12/02/22 12/02/22 [captioning ma possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> sometimes the israeli army doesn't want you there, so they target you. they might s, we saw some young men around here, so they target you on purpose as a way of scaring you off because they don't want you shireen there. amy: the words of shireen abu

akleh, the palestinian-american journalist shot dead by an israeli soldier six month ago. the fbi recently launched a probe into her death, but israel is refusing to cooperate. we will look at the new al jazeera documentary "the killing of shireen abu aklehand spk to her niece lina abu akleh as well as sharif abd kouddous, the correspondent on the piece. then when high school students in rockld county, new rk, invited renowned activist and educator angela davis to speak, thvenue goshut down. twice. but the students persevered and angela davis addressed a packed church last night. >> i am very sorry for your sakes that there are those in this community who decided to attempt to disrupt and encounter

that would only designed to further the education of young people in this community. amy: we will speak to angela davis and nikki hines. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the senate has approved a bill imposing a new union contract on tens of thousands of rail workers, prohibiting them from going on strike. just 15 senators voted against the legislation thursday. it requires some 60,000 freight rail workers who'd previously rejected tentative union contracts to keep working or face termination. senators rejected an amendment to extend bargaining by another 60 days. another measure, which would have added seven paid sick days, failed to break a filibuster after 42 republican senators and

west virginia democrat joe manchin opposed it. vermont independent bernie sanders spoke from the senate floor ahead of thursday's vote. >> and yet today, workers who do difficult and dangerous work have zero paid sick days. zero. you get sick? you get a mark against you. a couple of marks, you get fired. this cannot and must not happen in america in 2022. amy: all 435 house congressmembers and 100 senators are entitled to unlimited paid sick leave. president biden, who pledged as a candidate to be the most pro-union president in u.s. history, has promised to sign the unpopular deal into law. the supreme court has agreed to hear a case challenging president joe biden's student debt relief plan. on thursday, the court said it would allow decisions by lower courts blocking debt relief to stand while the case proceeds. oral arguments are scheduled for february.

biden's plan calls for the cancellation of up to $20,000 in student debt each for tens of millions of borrowers. in a statement, the student borrower protection center said -- "once again, the credibility of the supreme court rests on its ability to recognize what we all know to be true -- canceling student debt is legal and necessary to secure the financial futures of 40 million americans." president biden welcomed french president emmanuel macron to the white house thursday evening for the first state dinner of biden's presidency. the formal state visit came after macron visited biden in the oval office, where they discussed trade policy and russia's invasion of ukraine. in a joint press conference following their meeting, president macron said he planned to hold talks with russian president vladimir putin in the coming days. biden said he is ready to meet with putin but only if certain conditions were met. pres. biden: nurseries, hospitals, torrents homes --

what he is doing. but the fact of the matter is, i have no immediate plans to contact mr. putin. i'm prepared to speak with mr. putin if in fact there is an interest and he is looking for a way to end the war. he has not done that yet. amy: this comes as the pentagon considers plans to send long-range missiles to ukraine, including a proposal from boeing to supply ground launched small diameter bombs. meanwhile, the intercept reports the biden administration is considering giving kyiv one of the premier u.s. weapons of the war on terror -- the gray eagle drone, the successor to the widely used predator. in iael, incoming prime minister benjamin netanyahu on thursday sealed a coalition deal with the ultranationalist religious zionism party, bringing netanyahu closer to securing his new extremist government. under the deal, the religious zionism party will take control over the finance ministry and oversee illegal settlement expansion in the occupied west bank.

in related news, israel's incoming national security minister, far-right itamar ben-gvir received a warm welcome thursday at an event hosted by the embassy of the united arab emirates. ben-gvir was previously convicted of racist incitement against arabs and supporting a terrorist group. south african president cyril ramaphosa is facing mounting calls to resign and could face impeachment after an independent investigation found he may have broken anti-corruption laws. the case involves the alleged theft of millions of dollars from ramaphosa's private game farm, which he is accused of covering up and then stashing some of the cash in his leather sofa. ramaphosa maintains he reported the theft and the money found in the sofa was actually from the sale of buffaloes from his farm. south africa's ruling african national congress is meeting today to discuss ramaphosa's fate. in guatemala, the prominent investigative newspaper el periódico has shut down its print edition after months of attacks and harassment from the right-wing government of

the president. the paper's president and founder josé rubén zamora remains in pre-trial detention after he was arrested in july, accused of money laundering and extortion -- charges denounced by human rights and press freedom groups as political retaliation of exposés of government corruption. el periódico was founded in 1996. it's unclear how it'll survive with just an online edition and a reduced staff. in a final editorial column written from his prison cell, zamora said -- "it has been 30 years of struggle against corruption and impunity, against governmental abuses and terrorism, in favor of freedom, transparency, and accountability." a new amnesty international report confirms colombian police targeted women and lgbtq people with sexual harassment, torture and forced nudity as part of a nationwide crackdown on protests in 2021 against the right wing government of former president iván duque. amnesty international secretary

general said not a single police officer has been brought to justice over hundreds of gender-based violations. >> violations committed during the 2021, not just sexual violence, but also young people who have lost -- those who have lost their lives. the number varies. the disappearances, people who have been tortured. amy: back in the united states, president biden has asked the democratic national committee to dramatically reorder the presidential primary calendar by making south carolina the first state to host a primary, followed by nevada and new hampshire. georgia, and then michigan, would follow. biden said -- "we must ensure that voters of color have a voice in choosing our nominee much earlier in the process." biden also said caucuses should no longer be allowed as part of the nominating process. the proposal was immediately

rebuked by democratic leaders in iowa and new hampshire, long accustomed to hosting the first primary calendar. a decision by the dnc rules committee could be delivered this weekend. in a major blow for former president trump, a federal appeals court halted the review by a special master of documents seized from his mar-a-lago estate. the justice department will be able to fully resume its investigation into trump's mishandling of classified materials. the three court judge panel said -- "we cannot write a rule that allows any subject of a search warrant to block government investigations after the execution of the warrant. nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so." and in texas, survivors of the mass shooting at robb elementary school in uvalde filed a $27 billion class-action lawsuit against the city, the school district, and multiple law enforcement agencies and officers. families are demanding

accountability for the series of failures in responding to the may 24 massacre. officers waited 77 minutes before confronng the gunman as he claimedhe lives of 19 school children and two tehers. the lawsuit follows a similar suit filed this week by the mother of 10-year-old victim eliahna cruz torres. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. coming up, "the killing of shireen abu akleh," a new al jazeera documentary about the palestinian-american journalist shot dead in may by israeli forces. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show looking at the killing of palestinian-american journalist shireen abu akleh. on may 11, an israeli soldier shot her in the head as she was reporting just outside the jenin refugee camp in the occupied west bank. shireen and another reporter were wearing blue helmets and blue flak jackets clearly emblazoned with the word "press." shireen was one of the prominent tv journalist, one of the most prominent tv journalists in the arab world who had worked for al jazeera for 25 years. she was also was a u.s. citizen. in the six months since her death, no one has been held for -- no one has been held responsible. after months of pressure, the biden administration recently opened an fbi investigation into her killing, but israel is

refusing to cooperate in the probe. israeli officials initially blamed palestinians for her death, then called evidence "inconclusive" before once again changing their story in september to say she had been "accidentally" hit by israeli troops' gunfire after they came under fire from palestinian gunmen. but eyewitness accounts d vios of the area wre shireen was killed do not show a gun batt and invesgations byl jazeer the new york times, cnn, and other news outlets also chlenge the ficial isrli version of shireen's killing the al jazee news ogram ault lineshas just premiered a remarkable documentary on what happen. it is called "thkilling of shireen abu akleh." later in the program, we will be joined by sharif abdel kouddous,

the corresponde, andhireen's niece lina abu akleh. but first, let's turn to an excerpt from the documentary featuring shif speakg to fi eyewitnesses, including the jonalists whwere with her -- mujahed al-saadi, shahtha hanaysha, and ali samoudi. this cp begins wh the al jaera cameren who word th her f some 30 years majdi bannoura. a warng, this excerpt includes graphic footage. >> i put the hmet on shireen. i got my camera and more the helmet and iollowed he >> we were all wearing our protective gr, a vest d helmet. wstood so they could see as well and recognize us as journalists. >> walking by shireen. >> when we madeure there re no confrontations, we started

walking slowly. >> thereached me to jump and get out of the place but they coul't. > thestarted fing at us. i neatly pressed record. shireen was behinthe tree. i could see her hiding behind the tree.

>> the last words she said we, he has been wounded. her voice isepeati in my ears

and of the documentary "the killing of shireen abu akleh," the al jazeera documentary program "fault lines" just aired. shireen abu akleh worked for al jazeera for a quarter of a century. we're joined now by sharif abdel kouddous, the correspondent on the documentary. this is a powerful piece. you have put together for the first time all of these eyewitness accounts. in a moment, we will get the response of the united states. shireen abu akleh is a palestinian-american journalist. but i am wondering if you can talk about the significance -- this is a group of journalists, colleagues, producers, filmmakers that she was with outside the jenin refugee camp. talk about what it means to hear their description now. >> i think what is very

important to understand about this case, first of all, this is the kind of violence that palestinians are subject to on a daily basis. in the past week, we have seen something like nine palestinians killed in various israeli raids in the west bank. what is very particular about this case is, first of all, this is one of the most prominent journalists in the arab world. she is a household name across the region. a lot of what happens is caught on camera. we have all of this footage, both from a bystander who started a tiktok video in the minutes leading up to the killing, and we see the al jazeera cameramen himself filming what happened and the testimony, all of this eyewitness tesmony froother urnalists d people who were there as well. the fact shireen is also a u.s citizen d with all of this,

there is still no accountability and what happened. what we can see what the journalists and the eyewitnesses very vividly described is that they arrived at the scene near the roundabout which is just outside the entrance to the jenin refugee camp. there had been an israeli raid early that morning. soldiers went into do an arrest. they had parked in a convoy between five to seven vehicles of the streets. as you can see in the video, when shireen and the other journalists arrive come the situation is completely calm. there is no gunfire whatsoever. you can see people joking as they're getting ready. they clearly put on their protective gear, there vests and helmets include literally -- and clearly identified with press. they face the convoy for several minutes. the soldiers could see them and

see they are journalists. at some point they begin slowly walking up the middle of the streets. very quickly, we hear a burst of gunfire of six shots. the producer ali samoudi is hit in the shoulder and he starts running back. this one journalist jumps over a while and shireen is trying to run back as well. eight seconds later, another burst of gunfire. one of the bullets seven shots were fired, one hit shireen in the head. she is wearing full body armor and a helmet. only a very small area that is exposed and that is where the bullet entered to the bottom of her neck and went into her head. then we see as people are trying to rescue shireen and the woman next to her, as soon as anyone

is in a line of sites, they are fired on again and we hear another three shots. this wasn't parents gunfire from the israeli convoy, this was repeated targeting. the group forensic analysis along with the palestinian rights organization did remarkable investigation and they also showed a pattern of the shots as well. the convoy is about 200 meters from where shireen was. it shows remarkable accuracy of all of the shots. they are tightly grouped together. they are shots above the shoulder and around the head. these are killed shots. they were repeatedly targeting what was very obvious and they also reconstructed what the marksman would have seen given the scope the israeli letter uses and the units that were stationed there uses. you can see, amy, they are

clearly wearing -- they are press outfits. i stood in that spot and looked at from where the convoy was and where shireen was killed and it is clear. given the compelling evidence, the fact there has been no accountability is quite shocking. israel and the beginnings that it released a video saying gunman killed her and a palestinian militant shooting --b'tselem debunked that claim and we went to that spot and it is just preposterous claim. the bullets -- we walked where the bullets -- where the gunman was firing from and where shireen and the israeli convoy was. there's a series of alleyways. there is no clear line of sight whatsoever. so then the israelis changed their stories and said there wasn't enough evidence and there was a lot of pressure -- in

september they finally said an israeli shoulder may have -- soldier may have accidentally killed her because she was caught in the crossfire. there's no credibility whatsoever to this claim of crossfire. the video evidence and the eyewitness testimony shows situation was completely calm and there was no crossfire whatsoever. even residents -- united states, the biden administration has accepted the israeli narrative, has been complicit in the whitewash and only recently after a t of pressure to the fbi finally admit or finally decide to open an investigation. amy: in a moment, we are going to go to the officials, the u.s. officials that you spoke to about investigating this. one of the powerful parts of this documentary, you go back to all of the people we just heard describe, her fellow and sister

journalists around her. you asked them, were you questioned by the u.s. government? talk about this. were you question for an investigation? she is an american. >> right. the united states put out its report in july. this was something conducted by the u.s. security coordinator, which is a fact-finding mission on the ground in palestine. and that report -- the u.s. did not do an investigation. it summarized the israeli investigation and the palestinian authority investigation and did a ballistics report that ultimately was inconclusive. the u.s. security report is very heavily relies on the israeli investigation and there is a very short statement put out by the state department that says that an israeli soldier likely

killed shireen but there is no intentionality whatsoever. they don't explain how they came up with the conclusion of intentionality. they don't backup the claim whatsoever. they did not conduct any of their own investigation. none of the eyewitnesses are questioned. it is very basic protocols to follow when you're trying to investigate what happens. there are several people who were next to shireen when she were shot. these are journalists as well and you don't interview them? none were questioned by israeli or u.s. officials. for the state department and the biden administration to just accept this narrative by the israelis and the killing of an american citizen is -- it goes to show how far they are willing to go and bend over backwards to insist -- to assist israeli and this impunity. it is not copperheads of a while they are doing this.

amy: we're going to go back to your documentary "the killing of shireen abu akleh" that just premiered on al jazeera's "fault lines." this clip begins with the executive director of the israeli human rights group b'tselem talking about israel's investigation and the killing and goes on to a number of u.s. officials you sat down with. >> these are shame investigations. but a lot of resources are invested in them by the israeli military, so why are they going through all of these motions? it is deliberate. hey, we are investigating. and legally speaking, these sham investigations are to protect israeli soldiers from international consequences. they are trying to block the path for international jurisdiction and they' trying

to win the public relations game. united states seems to be relying heavily on the israeli investigation of the killing. do you thi that is adequate? >> is t just not adequate, it is outrageous. like this isn't happening in a vacuum. there are of other case files. this is well-established fact that israel does not conduct investigations that are meant to hold people accountable. >> for shireen's family, the backing was particularly upsetting, especially after president biden declined to meet with them in palestine or washingt. >> wexpected much more from the u.s. government but we are not getting anything. nothing except sweet talki and condolences, somethi anyone can do. >> he preaches about press

freedom, protection journalists, but the way he did not hold the same values when shireen was killed was very, very upsetting. it just showed the double standard when a palestinian-american journalist is killed. >> this is an american citizen. we have a duty to pursue the facts wherever they lead, a secretary blinken set himself. >> chris van hollen has led a group of colleagues to investigate sheen's killing. why do you think the state department has not conducted an independent investigation yet? >> not the original words of the secretaries they will take these other investigations that have been completed -- the challenge is they have reached very different conclusions. you have first of all the idf

report justifies the shooting d the shooting death based on clai there was a crossfire, but you also have independent analyseshat have been done that clearly dispute that claim. and the idea does not put the facts on the table that show how he reached that conclusion. they have not made public their analysis. >> this was a u.s. citizen. do you bieve the administration has upheld thr duty? >> i do not. i think we have a duty to do what the secretary of state originally said. they appea to have backeoff. but i believe and many colleagues believe that we have got to get to the bottom of this and it cannot be swept under the rug. >> the state department declined to make secretary of state blinken available to speak with us. and in an interview, a

department spokesperson contently differ to the u.s. security coordinator's report and the israeli investigation. >> u.s. security coordinator on the ground work with palestinians and israelis. in some cases, physically bridging those two investigations to prepare his own set of findings. >> let me ask you about the central claim in the israeli's military report if an israeli soldier killed her, she was caught in the crossfire. that claim is completely disputed by eyewitness testimony and video footage from the area in the minuteseading up to and during the shooting. doesn't that discrepancy concern you? >> of course. we are concerned when there are allegations that a civilian was intentionally targeted. what the israelis fans and our security coordinator found was there appears to have been no intentionality. ousecurity coordinator found no reason to believe that shireen abu akleh was in

tischler targeted -- >> have you seen the footage? >> of course. i looked at everything available in the public domain. >> clearly, they have not done what they said themselves they were going to do. secretary of state said there would be an independent investigation must there has not be. backing off sends the wrong message around the world. >> be on the state department, we wanted to ask the white house about shireen. i've a question on the killing of al jazeera journalist shireen abu akleh. do you security coordinator's report was not an investigation and the israeli mastication, there s a ballistics analysis done that was inconclusive. none of the key eyewitnesses have even been interviewed. why has u.s. not conducted an independent investigation into th killing of an american

citizen? >> we said from the beginning we wanted a fully transparent investigation. we realize the israelis conducted their own inveigation. >> nia witnesses have been interviewed. there is clear evidenc that contradicts the central claim and thkilling of the u.s. citizen. >> we mourn with the family and obviously this should not have happened, but i'm not going to speak anymore about the investigation. >> just two weeks after this and over six months after shireen was killed, news broke that the fbi come independent of the white house, would open investigation into the killing. the israeli government make clear they wou not coopete. given that in the u.s. administration statements is the killing, it is unclear how though andransparent the investigation will truly be. >> i think it could be helpful if it is genuine, but i think

the u.s. has lost so much credibility so far. >> we are not at an unusu point in time. the u.s. government is not on record expressing its trust and confidence in the so-called israeli investigation. so we are not at a clean slate. we are deep into the territory in which the u.s. has aligned itself with the israeli narrative on the killing. amy: that is an excerpt of "the killing of shireen abu akleh," which just premiered on the al jazeera documentary program "fault lines." to see the full documentary on edges there's english youtube page, we will link to it at democracynow.org. sharif abdel kouddous is with us, a correspondent on this documentary, as well as lina abu

akleh, niece of shireen abu akleh. we welcome you both. sharif abdel kouddous, we watched you question one official after another, never prize come the state department spokesperson, admiral john kirby of the national security council now. you even try to question president biden. and since this time, the fbi has announced it is opening an investigation. can you talk about what the u.s. is saying now? >> you know, the fbi has announced it is opening investigation. we have to understand, a lot of pressure -- the family has not given up on pushing for accountability. the amount of evidence that is clear and also we are seeing in congress nearly half of the democratic members of the senate have called into question, they wrote a letter calling into question israel's claim that

shireen was accidentally shot by an isrli soldier and suggesting she may have been targeted as a urnalist. we'reressure from congress, the family, media pressure, human rights, and finally this announcement the fbi is going to open an investigation. as we heard from the executive director of b'tselem, the u.s. is not starting from a neutral point. they have already expressed their support for the israeli narrative. we will have to see wh the fbi vestigatiocomes upith. israel has made clear it is not going to cooperate with whoever. the soldiers will not be available to be interviewed. they will not release the body footage that israeli soldiers almost always are wearing. so we will have to see how transparent the fbi makes this investigation, whether accountability comes forward. but certainly, it is a positive step that has only come after

months and months of pressure and compelling evidence. amy: we will talk about where some of that pressure is coming from. lina abu akleh is with us from san francisco. she is the niece of shireen abu akleh. you and your father tony and your whole family have been pushing extremely hard for this investigation. your aunt shireen is an american citizen. president biden went to israel and the west bank. talk about who you have gotten to see. you met with antony blinken? have you met with president biden? what do you feel about the fbi announcing after six months they will open an investigation? >> thank you, amy. we met with the secretary state antony blinken in july. we were hoping to have met with

president biden, especially during his visit to the region. unfortunately, that did not happen even though he was 10 minutes away from where shireen was born and raised. we still hope we get to meet him. it is important he hears directly from our family and for us to see and hear from -- how they are pursuing accountability. we were very encouraged by the news the fbi will be investigating. this is something we have been calling on from day one since shireen was a u.s. citizen and it is the duty of the united states to investigate any crime carried out by a foreign army toward a u.s. citizen. we stand ready to support the u.s. in conducting this independent and thorough investigation, following all of the evidence, where it leads up and down t chainf command.

and we have seenow israeli army is unable and unwilling to investigate themselves. that is why it is really portanfor the fbto be investigating. we also hope the united states i will employ all tools necessary to get the answers that we have been asking regarding the killing of shireen , but also to lead to accountability and justice. that is what we want. we want there to be accountability. we want there to be justice. and during our trip to d.c. in july, we met with various members of congress and representatives who have been calling out for an investigation, who have been supporting us and constantly pushing towards an independent investigation. amy: on november 15, carson, one

of the few muslim members of congress, along with 21 other house democrats, introduced the justice for shireen act, separate from the fbi's investigation right now. also you have the fbi not saying specifically how they're going to investigate this and you have the outgoing israeli defense minister benny gantz singh "the idf will not cooperate with its fertile best occasional -- external investigation." your response to this as israel puts together at this point, is forming the most right wing government and its history? >> from the very beginning we saw how israel lied and distorted the truth. they have been unwilling to investigate and they have a track record of -- we were not expecting anything from them.

that should be obvious to anyone. it at the end of the day, we still hope all parties will cooperate in this investigation. but we have seen the overwhelming evidence that already has been gathered by the news outlets, especially this documentary that is so powerful but very painful and difficult to watch. but it is so important for everyone to see that the evidence is there, the eyewitnesses, they show the eyewitness testimony. so i am sure regardls of israel's cooperation, the u.s. will still follow through and carry out a thorough investigation. we are hopeful this will lead to accountability. regardless of any new government in israel, we still hope this investigation carries through. amy: lina abu akleh, thank you

for being with us, the niece of shireen abu akleh, one of the most famous arab journalists in the world, palestinian-american journalist. and sharif abdel kouddous, the correspondent on this "fault lines" piece "the killing of shireen abu akleh." we will link to it at democracynow.org. the youtube version of the documentary. i want to end with shireen abu akleh and her own words, an excerpt from "the killing of shireen abu akleh." >> sometimes the israeli army does not want you there so they target you, even if they later say was an accident. they mightay, we saw some young men around you, so they target you on purpose as a way of scaring you off because they don't want you the. amy: the wor of shireen abu akleh. coming up, angela davis.

when high school students in rockland county, new york, invited the renowned professor to speak, her event got shut down not once but twice. the students persevered and last night hundreds of people packed into a nyack church. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn to a remarkable scene that enfolded last night just north of new york city last night in nyack, new york. this is how "the journal news" reported it. "activist and educator angela davis came to rockland after all thursday evening, meeting with north rockland teens -- and hundreds of others -- after a planned school-sponsored event unraveled amid criticism that

she was too 'radical' for the county and its children. the event finally took place at pilgrim baptist church, with 500 people crowded in. there was no prior publicity, a strategic move, organizers said, after the north rockland school district and then, quietly, st. thomas aquinas college in sparkill pulled out of hosting the civil rights activist because of protests. when davis appeared, before she reached the podium, her audience burst into applause and gave her a standing ovation." y: angeldavis waintroduc byorth rocand highchool senior aya willi part of studengroup caed voicethat invited angela davis to speak. >> stand here today even if people are afraid of change, an amazing thing because it shows

we can overcome anything if we put our mind to it. [applause] quoting the powerful angela davis herself, i am no longer accepting things i cannot change, i'm changing things i cannot accept. [applause] amy: when angela davis addressed the packed church, she said she was especially moved by the students' invitation to speak in rockland county because it was the longtime home of her dear friend and editor, the late great novelist toni morrison, who wrote the introduction to her biography -- which has just been re-published in a new edition. davis talked about h history of activism and her hope for the future. >> i think every day about the fact that i am associated with a people who have refused to give up. after centuries and centuries. [applause]

not only that -- not only that, but who have created beauty in the process a bloodless. amy: that was thursday night, angela davis in rockland county in a nyack church. she joins us now in new york city, the world-renowned abolitionist, author, activist and distinguished professor emerita at the university of california, santa cruz. her many books include "abolition. feminism. now." -- updated edition of her 1974 memoir "angela davis: autobiography." also with this, nikki hines, community activist in rockland county, new york, who supported students at rockland county high school when they invited angela to speak. we welcome you both to democracy now!

angela davis, this is a reprieve what happened a few years ago when you went home to birmingham, ended up doing an event outside t place you were invited. and so many more people turned out. talk about the significance of last nights event. >> first of all, it was a really wonderful to see the outpouring of support from the community in rockland county, especially from the black community. i was entirely impressed by the students who took the initiative to invite me and to indicated that during the course of the event, that they better understood how to stand up and fight back. i was absolutely shocked when i

was told an event that had been planned many, many, many months ago was canceled at the last minute by the superintendent of schools in rockland county. and, well, i can say that after all of these years, more than half a century of doing this work, i continued to be absolutely stunned by the ways in which people not only misrepresent me -- and i'm not so much concerned about that. i am concerned about the misrepresentation of movements against racism, against gender inequality, for freedom. and the students were absolutely

beautiful last night. i feel really inspired to continue this work as a result of my encounter with them. amy: nikki hines, you were pivotal working with the students and ensuring that angela davis' voice could be heard. let's talk about the significance of this era. you're the president of the nyack chapter of the naacp. we are talking about upstate new york. this is an area of new york that has determined the balance of the u.s. congress. four seats were flipped from democrat to republican. can you talk about where this opposition came from? a group of high school students invite angela davis to speak. it becomes a schoolboard issue. the board backs superintendent. they put it offsite. that is canceled. then you have another event at st. thomas aquinas college

planned for last night. that is canceled. and finally, an african-american church opens its doors and more people turned out them probably would have ever turned out. and this was without any publicity. >> yeah. amy: what was the opposition? >> the opposition, first and foremost, good morning, amy, and good morning, dr. davis. the opposition was all negative d misinformation of you know, white folks who don't get it. white folks who don't want to get it. it is all misinformation of who dr. davis is an not wanting the students to have their voice in rockland county. amy: and the fact these students

persisted, these young people at the high school would not give up in ensuring there would be a platform for angela davis. talk about last night's event. is it true that you had to tell the police us was happening at the last minute because of the kind of backlash you are getting and as soon as that happened than the backlash against last nights event began but it was so soon before the event that it could not be stopped? >> when we were going to do it at st. thomas aquinas college and at the last minute, really the last minute of the last ur, st. omas aquas college canceled on as an 8:50 on tuesday evening and so,ou knowscramble aund d had find a place to ha the

even and thk goodness for pastor washington at pilgrim ptist urch in ening its doors. we did tl thpolice athe la mine what wwere doing d whwe werdoingt and stl we cou not be stoppe i am shankfulhat watcng thstudentsast nht, i'm so ankfulhat we werable to push thrgh for them d give them their vce and hehem see their sion comto fruiti. th needetonow the mmunity d their cknd we were goi tousforward to do anytng to maket work. amy: angela davis, if you can talk about your message last night and you have been speaking for so many decades. you have been an activist for so many years. what do you think of what is happening today with laws around the country cracking down on

free speech? this kind of enormous pressure that leads to pre-censorship? young people afraid to invite someone because it might lead to something like this? but what you had to say last night. >> i was actually speaking about what has been called the new mccarthyism. i did not actually use those words last night, but i talked about the importance of coming together and creating the kinds of communities that can bolster our efforts to move forward. i spoke about the fact that we have actually made a lot of progress in this country. i don't want to create the impression that we brought an end to racism, misogyny, and

homophobia, etc., but i talked about the importance of recognizing that through struggle, through organized shrug goal, through the efforts of people who come together and join their voices together, we have made changes in this country. there are those who do not want to accept the fact we are moving in a productive, progressive direction. i talked about the person who occupies the office of the presidency attempted to evade the impression we should return to the past. and that the actions of the students and the community in

that particular instance was a powerful demonstration of the capacity to move forward. i spoke about the fact it was important as movement was being led by students. that young people are the closest to the future. young people are the ones who have the greatest stake on imagining and creating a more democratic future, a future characterized by justice and equality and freedom. america angela davis, i wanted to ask about toni morrison because where you went last night, i mean, rockland county, this was the home county of toni morrison. she was a dear friend of yours. she was your editor. is it true she got you to write

the autobiography in and 274? and what it means -- you are asked if her literature -- she won the nobel literature prize. she won a pulitzer prize. she required reading in rocklin? >> apparently, the most renowned resident of rockland county is not required -- her works are not required. i pointed out that i actually had a relationship with rockland county because of the fact that i visited toni morrison many, many times. three different residencies in rockland county. i learned a bit about the problems in that county.

but i think students are convinced they can bring about change and i would not be rprised if the wereot at the foreont of t effort arantee that the students who attend public schools in tha countyead the rks otoni morrison. america we're going to do part two of our conversation and we are going to posted online at democracynow.org and also at democracynow.org we will link to this whole remarkable history making event that took place last night, thursday night, in rockland cnty. angela davis could not be silenced. angela davis, the world-renowned abolitionist, author, activist and distinguished professor emerita at the university of california, santa cruz. her autobiography has just been republished by haymarket. she will be speaking tonight on

that autobiography. and nikki hines, nyack naacp president. happy early birthday to emily gosselin! democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your