05/25/21 05/25/21 democracy now! [captioning made possible by demoacy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i was fired from the associated press lasweek after a summer campaign exposing the history of activism for palestinian human rights while i was at stanford university. amy: we speak to reporter emily wilder who was fired by the associated press last week after

i disinformation campaign led by college republicans at stanford university over her support for palestinian human rights as a college student. she was fired days after israel bombed the ap office in gaza. then today marks one year since minneapolis police murdered george floyd, sparking international protests and a national reckoning over race and policing. >> so what has changed? the game hasn't changed. the game remains the same. what has changed is you have been activated on a whole other level. there is a warrior on the inside of you that was activated on 5/25 on a whole other level. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democra now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman.

u.s. secretary of state antony blinken met with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in jerusalem today as a ceasefire between israel and hamas holds for a fifth day. blinken is expected to meet with palestinian president mahmoud abbas in ramallah in the occupied west bank. he will then head to egypt and jordan. blinken is not planning to meet with anyone connected to hamas or visit gaza, which was devastated during the 11-day israeli bombardment. the israeli assault killed 253 palestinians, including 66 children. during a joint appearance with netanyahu, blinken reconfirmed israel's right to self-defense and repeated president biden's vow to help rebuild gaza. israel's health ministry says it will end all covid-19 restrictions in june after its

mass vaccination program nearly succeeded in halting community spread of coronavirus. daily infections across israel are down to double digits, with an average of just one to two covid deaths per day. meanwhile, health officials in gaza are warning tens of thousands of palestinians who crowded into shelters during israel's 11-day bombardment are at high risk of covid-19. just 2% of gazans are fully vaccinated, and israel has refused to distribute vaccines in the palestinian territories it occupies. during israel's 11 day bombardment of gaza, an israeli strike killed a prominent palestinian doctor who was overseeing covid cases at gaza's largest hospital. another israeli coming get emerged -- damaged their only covid testing lab. in geneva, the head of the world

health organization, dr. tedros adhanom ghebreyesus on monday set new rgets r vaccinating the world's poorest nations, while scolding rich countries for vaccinating low-risk groups ahead of health workers and high-risk groups in other countries. >> the ongoing vaccine crisis is a scandals and equity perpetuating -- and equity perpetuating the pandemic. more than 75% of all vaccines have been administered in just 10 countries. there is no diplomatic way to say it. a small group of countries that make and by the majority of the world's vaccinesontrol the fate of the rest of the world. amy: the u.s. state department has issued a level 4 travel advisory for japan, the highest cautionary level, due to a spike

in covid-19 cases. the u.s. advisory adds to pressure both inside and outside of japan to cancel the summer olympics, which are due to open on july 23. the los angeles unified school district said monday it will fully reopen classrooms in the fall with a remote option for some families. the announcement followed new york city's announcement that schools will open in full in september with no remote option. officials in both cities cited rising covid vaccination rates and plummeting case rates for the planned return to in-person learning. the united states is reporting its lowest rate of coronavirus infections in nearly a year with just over 25,000 new cases reported monday. meanwhile, in mexico city, hundreds of teachers, students, and parents marched monday to protest against plans to reopen schools as early as next month. most of mexico's schools have

been closed since march of 2020. and while many teachers are -- have been vaccinated, protesters are demanding vaccines for students and their family members before a return to classes. >> at this time, not even 20% of the population is vaccinated and given the terrible conditions of the schools we attend, it is very hard to return to classes. >> as a mother, i will obviously be uneasy. my daughter can get infected. we are demanding more time for virtual classes until the situation is stabilized. i repeat, there are vaccines. amy: a study by university of washington researchers found covid-19 has killed over 600,000 people in mexico, nearly three times the official count. china's foreign ministry has strongly denied a "wall street journal" report suggesting the novel coronavirus might have escaped from a laboratory. "the journal" reports that three

employees of the wuhan institute of virology fell ill with covid-like symptoms in the autumn of 2019 and were hospitalized in november of that year -- before the first recorded case of covid-19. "the wall street journal" based its reporting on a previously undisclosed u.s. intelligence report. china's foreign ministry dismissed the finding. >> the united states continues to hype up the lab league area. does a case about traceability or is it just try to distract attention? amy: in march, the world health organization said its investigation into the origins of the covid-19 paemics that it was extremely unlikely that coronavirus emerged from a laboratory. but many are calling on who to further investigate the possibility. the european union announced sanctions against belarus monday, one day after it

diverted a commercial flight to minsk in order to arrest a journalist critical of belarus' authoritarian president. on sunday, belarus scrambled a fighter jet to intercept a ryanair flight after falsely reporting a bomb threat. the interception sparked panic among passengers. after landing in minsk, police arrested 26-year-old roman protasevich, a journalist who covered recent demonstrations calling for an end to the 27-year-old of alexander lukashenko. protasevich appeared in a video posted online saying he was monday being held in a minsk to tinted center and -- detention center and confessing to having "organized mass unrest in the city of minsk." the video shows protasevich with mark on his forehead, raising questions about whether he had been beaten. european leaders have described protasevich's arrest as a state-sponsored hijacking and

kidnapping, and on monday called on airlines not to fly over belarus, while barring belarusian airlines from e.u. airspace and airports. this is european commission president ursula von der leyen. >> this is an attack on fedom of expression and an attack on european sovereignty. his outrageous behavior needs a strong answer. amy: president joe biden applauded european union sanctions and said he ordered his administration to hold belarus accountable. this comes as the downing of the ryanair flight by belarus is drawing comparisons with the u.s.-backed downing of a flight by european union officials in 2013 carrying bolivia's then-president evo morales. morales' plane was forced to land in vienna after taking off from moscow amid rumors that nsa whistleblower edward snowden was

aboard. ed snowden tweeted monday -- "downing aircraft to pursue the arrest of dissidents has always been outrageous. it is the modern expression of bush-era 'extraordinary rendition,' and should be opposed no matter the flag under which it occurs. a top secret study leaked to "the new york times" by famed pentagon papers whistleblower daniel ellsberg reveals the u.s. military pressed then-president dwight eisenhower to prepare a nuclear first strike against mainland china ding the taiwan strait crisis of 1958. the document shows u.s. military planners were ready to accept the risk that the soviet union would launch its own nuclear retaliation on behalf of its ally china and that millions of people would die. daniel ellsberg told "the new

york times" he decided to disclose theocument now due to rising tensions between the united states and china over taiwan. senate democrats have introduced a bill that would trim $73 billion from the u.s. nuclear arsenal over the next decade. the smarter approach to nuclear expenditures, or sane act, was co-sponsored by oregon congressmember earl blumenauer and senator ed markey of massachusetts. they introduced their bill monday as the congressional budget office released a report projecting the cost of maintaining the u.s. nuclear stockpile through 2030 at $634 billion. mali is facing a crisis after what appears to be the country's second military coup in less than a year. the african union and united nations issued a joint statement calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the two leaders -- president bah ndaw

and prime minister moctar ouane -- who are reportedly being held at a military base outsi of bamako. the two leads both came to power in september as part of a transitional government following a military coup. burmese authorities have detained and jailed a u.s. journalist who has been reporting on the burmese military coup. danny fenster was detained monday at the airport in rangoon as he was preparing to board a flight to malaysia. fenster is the managing editor of the publication "frontier myanmar." the committee to protect journalists has demanded his immediate release, calling his arrest the "latest grave threat to press freedom in myanmar." a prominent black lives matter activist in britain is in critical condition after being shot in the head at a party on sunday in south london. police say they do not believe the activist, sasha johnson, was the victim of a targeted attack

but some fellow activists say she has received death threats in the past. the u.s. supreme court has declined to hear the case of a missouri death row prisoner who is seeking to be shot by a firing squad rather than die by lethal injection. ernest johnson suffers from epilepsy and says missouri's plans to inject him with the drug pentobarbital will trigger excruciating seizures that amount to cruel and unusual punishment. after the court's six conservatives declined to hear johnson's case without explanation, justice sotomayor wrote in a dissenting opinion signed by justices breyer and kagan -- "missouri is now free to execute johnson in a manner that, at this stage of the litigation, we must assume will be akin to torture given his unique medical condition." and a federal court in georgia has struck down a law banning the state from doing business

with anyone who supports the palestinian-led boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against israel. the ruling came in a lawsuit filed by independent journalist abby martin who was barred from speaking at georgia southern university in 2019 because she refused to sign a pledge against the bds movement. under georgia law, any recipient of a government contract larger than $1000 must sign such a pledge. martin filed the lawsuit last year. >> my right to speak at a conference at a public university was conditioned on my pledge to never participate in my constitutional right to engage in peaceful political action. it is notust this particular conference, but my right to speak at any public university or similar event in the entire state has been taken away because i will not forfeit my constitutional right by signing this pledge. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine

report. when we come back, we will speak with reporter emily wilder. she was just fired by the associated press after a disinformation campaign led by college republicans at stanford university over her support for palestinian human rights as a college student. she was fired days after israel bombed the ap offices in gaza. this is her first live tv interview about her firing. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman in new york,

joined by my co-host juan gonzález in new brunswick, new jersey. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: the associated press new service is facing growing criticism for firing young reporter after she was targeted by a right-wing smear campaign for her pro-palestinian activism while she was a college student. emily wilder is jewish and was a member of students for justice in palestine and jewish voice for peace at stanford university before she graduated in 2020. she was an intern at the arizona republic before the ap hired her for an entry-level role in phoenix. she was two weeks into her new job when the stanford college republicans began highlighting some of her past tweets. it was that amplified by right wing media and politicians,

including arkansas republican senator tom cotton. the ap says it fired wilder for violating its social media policy. the decision came just days after israeli forces bombed the building housing the ap's office in gaza. 10 senior ap executives stood by the decision to fire wilder, noting in a leaked memo to editorial staff, "we did not make it lightly." referring to the decision. the ap's executive editor sally buzbee did not sign the memo. she begins her new job next month as executive editor at about the washington post" the first woman executive editor of "the washington post" and told npr -- she has handed over day-to-day operation so i was not involved in the decision at all." meanwhile, journalists at the ap

protested the firing in an open letter, writing -- "it has left our colleagues -- particularly emerging journalists -- wondering how we treat our own, what culture we embrace and what values we truly espouse as a company." for more, we go to phoenix, arizona, to speak with emily wilder. this is her first television broadcast interview. we're also joined by janine zacharia, who was emily wilder's journalism professor at stanford university. she is the former jerusalem bureau chief for "the washington post." we welcome you both to democracy now! emily, why don't you take us through what happened to you. >> absolutely. first of all, thank you for having me. last monday, a group from my alma mater began to post online

past posts i had made on social media in an attempt to expose my history of activism for palestinian rights while i was at stanford university. in an attempt to link ap to hamas. in the next tw days, i begin receive a lot of harassment, some pretty heinous harassment as well as prominent republicans on the internet begin to lambaste me including senator tom cotton. i was reassured by my editors i would not face repercussions for my past activism and they wanted to support me while i was facing this smear campaign. less than 48 hours after they begin to post about me, i was fired. the reason given was a social media violation sometime after i joint ap on may 3.

i was not given an explanation for what social begin policy i violated or what tweet had violated the policy and i still have not received an explanation . juan: when you are originally higher, what were you told by the ap what it social media policy was for its reporters? >> i was told that reporters must not share opinions online. must not show bias in coverage. juan: and you are covering -- what were you covering while you were at the ap? >> i was hired as a news associate on the web best which cover the western united states, 14 states. my position is not a reporting position but an entry-level editorial production apprenticeship. i was concerned with assisting coverage on -- in the western

united states. juan: so in effect, why would these folks at stanford target you? it seems almost nonsensical they would go after you in this concerted and campaign-like manner. >> first of all, this is not my first encounter with this group. during my time at stanford, they built a reputation as a kind of bullies. they antagonized really any student they disagreed with. i was in their crosshairs more than once. they knew my name and i guess they did not forget about me. i can't say for certain why they did what they did, but perhaps they learned i had joined the national news organization at a moment that that news organization was under public scrutiny and they took it as an opportunity to both smear me and

smear the associated press. amy: on monday, the union representing "washington post" reporters -- emily was working for the ap -- but the union representing "washington post" reporters tweeted -- "solidarity with the staff of the ap and emily wilder. we hope management provides swift answers." the ap said an memo to staff monday, please review its social media policies. the significance of "the washington post" writers union expressing solidarity is that sally buzbee, the executive editor of ap, is going to become the first woman executive editor of "the washington post" getting in june, which brings as to our next guest, janine zakaria, professor at stanford university

who taught emily wilder. you were the "the washington post" bureau chief in jerusalem, is that right, about a decade ago? clubs that is correct. amy: can you talk about this controversy? >> i went to speak on it on two levels. personally as emily's instructor at stanford, what this has been like and i went to speak in the macro about what i think is happening. personally, i want to say when emily called me to tell me that she had been fired by the ap, i literally was shot. i was shocked because -- i did not notice i. i said, closure laptop, i need to call you back because i need to think about what is happening, what we're going to do and how i'm going to help my brilliant former student continued the career in journalism. i spent close to two decades reporting on the israel

-palestinian conflict come as a young woman in jerusalem in the 1990's for reuters. i am very aware, perhaps more than most, to the sensitivities of -- around the question of bias and reporting of a conflict. nevertheless, as was mentioned, in this case it was not about bias -- was that even about i don't think social media policies. if you review what emily post's and she started at the ap, there was one tweet that mentioned a mild opinion about a question of objectivity reporting on the conflict in which we use and an editor could have said, i think you need to take down that tweet because it expresses an opinion and violation of our social media policies. i doesn't mean you can have these opinions -- can't have these opinions, be cap posted. if you leave the letter of her

dismissal, you cannot have any conflict that can be perceived as a bias or leading to accusations of bias. so when stanford college republicans documented some of her proposing activism in college, i think they got a little spooked. in the context, israel strike on the gaza bureau in hamas and people who wanted to defend that strike were trying to accuse the ap of knowingly sharing a building with hamas -- hamas is everywhere -- and this was a way to be continuing filling the fire. you heard this news associate who has pro-palestinian views. it really was a full on disinformation campaign i guess and only emily, but the ap. these are actors not interested in having a serious conversation about how we cover the israeli

-palestinian conflict. they want to take down crible news organizations. juan: janine zakaria, what are some of the unusual pressures that reporters covering the israeli-palestinian conflict have to deal with them especially in the united states? >> number one, -- there are a couple. first of all, a conflict of dueling narratives. when you are trying to do objective reporting on the conflict, and this is the way it is, you try to figure out what is going on, what do people say happened at that checkpoint, what happen right now with the bombing of a building, whatever, and you evaluate the information given to you. if you take a walk in my inbox from 2009, 2010, 2011 when i was there for "the washington post," social media was in its infancy. i received so much hate now.

nothing like what happened to emily now could have happened to me because there were no twitter mobs back then, really. you're a pro posted income you are this, or that. it could be very intense. i remember when i cover -- there was an incident of what was called the flotilla, an egg shipment going -- aid shipping going to gaza. i got woken up around this time, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., and told the israelis navy -- ever, had killed nine people. i started writing for "the washington post" and i was doing radio and i got a call that night from a very senior israeli official about this story had written for "the washington post." had the israelis not released

information -- it was hard, in other words. you do your best to cover this conflict as best as you can and what i do at stanford is take people like emily, brilliant students who care about the world who have deep social conscious, study history, know what is going on in the world, and i try to train them to channel that social conscious into accountability journalism. what is so distressing to me about this incident is emily should not have to and can neve erase who she was before joining the ap. if they decide that because she was a pro-palestinian activists attacked by a student group amplified by a right-wing smear campaign against her, then what does this mean? does this mean any student who was an activist in college, which is what students do, cannot become a journalist? what happens if they are activists on abortion or climate

change or specifically about israeli-palestinian conflict because of the pressures these news organizations feel? amy: i would to read what a paul later wrote on facebook -- emily, can you comment on this? talk about what the oppose -- the associated press that you before you join. it was dennis agree were part of -- you are a jewish student and

part of jewish voice for peace and also you were a part of the group for justice in palestine. >> i think the post is absolutely right, especially considering my post and a the western united states might be totally unrelated to the middle east. yes, i have opinions about the israel-palestine conflict, as a citizen of the world, but also as a jewish-american brought up in a jewish community and have history of activism on that issue. neither of those facts prevent me from doing fair, credible, fact-based reporting, especially when it is entirely unrelated to the middle east. i want to take it a step further and say the values that led to my activism, the values of compassion and justice that can help me to speak out loudly and

advocate for palestinian human rights, those values are powerful assets in my reporting. i do not think they should try to get me to yield those values and i hope i can continue to challenge those in journalism. amy: i also want to point out more than 100 associated press employees signed out a letter in support of you saying in part -- "wilder was a young journalist, unnecessarily harmed by the ap's handling and announcement of its firing of her. we need to know that the ap would stand behind and provide resources to journalists who are the subject of smear campaigns and online harassment." i want to ask both emily and professor zacharia about the timing of when this happened. while sally busby said she is not involved with day-to-day now at ap because she is going over to head that his organization, she was on television talking about the bombing of the offices

in gaza, talking about calling for an best occasion in the intimidation mid for the fact there would be fewer voices reporting out of gaza and how critical that was. emily, if you can talk about this? i would like to ask janine zacharia to go broader on the coverage of israel and palestine. there was just a major petition that was signed by many two canadian organizations talking about the fact they're not even supposed to use thword "palestine." >> hi can't real speak to each of executives within the associated press were involved in this decision to fire me. partly because i received so little information when i was fired and still have received so little information. but the timing is important to

the story. it is a perfect storm. you have the event in gaza with the ap officer couple of days ago. we have -- people have made inks between my treatment and the treatment of other journalists. this is also happening within a moment news organizations are reckoning with this question of social mia objectivity, past activism, diversity of life experience. i think that is why my former colleagues at the associated press, partially why they felt so compelled to speak out. and seeing that is uplifting as a young journalist. amy: i should also point out a number of others have done this, wolf blitzer come the main anchor on cnn, formally worked for aipac. he has not been fired or prevented from reporting on israel and palestine. professor janine zacria, which

like to comment? > there's so many things upsetting about this. if you're going to go down the road of an general of, ok, emily was with jewish voice for peace and will blitzer was for aipac, the answer has to be judge your reporters based on their work. right? it is insane to think journalists don't have passions and opinions. the very people who go into journalism, as you very well know, are people who are passionate and have opinions about things in the world. that is distressing. i want to ho something emily said about still they haven't told her about what is going on. to me, as her instructor, as someone who maybe feels like i entrusted my young student with them, this is shocking to me they did not do more sort of talk to her about it. i think it is because it really wasn't about social media policy.

this is something the ap and other news organizations really need to think about. who are we going to let work in our newsroom? if you have, for example, a whole generation of students who which of black lives matter protests last summer and then they come and take my journalism class at stanford or another university and say, i want to be a journalist, and their lives live on tiktok and instagram and all that, are all of these journalists -- are these students not going to be journalist now? are there not top managers who were in anti-vietnam protests in the 1960's? or is this specific to the israeli-palestinian conflict? you had the bombing of the ap bureau in gaza, you had very visceral reaction by the american public to the israeli attacks in gaza in a way you did

not have a 24 -- 2014 would palestinians were killed. he did not see this kind of reaction. you had a1 of "the new york times" to brutality of life under israeli occupation. look at "the new york times" today in terms of a letter from because of the calls into question a lot of the israeli narrative about hamas and what is really happening in gaza. there is a major shift going on and so i think emily in a way, the reason she is seeing a lot of support is -- i was worried. i wanted to make sure she had support. you are seeing it coming at that moment. thank god because i can't tell you again how distressing this has been for me as her instructor and someone who cares so deeply about her. juan: emily, i wanted to ask

you, how was this the last few days shaped your viewf journalism and what you want to do as a journalist? >> that has really rocked my perspective, honestly. i wanted to join the ap because like everybody on this further, i do have opinions and those opinions feel my passion for journalism. i wanted to join the ap because i am capable and doing fact-based accountability journalism. that is what i really excelled at at the arizona republic and that is why the ap hired me. they were aware that i cared about the world. they were aware i had a commitment to justice and marginalized communities. so i thought i would be welcome. i was also aware of this broader

history that i'm just one example in of media institutions unfairly applying these rules about objectivity and social media haphazardly in a way that generally comes to hardest on journalists of color, journalists who have spoken out on israeli policy, and in a way that reinforces politics. i was aware of that. i thought i would be welcome. now i know that this experience i guess could have been a question my commitment to those values that compel me to do journalism, but i will not yield them. now i know i need to channel them into journalism and your team and organization similarly

ally. amy: it is interesting when you follow the money come as journalists are supposed to do, the stanford review, conservative publication, was cofounded over 30 years ago by the venture capitalist and conservative philanthropist peter thiel, who went on to speak at trump's first republican national convention. he did not contribute a lot to republican senators, but he did contribute to the one who attacked you, emily, and that was arkansas republican senator tom cotton and also has a lot of ties to the stanford college republicans. i also want to thank you for a piece did in the arizona republic that we followed up on that you broke for them, which became a major national story. and that is the story of kristin urquiza whose father was a supporter of donald trump and died after believing the president's assurances that the coronavirus pandemic was under control. he died of covid.

in october, we spoke to kristin urquiza after you highlighted her in your piece about losing her father. >> my dad first and foremost was great and did not deserve to d alone in a hospital with just a nurse holding his hand. he was also a lifelong republican who who was politically aware. he watched television news programming fairly regularly, read the newspaper, and engaged me as a young kid in politics, which is kind of where i got my interest in the world around me from. he was a trump supporter and voted for trump and believed him in what he had to say. amy: that is kristin urquiza talking about losing her father. you had majoimpact as a young

reporter at the arizona republic and also if you could go back to commenting on peter thiel? >> that story was really formative in my time at "the arizona republic." it was pretty early on in my time there. it represents the kind of journalism that ianted to continue doing, which is highlighting these underrepresented or suppressed stories of communities and linking those experiences to a larger investigative context, to a larger -- to the situation thate are in where communities of color for the most at risk for covid-19. i was really grateful to have been a part of that and to have broken such an important story. i tried to continue to do my storytelling like that. in terms of the connection with

peter thiel, yes, this organization does have powerful and wealthy connections in the conservative ecosystem, but i also want to make sure that people understand this is just a group of college aged trolls, honestly. they did not have to become relevant. they should not -- the associated press should not have felt threatened by them. i truly believe they would have gone away, they would have spun their wheels and gone away if the associated press had not fired me and had not sort of empowered them and empowered their bullying and their disinformation. amy: finally, professor janine zacharia, what are you going to teach your students as they come back to stanford now about what this means for journalism?

in the end, because of emily's outspokenness and bravery in taking this on instead of slinking away, do you think journalism will advance in this country, particularly around the israel-+ issue? >> i scrapped my class on thursday that i have played and we are devoting it to this. it is so important, obviously. emily is a peer and friend of many of my current students the been very traumatized by this whole thing, woncrring again whether they have a future in journalism, reaching ou to me quite shellshocked so i feel the need as their instructor to talk about what has happened. but i don't know whato say truthfully because what i do a seven who started at reuters, worked at "the washington post" in the conventional media, what i train them to do, i just don't know what to say right now. i am still processing at al what i will do is hold of emily

as an example of what i believe they all should do, use their brilliance and channel their convictions into amazing reporting that gets picked up by amy goodman and others. she is another story about wait times for covid testing that was featured on rachel maddow as an intern. in the end, i will stress this is really the ap's lots and whoever hires her next will be so very fortunate. amy: maybe she will be sally busby's first higher at "the washington post." i want to thank you both for being with us. emily wilder, fired by ap, which has fired up the journalism community come not only in the united states and others for more just reporting around the world, and janine zacharia i'm a emily wilder's journalism professor at stanford university who is the former jerusalem bureau chief for "the washington post."

next up, today marks the first anniversary of the murder of george floyd by neapolis police, which sparked international protests in a reckoning over policing. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. on the first anniversary of the police murder of george floyd on may 25, 2020, members of his family are meeting president joe biden at the white house as negotiations continue in congress over legislation that bears his name -- the george floyd justice in policing act. on sunday, floyd's family members spoke at a rally in minneapolis in front of the courthouse where just a month ago, former policeman derek chauvin was found guilty of murdering floyd by kneeling on his neck. this is george floyd's sister.

>> tuesday will be a year. it has been a long year. it has been a painful year. it has been very frustrating for me and my family. for your life to change within a blink of a nine, i still don't know why. amy: outrage over george floyd's death sparked an international movement against police brutality and racism. for more, we are joined by monifa bandele, an organizer with the movement for black lives, a coalition of over 150 black-led advocacy organizations. welcome to democracy now!

this is the first anniversary of the murder of george floyd. can you talk about what has changed in this year? your feelings at the time and where we have come at this point around issues of policing, structural racism, and police accountability? >> this murder of george floyd is happening during a continuing -- as we know, these murders are going on constantly in our cities across the countryn black communities. since the ferguson uprising, our coalition has been calling for an invest divest model. we actually need to divest on these institutions of systems that harm us like incarceration, like policing, and actually invest resources into what we know keeps communities safe like stable housing, health care, mental health assistance education. so when we were in that moment

of the uprising and the outrage around what it happened to george floyd and ahmaudrbery and breonna taylor and tony mcdade, communities all over the country were reflecting on their own george floyds. in new york where i live, we are thinking about eric garner who did not get justice until the police officer was fired six years ago and so many families. so that made it on the street on may 25 and then again on 219 and throughout the country, you heard the clarion call to defund the police. i am glad that attorney lee merritt said earlier the george floyd justice in policing act is a step because what you see emerging from the community is a much more powerful demand that actually shifts the reality so our children are not marching again in another 50 years. juan: i am wondering if y

could talk a little bit about the george floyd act, what you see as positive in it and what could still be strengthened either at the federal level or at the state and local level? >> absolutely. when we look at a piece of federal legislation that we drafted called the grieve act, contain some of the things you see under the george floyd act. we talked about ending qualified immunity. we definitely talk about what attorney lee merritt said about movinghe bar from willfulness toecklessness so that federal prosecutors can hold individual police officers accountable. but what is not there is the greater accountability. we want more than just accountability for the individual police officer. there is accountability that needs to be held by an entire police departments, by our cities, states, our federal government. we talked about reparation for these systems and patterns and practices that have existed for so long. so we are flanking the family of

george floyd. they are so courageous and amazing leaders. but we're also coming in right behind that saying one invest, divest. we want to defund these harmful policing systems and create something new. how to strengthen it? they are fighting just to keep the compromise bill. that is a question i don't know how to answer because every day you turn on the news, it is being weakened as we speak. juan: you mention you are speaking from new york, new york city obviously is facing a mayoral primary in june. i am wondering your sense of how the different candidates are dealing -- you are running for the democratic nomination, which is tantamount to pretty much winning the mayor's race in new york city, how they are dealing with the issue of police reform -- which ones of them you think have a better grasp or seeking

to go in a better direction? >> we have seen something amazing that let's us know our efforts of fighting and industries in the city halls and the statehouses is winning because the conversation has to change. in every candidates forum, you see police officers not only ask about individual cases and what they would do about "bad apples," but now they are being asked -- they're asking where they stand on defund, asked why does new york have a billion-dollar budget for the nypd, and they're having to give new models, new ideas of how they're going to restructure this. summer answering those questions very well and some are avoiding them, but it is a conversation that keeps coming up. what we see at the front right now are the women of color are i think taking the lead and really examining and unpacking and

listening to communities and our demands. it is very difficult because the press and media tries to spin defund as a liability, and we know it is an asset. if you sit and talk to people, i want my neighbors to have access to mental health care. i would love for mohammed's mom to have been able to pick up the phone to call 911 and she got an and lives with a mental health crisis expert and not police who killed her son. and no defund is the path forward. amy: i want to go back to minneapolis sunday post of community members civil rights leaders george floyd's family gathered to mark the first anniversary of his murder. this is a local community organizer and pastor carmen means. >> so what has changed? the game has not changed. the game remains the same. but what has changed is that you have been activated on hold other level. there is a warrior on the inside

of you that was activated on 5/25 on a whole other level. amy: so let's take that national and stick with your analysis of what defund the police has meant all over the country. in minneapolis, the entire city council has voted to in essence disband the police, though that is not happening. what it means in new york, the shifting of funds and where you see it going in the future and why you supported the breathe at and helped craft it over the george floyd police accountability act? >> assister -- my sister in many of us who speak the truth. what hashanged his 20 finally people to this reason we cannot come back with 1990's or even early 2000's reforms. banned chokehold. these things already exist in

cities where people then were killed by a chokehold like in the case here in new york city with eric garner. chuckles are banned here. people want more. we have been activated to demand more. we do not want to see anymore videos. the ronald greene video is horrific. it shakes us to our core. we refused to let our children exist like this and our grandchildren. so she is absolutely right. even in the short amount of time, even though would happen in minneapolis was not what the people who were dreaming big wanted, even though in new york we did not get that one billion-dollar cut we fought for just weeks after the george floyd -- the uprisings here for our budget fight come across the country $870 million has been cut from police departments in a year. so we are winning. we are gaining momentum. we are having the conversation and it is because, like my

sister said in minneapolis, we are inspired. we are activated. we are not backing down. today when people will see all over the country like you're in brooklyn at the berkeley center, people are mobilizing and our mantra is the call remains defund nypd. juan: how do you respond to those who say the protests of the past year have basically helped to fuel increasing crime and gun violence across the country with police officers now less likely to act boldly in terms of keeping crime down? your response to those skeptics and critics? >> policing as an intervention is reactionary. police, after somethin has already happed. we want more safety than th. we want the safety intervention that happens when the person needs care in the first place,

before the violence happens, before the displacement happens. so our response is all you have to do is look around the country and see the communities that are the safest are not the communities that have the most police. what does that lead you to ask? are the people in those communities and heavenly less violent and more secure? no. there are other resources. it is not just about moving the money out of the police department, it is also about standing up to institutions that we need. in new york city, we have violence prevention programs that are community-based and led that must be scaled up. we need the mental health care immediately. and it is also a myth the police budget was cut. you spin -- we did not defund. still have the largest lease

forth in the country and they're unable to control the violence emerging in my community. i want an intervention networks. amy: monifa bandele, thank you for being with us, since on the