social media in which they throw away or burn their unififorms and insignia. afghanistan's u.s.-backed government has released the first 80 of 400 taliliban prisoners, clearing the way for the resumption of peace talks aimed at ending nearlyly two decades of conflict. afghan leaders say a new r round of peace negotiations with the taliban could begin in qatar as early as august 20. the trtrump administration has halted all private charter flights between the u.s. and cuba, effective october 13.

the ban on charter flights comes less than a year after the state department canceled all direct flights to cuba except to vana and placed an annual limit on the n numbeofof those flights. in colombia, fivive blackk teenagers were found brutally tortured and murdered this week in the city of cali. the teens had reportedly left their homes tuesday morning to fly kites. community members recently led a protest denouncing racism and violence inflicted by the colombian state and demanding justice for the murdered teens and other afro-colombian people who've been killed. in brazil's minas gerais state, military police on thursday set fire to an encampment of the landless rural workers' movement, destroying a school and evicting 450 familieies from their homes. video from thursday's eveviction shows s a tense standoff between memembers of the movement, known as mst, and police in riot gear. mst members first occupied the

land in 1998 and built a successful cooperative growing coffee and other crops. the police raid came despite a moratorium on evicictions during the pandemic. in bend, oregon, hundreds of protesters surrounded two buses for over 10 hours wednesday as they tried to block agents with immigration and customs enforcement from apprehending two immigrants who had been taken into custody early in the morning. the protesters refused to budge until u.s. border patrol agents used pepper spray to clear the nonviolent action around midnight, taking the two men into ice custody. the men had reportedly lived in oregon for over a decade. the department o of homeland security repeatedly ignored warnings about that that -- the threat presidents border wall has across the southwest. that is according to documents obtained by the center for

biological diversity and other terminal groups. wildlife experts at the san bernardino national wildlife refuge in southeastern arizona have fought for months to protect scarce water streams and springs crucial to the protectionon of multiple fish species. this comes as dhs continues to pump millions of gallons of groundwater for wall construction in the dry desert. in related news, the la posta band of diegueno mission indians have sued the trump administration seeking to block the construction of the border wall along the san diego border as tribal members say it's desecrating sacred burial sites. in educacation news, the justice department is accusing yale university of violating federal civil rights law by discriminating against asian-american and white applicants. this comes after a two-year investigation into the ivy league school, fueled by president trump's opposition to affirmative action policies aimed at boosting admissions for under-represented communities, partrticularlyly black, brown ad latinx students.s.

in kentucky,y, attorney general daniel cameronon met with h brea taylor's family for the first time wednesdsday -- over 150 das after louisville police e fataly shot the 26-year-old in her own home in march. the attorney general reportedly offered his condolences to the family, while the agents involved in taylor's killing have yet to be charged. kentucky governor andy beshear said thursday he expects a decision in taylor's case will be made before the kentucky derby is held onon septetember . in environmental news, hundrdres of peoplple have been evacuateds rapidly spreading wildfires have destroyed over 90,000 acroross three states -- california, oregon, and d colorado. and the university of california, santa cruz, has agreed to reinstate 41 graduate student workers who had been fired in march as they carried a months-long wildcat strike demanding a cost-of-living adjustment. the university is also granting the 41 student workers an additional quarter of funding

and guarantee of employment for the upcoming academic year. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. whenen we come back, i israel ad united arab emirates have reached u.s.-brokered agreement relations and the temper suspension of plans to annex the west bank. palestinian leadership p is condemnining the d deal. when w we come back, prorofessor rarashid khalidi response. ♪ [music break]

"everything" by maryry j blytht, breonnavorite song of taylor who w was s shot in her e marchice month ago on 13thth. the agents have still not been charged. raradio statioions across the country yesterday on the five month anniversary of her death played that song.

this is democrcracy now!w!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report.. i'm amamy goodman. israrael and t the united arab emirates have reached an agagreement to fully normalize rerelations after years of secretly working together on countering iran and other issues. under the deal, israel has agreed to temporarily suspend plans to annex parts of the west bank, a move that appeared to have already been on hold due to international condemnation. the uae is the first gulf arab country to normalize relations with israel and just the third country in the arab world to do so after egypt and jordadan. president trump announced the uae-israel deal on thursday in an oval office event, flanked by u.s. ambassador to israel david friedman, treasury secretary steven mnuchin, and trump's son-in-law jared kushner. pres. trump: by uniting two of america's closest and most capable partners in the region, something which said could not be done, this deal is a significant step toward building a more peaceful, secure, and

prosperous relationship. now that the ice has been broken, i expect more arab and muslim countries will follow the united arab emirates lead. amy: thehe palestininian authory rejectcted and denounced the trilateral deal and recalled its ambassad to the e uae. meanwhile, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu admitted israel may still annex the west bank. is no change in my plan to apply our sovereignty in judea and samaria in full coronation with united states. i am committed it has not changed. i'm the one who put the issue of sovereignty on the table. this issue conontinues to reremn onon the tabable. amy: critics o of the israeli ococcupationon decried the deal. demomocratic congresswomoman raa tlaib, the first female palestinian congresswoman, tweeted -- "we won't be fooled by another trump/netanyahu deal. we won't celebrate netanyahu for not stealing land he already controls in exchange for a sweetheart business deal. the heart of the issue has never

been planned, formal annexation, but ongoing, devastating apartheid." meanwhilile, codepink's medea benjamin warned the deal is aimed at bolstering the "israel-u.s.-gulf alliance against iran." we are joined now byby rashihid khkhalidi, edward said professor of m modern arab studieses at columbia uniniversity. author of several books, including his latest, "the hundred-years war on palestine." profesessor, thank you for j jog usus. can you respspond to this surpre announcement yesterday? >> well, in essence, itit is another campaign in the 100 years war on palestitine. this is a a great victory for ab reaction. it is a great victory for the annexation m missed -- annenexationists and a boost for president truru, the trump regime, whicich is one of the mt authoritarian in american history that has now got a diplomatic victory.

i i don't see it has anythiningo do witith peace, of course. the uniteded arab emiratates was nevever at war with israel. on the conontrary, it t makes te chance of a just, equitable, , d susustainable e peace much, much harder. amy: are you surprised by this announcement and can you e expln how it came about? then r respond to the palestinin leadership's denunciation and rejection of the deal. >> well, it came about partly because e of the lowow back agat the trump-netatanyahu plan to overertly nexexed territories which come a as was said, were alreadyy underer israeli control and as a nanny who said, he still plans to annex. but the blowback was so severe, both trump and netanyahu were forced to recalibrate. ththis is something that h has always beeeen ongoing. the plplan to bring the most reactionary, most absolute monarchies in the world into an

open public alliliance with isrl as part of that netatanyahu-trup obsession with h iran -- which s something these regimes are also obsessed with, given they don't have consent of the governed, they do not have any kind of domesticic agenda missy. they are antntidemocratic. the united ararab emirates isist a force for peace. it is at war w with pepeople of yemen and libibya. it has never been involved in a war with israel. so this is making overt relationship that was already covert. this is making even more salient iran, whichchagainst is the w wet dream of both netanyahu and trump to dangle iran in n front of peoples eyeso distract them from the kind of reactionary dictatorships or absolute monarchies. are soonarchies

reactionary that they make henry --itand louis the cib is an absolute disgrace. amy: on n thursdayay, presididet trump was questioned about whether israel may still annex the west bank. this is what he said. >> the prime minister was pretty clear today at a conference that he considers this to be a temporary suspension and that the deal would still be open to him at some point in the future. i am asking what you think you should do? pres. trump: it is off the table. i can't talk about some time into the future. that is a big statement. but right now it is off the table. is that a correct statement, mr. ambassador? >> the words were chosen carefully. y holte.e.emporar

amy: that isis u.s. ambassador o israel on the silencnce of the press confererence -- sidelinesf the press conference. come at thelidi national security advisor robert o'brbrien said preresidentrumpme the front runner for t the nobel pepeace prize. united arabab emirates hasas never beeeen engd in a warar witith israel. it's mimissile defenses wewere manufactctured in israel and probably conontrol from israrae. this is an ally of israel in practice. it always has been. now that this has been made public. whatever the president and his ambassador to israel say, ii wouldd takake netanyahu atat his word. therere is no change in his pla. ran a a clip.-- you they will continue the ongoing colonization of the west bank

and cocontinue to control --- israel will be the o only sovereign betweenen the mediterranean and d the jordan ririver and it will continunue s discriminatory p policies wherey israelis have one set of laws and the palestinians underer occupationon basically have the law of the jungle, i i.e. mility courts, of which e everyone is always guilty. in whihich about 20% of f the palestinian popopulation as been sent to prprison. wewe are talkingng about a corporation which is going to be sustained and continued by this deal. that i is not peace. that is continuation of colonization and occupation. hook also spoke at the white house thursday. >> between the arabs and the israelis is iran's worst nightmare and no one has done more to intensify the conflict than iran.

what was he today is a new middle east. the lines are very different today. we see the future is very much in the gulf and with israel in the past is with the rainy and regime. amy: medea warned it is at bolstering the alliance against iran, professor. >> i'm glad you ran that clip py brian hook becauause one of the greatest falsehoods these people pedal is this s idea that theres a conflict between the arabs and iran. there's a conflict between nonrnrepresesentative anti-democratic regimes and iran . arab public opinion considers israel a great danger. there are popolls every coupuplf years run by the ararab center, which show across a dozen arab countries, the arabs, most of them unrepresented by these dictatorships and absolute monarchies, consider iran a minor threreat. it is not the e number one problem.

for these regimes that have e no domestic agenda missy, of course iran is a problem. moreover, they need the united states and israel because they can't defend themselelves given the facact -- againstst the peo, let alone against extreme threats because they have no domestic legitimacy. i think this is not something between the arabs and iran, bubt unrepresentedd and undemocratic regimes. absolute monarchies of the gulf. amy: president trump is feeling somewhat embattled. former vice president, presumptive 2020 democratic presidential nominee joe biden, sponded to his middle east deal saying in a statement -- "the uae has offered to publicly recognize the state of israel is a welcome, brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship. annexation would be a body blow to the cause of peace, which is why i oppose it now d would oppose it as president."

can youu r respond to the democratic position? >> i think the leaeadership of e democratic party from biden to senator harris to thehe peoeoplo it, all of them are behind the times. the democratic party, its base, theeople arare going to vote for the democrats andnd will hopefuy defeat trump in november and take back the senate and increase the progressive trends in the house don't feel that way. they strongly believe that sanctioned fore its violations of palestinian human rights. they don't have the position that the democratic party leadership has. so a lot of work is going to be necessary to force the leadership to do what the people want. the people who'll vote them into

office, should they win in november, they don't represent the people that they claim to represent on this issue, at least. it will require a lot of pressure on these people who are basically mired in the past positions of the democratic party, which were always blind to israel's fault and blind to the palestinians. this is not new and unfortunately has been further entrenched by biden and harris becoming the nominees s for the party. there were s several othther candidates, obviously senatator sanders and senator warren, butt others whoho had more nuanced positions, much more in tuned -- in tuned with the base on this issue. a lot of work is goioing to be necessary to fororce the leadership, as i said, completely blind to israel's fault and doesn't see the palestinians to do the right thing. amy: in the gaza strip, just as this was beieing announced,

israeli tanks and warplananes attacked palestinian neighborhoods overnight for the fourth time this week. israel said the raids were retaliation for incendiary balloons launched by hanan hamas in- launched by a crowded refugee camp that failed to explode, prompting an evacuation. this is a 12-year-old dude in. >> i was shot. i went home and told my mother what happened and i was crying. why are they hitting the school? amy: professor, do you see a connection between the announcement a and what is happenining in gaza a and the significance off that? >> israel has been engaged in m mowingisraelii called the grass. gaza, aallyly, bombarding fourth againinst palestinians.

to keep the palestinians divided, which is an israeli objective and to keep hamas off balance. they have been engaged in secret negotiations for the better part of a year or m more. with the objective of getting a real cease-fire in place in return for what israel would lift some of its incredible restrictions on movement and the transfer of goods into and out of the gaza strip. this is part of that tit-for-tat between the overwhelming force used by israel and the relatively minor rotation of balloons -- irritation of balloons that bring some crops. so israel will bombard with bombs and missiles and what comes from gaza is basicallyly a minor in comparison. the importance of it really i don't think relates to this

larger deal involving the emirates. it is part of the policy of divide and rule with -- that israel has adopted over a long period of time. the palestinian division helps. the e palestinian leaderships ad a gaza a and the w west bank tht refusesed to put t the interestf the popolicy and people ahead of their own narrow self-interestst are playing israel's gamame, boh regrettably, and deserved to be sanctioned by the palestinian people for their blindness. amy: you also have both president trump and prime minister netanyahu under fierce attack for how they have dealt with the pandemic. thousands of israelis have been in the streets protesting netanyahu, one of the worst outbtbreaks in the world. do you see a relationship with what is going on now with this announcement? and also, how would it play out? do you see this happening before the u.s. election and how do you feel people in thehe u.s. would

respond to this? >> do i see annexation happening? deal, do you see thiss being signeded off on? >> oh, the emirate still, yes, absolululy. trump sees this as a feather in his cap as does netanyahu. both of them are facing enormous public opposition because of their terrible handling of the pandemic and economic issues, not to speak of issssues of racl discrimination and police brutality.y. the oppression of millions and millions. so they both h have enormous pressure on them m from the strereet. we h have demonstrations in the street and they have t them in israel. both rulersave the kind of autocratic tendencies -- i think whereish they could be theyey could simply rule by fia,

and the president is trying to tour that in this cocountry.y. they arere under enormous pressurere. this is s a distraraction by bof them. amy: this is from "ththe new yok times," dennis roth, former middle east negegotiator for republican and democratic administration said -- john "another lore for the mri these with the possibility of obtaining advavanced weaponry tt long-sought, which the united states only to countries at peace with israel to preserve its qualitative e military edgen the region. your thoughts? emirates united arab already h has antimissisile defe system, which is manufactured by raytheon. from israel. obviously, it t is an and or can company so they have obtained the illusion they are buying amamerican equipment. i amam sure they would like more

of this. equipping couldn't united s stas produces. itit is s a cozy -- it i is a bs relationship as rashida tlaib rightly saiaid. at base, for protection from the local police on the block. from his own people, the arab people come and from external enemies. whichds the weaponry for he can defend himself against external enemies. i think that is part of the deal.. amy: finalally, what do you thik a just deal would look likeke in the middle east between ththe israelis and palestinians? >> a just t deal means equal rights for everyone. a just deal means national rights have to be accepted for both people. ththe nation state law, israel s

a jewish nation s state, there s ononly one people seself-determination. that cannot s stand. there e aro people there. any s solution that doesnsn't at that and g give them equal righ, what is paradeded as "two state solution" is a one state solution. one state has sovereignty and controll and t the other state s not. one statate controls movement of eveverybody in and out and t the other so-calalled state with the palestinian s state undnder so-c-called two state solution would have no control over immigration, import/export, groundwater,r, a airspace -- i t woululd not be sovereigngn. moreover, palestinians would be restriricted to a tiny fraractif the occupied territoriries, lett alone the entirety o of palesti. this is not just. the current situauation is not sustainable. there has to be equalitytyf rights between those people on every level -- religious rights, personal rights, political rights, and national rights.

amy: thank you so much for being with us. rashid khalidi, edwaward said professor of modern arab studies at columbia university. books.of a number of his latest "the e hundred-years , war on palestine." when we come back, ass c calls w to release people from prison in the united states especially miss the pandemic, a new sereris by filmmaker messiah rhodes looks at why breaking g the cyce of i incarceration is so hard, especially for women, incluludig his owown motherer. ststay with us. ♪ [ [music break]

amy: this is demococracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy y goodman. as the covid pandemic geges in the united states, people in jails and prisons are 550% more likely t to get infected, 300% more likely to die.. those e granted compassionate release are joining others who are being released after serving their sentences and returning to their communities. for many, their criminal record makes itit hard d to find a jobd even h housing. especially true for wowomen. the coronavirus crisis, and the movement for racial justice, have magnified these challenges, which are the focus of a new aj+

and aj contrast documentary series calleled "against all od" by filmmakeressiah rdedes, whe e own therer w was i iand out of jail throhohout h chilood.d. she wawaable to break thcyclee of incarcerationftfter s was treated fomental illllness and substance abuse. inis repepting, hehe needs other women who und their way out of isison a are nowelping more do the sam messiawill joius i in few minutes. he is a f fmer fellow here at democracy now! >> i lost t mom to the e iminaa justice system for 15 years. i can'n't help but wononder how woululd my life be different if she e did not keepep going backo jail? they tookrushed when you. it messed me up. >> she w was one of ththe 77% of inincarcerated women w who are reararrested withihin nine year. my namamis messiah rhodess a ans a film maker whoho grew up p wia mothther in and out of jail, i wanted to understand why

breaking t c cycle of incarceration is so o difficult. >> what makes us so o different? we are human beingngs. i am 50 0 ars old and i'mm turning mymy life over.. >> i i started fililminghis befe the e vid-19 p pandemic.. systemic racism in the prison system he never r en more imimportant. >> it doesesn't m mter what the oddsre, i willet on formal incarcerated womenen any day, ay time. cocos and i think about hohow my mom grew up, ihihink abo howow trtrauma is carried across generations. cooks wouldd have in y your parents? >> theboth died. my momom gave me to m my grandmr right when i was born n from the hohospital my grarandfather went to jail fr four years and we struggled. we hardly had gooood.

>> at t 17, my mom g got pregna with me.e. >> we wewere in familyly courtrd ththey took you away f from me. i was so devastate it messesed me up. i started using drugs even more. i wanted to try to get you u bak but i i got deeper a and deeeer involvlved in the druru. i could not get out. i was m medicating the pain. clubs stuckk i ia vicious cycle, shshe went in a and out of jajar times. >> i had no place to go when i camemeut. was homeless,s, so i starteted using right away. >> a fundamemental lack ofof sut do somethihi i heard f from womn acacss the country. >> i i have 10 felelony shoplifg coicictions stop a at what point did a flag g go up? some helplp.eed >> if i'm a mother and you want me to bebe able to thrive, wouldn't you wantnt services inn

the community? wouldl't you wawant the gerernmt to have a ogogram sohat i don't have to commit anoerer crim > t tre'ss no centntral syst, lololly or fedederally, to suppt incacarcerated indndividls. but orgaganizations arare tryino fill in n thgap. itit i is a woman only y progran the bronx. >>his is s our kitchen ararea where e women have f full acceso the kitchen, , cooking, you kno, thisis is their hohome. the co-fofounder prograram didirector pasasd away frorom covid-1919n may 2020. i visited her jusust as humanss earlier toto learn moree about e house.e. >> we deal with it f from a holisticicpproach. a lot of reentry, they want you to get a jobob as soon as you ce out. but if you havee been dealalt wh those traumas that affecected yu at 12 and d you're 5 50 years od and d you're still battlining te shame and guilt, so you heal the mind and the body will follow.

>> my mom finally found supportive housing programam tht keptpt her outf jail and d helpd her begin the prprocess of healing. >> it t is lunch time. it seems your am, but itit i is quite e remarkable because a yer ago,o, she did not seem like she would ever have a homeme. clothess and 2008, new screw in new york c city did a prprofilen heher r recovery. >> i lived in t this abandoned shack for a while. ..ing g in and outut cooks prostituting, she gave birth to onene childld addictedo heroin and anothero abandon at the hohospital. cooks those two c cldren wererey brother r and sisterer. i never knenew them growiwing u. >> thiss is ththe first time all three of my children were totogether. clothes years earlier, myy pick grand parents became my guguardian'ss.

cooks they would not let m me se you. consistent insn't yourur life. she stopped d me from seeieing . things toto the house and i d don't knknow if you gogy of t that. folklki didid and it stopopped r a while. clclothes you do get it? >> y yes. after we reconnected, my mom's bute was back on track anan obstacle remain, getting a job. amy: thahat's an excerpt f frome first part o of a new documentay series calalled "against allll odds," by filmmaker and host messiah rhodes with aj+ and aj contrast. we a are goingng to go to part , the sesecond e episode of the ss , whwhere he looks at the lackcf healalth care and drug treatme for women in prison d d also when they are released cos my mother's stst subancece

use e hahe arofound impact. en shehe got out of jail, she did not veve accs toto pper re. she kept going back to jajailver the cour o of 15 years. >> i was tir of being in jail, tid d of bng t treed likika nobody. they would come in and flip your mattressver. was tire i didn't wa t to beike e th ananore. >> 77% of t women a rearsted witn nine yrs. the impression -- the question d d was,hy? my name messiahhodes and i'm a lmlmmakeon a a psonall journey to understand why some won n keepyclilingack inin incarceration anhohow myom maned to fi her way out. this was filmed before the pandemic ithe uprising of the lling ofeoeorge floyd, but the oblems tt t plagd t the prison

system are even more visible nonow. my mothehas s suered h h whole li from mental andhyhysica illness. i take this three teses a day,5 5 unit. i und out four yea ago i w diabic.. l l the me on thstreets had nolulue. >> jails are mandated by l to ovovide dicacal sistanan to eir inmates. there no formal orsight of the qualitoror serces. you may have to pay trtra fe and -payays. for myom, it wn't til r fourthnd finalime in jail that she reived any kind serious treatme. >> i was sick when g got there. i was on the mtatal reb tier the stst tim evybodody s medicated on that tier. >> was in therapy and memedicaon?? >> no therapy, just meditition.

> lack of adequate health cae s s a pround impact on won,n, both while locked a and wn reaseded. a clinic in new orlea called formalncarcerated transitions is tining to help by proving medical rvices tmemen and womecocomingut o of e prisis system. >> when you're comg g out inrceratatn, the nbeber of prprioties y y have your trying have a place to stayyoyou needed to pay r that ofood or do you need to p for clothing? health carbecomes e least importt priori. >> w is heal care imrtant to preve recidivism? >> when youave illnesses, somemes people will yy ything t help themsees. metimes at resul in crim >> greater cmency by barack obam in 2016 after servin over 23 years for a nonviolent dr offense. w she wos as a cmunity health worker for t clinic. >> whatever ey need miming out li counseling, substcece abuse, we ve contas that we

n call tse peoe and ge them connected. >> when i was incarcerated, i d try toilill mylf t twi. the loss of my s, the lo of myay of li, the lo of my daughter. lavon was able to reuni witherer twoaughghte. to thosego back dedepreson momomts in suidal ments s ere i was so close to taking m life. i have to take care of my children i stilhave two daughters i to take carofof. want thetoto kno life may thw w you curvrvebl andd you may down and come as i used toayay injt, t thiis a minor setback for mar r comeack.k. mental illnesrom and bsbstanc abuse disorders, wowomen ve a a hher chchce of going ckck to il.. treaeatmt centers could be one ofhehe missing links for tsese women. for my mom, it wasn'ununtil e gointo a areatmentr gram th she turd her li aroun

[indiernible] the guilt was titing m ali. guilt and shame thehings i was dog. >> after5 years being i and out of jail, she h a a ablele he. she got cuody of my little sister emme. then she r reconnectcted with m. t can bemany won, diffict. >> at first wawas afid t toe a mom becae e i have not been a mom m so long to my other two ilildren i realizegod gave me a chance toe a mher. >> my thther a i aren a much bett placeow. i feelikike my childhood and teenagyeyears re stolen from mendnd i'm m stl recocoring from th. my motheand my siblingsnd i are presessinghe t traa paration. we are in uncharted terriryry yingng tfigurereut with normal famili d do. we ner had a chae to

perience thing le a famy pho. this is r first e. were learning to carry eac other the worldost incarcation. , the rhodes family. amy: that is a newew documentary seseries called "againstst all " by filmmaker and h host messiaih rhodes with aj+ and aj contrast. he joins us now for more. messiah, congratulations on this incredible series that grew out of looking at how your own mother broke the cycle of incarceration. can you talk about what it meant to you to make this series and what you have learned at this point in the midst of the black lives matter movement, as we move into the democratic national convention, and policies being drawn up that your documentation of this story is what those policies should be all about? haviningyou so much for

me, amy. good seeing you during this pandemic times. seriesty much, the doc is almost like a call for defunding ththe police. instead of giviving law enforcement sci-fi level weaponry, we should be funding show inogrgrams that i thin the documentary. these are the services that we should be providing for formal incarceratated peoplple to prevt recidivism, to prevent their interactctions with law enforcemen the documentary, as i explored the fililm, that is p pretty muh what i foundnd. eveven before ththe george floyd situation. amy: yes,, and i wanted to brirg in deannnna hoskins as s well, e president of just leadership usa, which works to ensure people most affected by incarceration drive policy reform.

just leadership will be hosting aa program within the democratic national convention n next week ,alled rebuilding the table calling on federalal and state lawmakers to save the lives of incarcerated people by releasing them during the covid pandndemi. deanna hoskins, as you watch messiah's amazing documentary series, can you talk about how this can translate into policy and will very much determine whether the democratic party's platatform looks dififferent frm the republican party''platfofor? you, , y.anank watching messiah's documentary was basically my lifefe story, having my soson is 17, , dealing with substance abuse, and exacactly the barririers there e demonstrtrated or talked aboboun hiss documentary are the realit. his mother recently getting clean and able to get h her life together -- this was the

situatioion 20 years ago w wn i return. so notothing hasas changeded ard the barrieiers for women to reunite with their families. , , vingk about policiess work on a policy level, huding alwayays comes from for emergency shelters, but places lik hope house don' recee e that funding because the'reonsisided whatate call transition houses. federal and locafufunds do not paper trantitional houses, which are the most needed housing for women, especially black women, returng from iarcerati f for substancababuse d mental health of actually beeeen one of ouour issues. soso we're going to ststart talg about policy, we are seeining where pololicymakers see the big picture but they don't unrsrstand the intntricate detas suchch as w what memessiah anhio talked about. no one ever focused on thissue of wt was drivingo the crime

th led to incarceration and then for women, hisother said something simimportt ththat i think everyone foetets. to takepepecta wan re of herhildren. so not only doe go inrcerated with sutancnce abuse and mental hlth, we en ha the sha and g guilthat wewe haveo overerco, which a lot of titime continu to drive to our bstance use. soso eveaddressi t the tumuma that may have tan placace during heher t of a addicon, none of osose thgs a are actually woven tt isolicy is alway -- atat we eeoping th rebuilding the table- we are tired of bended soluons. need real solutions have real impa in our community that imimpactnd changthe e trectory of our leses andur chihiren'. because at we kn if we're going g break the cycle them wouldo give

stated to be successful. amy: what does it mean to be included in the democratic national convention next week? what are you going to say the leaders? by the way, democracy now! we'll be covering the whole week and the highlights of the speechehes that n night as wewell as bringg analysysis. deanna hoskins? biggestwhat are the things is we know biden-sanders unity table came up with criminal justice recommendations anand we applalaud them for tha. but the one thing we hahave to want to o bring to their attentn is just t what we'rere are talkg about. while their policies talk about ththlack of housising, employme, health care for people returning to the communinity, they missed the boaoat of the intricate details of what led to thahat. ththey messed -- - they misissed intricate detetails of how we start evaluatiting individuals based on p possible traumas, substance a abuse, mental health when we aree a always incarcerag people. does it ha to be -- when messiah talkss about the defundd police c concept, we are seeing

ththlargest budgetet idle in a y state community city is always correctitions in law enforcemem. we are saying with d defund polilice, and that isis divest m law enfoforcement and correctios and invest in our c community. our commmmunities are liking substance abususe treatment. they are lacking mental l health substance issssues. messiah talkss abobout the clinc most of those clinics are underfunded becaususe they are t a budget line item on the city's budget. but we have to take omom the over enforcent to cu socia ills or isis comnity has lacked t resources,spececiay in black a bro marnalilize cocommities.s. so i reason fobeing at the table, you're missi t the bt anif you wtto dodo sethingng diffent,t, he to havour voes at thtatable en you drafpoliciesnot after for us to cry. havave be in t d desigof th policy. and we kw you unrstand people being direcy impmpacted being at the t table b because r

imgration table ha indiduduals om t tha community. when you talk about veteran veterans at e e tabl when youalkbout the disabities acta people dibilitities athe tatae. i i ed dememrats to u underand and actually loowithin thememsees whaha is thereby is that we don't have an expertise to sit at the table? amy: i want to give messiah rhodes a last word here. memessiah come agagain your sers everyone should watch, we will link at democracynow.org, but yet the democratic leadership now, kamala harris, former attorney general nda before being a senator, you have joe biden who was very involved with the crime bill, what demands are you making? what do you see has to happen based on your left experience with your family and your mom going in and out of prison? >> harris been the vp candidate is remarkable thing happening but at the same time,

materially, like you see a situatioion with my family and womenther familieies, black have been affected by incarceration, law enforcement policies in a negative way. as you s saw in my d documentar, almost three generations of my family were affected by law enforcement and mass incarceration. it is important we listen to these voices right now when it comes to black lives matter, defund police. we need health care, we need housing, we need education, we need to keep families together when it comes to unifying communities, individuals. when you affecect a black woman, effective family and when you affect a f family, you affected commununity. i feel harris and biden hopefully can listen to these communities and realizeze this s important right now, especially during crisis like covid. if you listen to the basic policies and the sci-fi weapons, there is housing, education,

family unification, health care. amy: we have to leave it there. what a honor to a word with you hear a fellowship at democracy and host of the document or series "against all odds."

sami yaffa: for thsasands of yeaars it was a a placsepaparatd from the b beliefs and influen of the outside world. after the second world war, western influence hit it like a tsunami. but walking here today, you can still sense the shroud of the past over everything, especially culture and customs. where else can you get an overdose of both history and blade runner-like futurism? or both spiritualism and over-to