01/25/23 01/25/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> battle tanks are important both to be able to repel russian offensives but also for ukraine to be able to retake territory, to win and prevail as a sovereign, independent nation in europe. amy: germany and the united states have agreed to send dozens of tanks to ukraine, ending weeks of debate between nato allies.

russia has decried the decision as a blatant provocation. we will speak to a member of the german parliament. then the doomsday clock is moved closer to midnight, closer than ever before. >> russia's threat to use nuclear weaponry mines the world escalation of the conflict by accident, intention, or miscalculation is a terrible risk. the possibilities the conflict could spin out of anyone's control remains high. amy: plus we will go to florida where russia will justice advocates -- racial justice advocates are going to fight ron desantis after the state ban and advanced placement african-american studies class for high school students claiming it lacks educational value because it mentions black we're studies, intersectionality, and black lives matter. all that and more coming up. welcome to democracy now!,

democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. germany has announced it plans to send at least 14 leopard 2 tanks to ukraine after months of pleas from kyiv. germany also said it would soon allow other european countries to send their own leopard tanks. the u.s. is also expected to announce today it will deliver abrams tanks to ukraine, though that process could take months. the heavy tanks could provto be a major turning point in ukraine's fight against russia, which is approaching its one year mark next month. moscow has warned such a move would be seen as a direct provocation. we will have more on this story after the headlines. in other news from ukraine, the government of president volodymyr zelenskyy has fired a number of top officials as part of a growing corruption scandal, which includes reports that the military paid inflated food prices. turkey has postponed scheduled talks on sweden and finland's bids to join nato amid mounting

tensions with sweden after it allowed a far-right politician to burn a quran during a protest in front of the turkish embassy in stockholm. finland has said it would consider joining nato without sweden in the wake of the dispute. the british government has admitted around 200 asylum seeking children have gone missing since july 2021, prompting outrage and calls to fix the country's immigration system. this is immigration minister robert jenrick. >> of the unaccompanied asylum seeking children commit 88% are albanian nationalists. the remaining 12% are from afghanistan, egypt, india, vietnam, pakistan, and turkey. amy: prime minister rishi sunak has previously vowed to enact even harsher policies to block asylum seekers, taking aim at those who arrive on boats through the channel. in new zealand, chris hipkins

was sworn in as the nation's new prime minister after jacinda ardern announced last week she was stepping down. hipkins, the architect of new zeala's pandemic response, will lead the ruling labour party into october's election. carmel sepuloni was also sworn in as new deputy prime minister, becoming the first official of pacific islandereritage to hold the office. sepuloni is of samoan, tongan, and european descent. in lebanon, reuters reports former prime minister hassan diab has been charged with homicide with probable intent for the 2020 port of beirut blast which killed at least 218 people, injured thousands, and caused widespread destruction. the public prosecutor and head of the domestic intelligence agency at the time of the disaster were also charged. this comes after judge tarek bitar unexpectedly resumed his investigation into the explosion monday after it was stalled for over a year due to political obstruction.

the probe is likely to face more resistance as leban's chief prosecutor said bitar had to pause his efforts until judicial authorities give him the go-aad. many survivors of the blt, victims' families, and legal advocates have supported bitar's investigation and continue to seek accountability for the tragedy. in eswatini, human rights advocates are condemning the assassination of prominent opposition politician and human rights lawyer thulani maseko. unknown attackers shot him dead inside his home saturday. maseko was a longtime critic of king mswati iii, who changed the -- renamed the nation from swaziland to eswatini in 2018. in 2021, mass protests demanding the abolition of the monarchy erupted in the country. dozens of people were killed and tortured. the u.n. human rights chief

demanded eswatini authorities conduct an independent investigation into maseko's murder. in cameroon, well-known journalist martinez zogo was found dead near the capital yaoundé sunday, five days after he was kidnapped. zogo was the director of the radio station amplitude fm and frequently reported on corruption. reporters without borders said he recently discussed a case of embezzlement involving a media outlet with government connections. press freedom groups are calling for an impartial investigation and accountability for zogo's murder. in florida, racial justice advocates and educators have vowed to fight the blocking of a proposed new advanced placement course on african american studies. republican governor ron desantis on monday said he supports florida's education department after it claimed the class violates state law and pushed a -- pushes a political agenda by teaching high school students about the black lives matter movement, black queer studies, slavery and reparations, and other topics centering black

historical figures and events. meanwhile, teachers in manatee county, florida, have taken to covering up or removing books from their class libraries after a new law prohibiting classroom material that hasn't been vetted and approved by so-called certified media specialists went into effect. teachers found in violation of these guidelines face felony charges. we'll have more on these stories later in the broadcast. a lawyer for mike pence said a small number of classified documents were found at the former vice president's indiana home and were handed over to the fbi. the lawyer says pence requested a review of materials at his house following news of classified documents being uncovered at president biden's residence and former office. it is unclear whether special prosecutor for a special counsel will be appointed to investigate the pins classified documents. the justice department and eight states have filed an anti-trust lawsuit against google for using its monopoly power to quash

competition in the digital advertising industry. this is attorney general merrick garland. >> google controls the technology used by nearly every major website publisher to offer advertising space for sale. second, google controls the leading tool used by advertisers to buy that advertising space. third, google controls the largest ad exchange that matches publishers and advertisers together each time that ad space is sold. as a result of this scheme, website creators earn less and advertisers pay more. amy: meanwhile, senators on the judiciary committee grilled the president and cfo of live nation tuesday, accusing the company of anti-competitive practices since their merger with ticketmaster in 2010. the hearing was spurred by the taylor swift ticketing fiasco in november when the ticketmaster site crashed during pre-sales, which the company blamed on an onslaught of bots that purchase tickets toesell at higher

costs. this is nator amy klobuchar at tuesday's hearing. >> today live nation doesn't just nominate -- dominate the ticketing come it is about 70% of the big concert market, but also they own many of the major venu and for the venues they don't own, they tend to lock in on three, 5, 7 your agreements which means the competitors that are out there are not able to even compete when it comes to the ticketing. finally, they dominate the promoting. this is all aefinition of monopoly because live nation is so powerful that he does not even need to exert pressure. adjust nine need to threaten because people just fall in line -- it does not need to threat because people just fall in line. amy: the fda proposed new legal limits on the amount of lead permitted in foods forabies and toddlers. the agency estimates the new levels could reduce dietary

exposure to lead by about 25%. researchers say even low exposure can lead to learning disabilities and other health impacts. many critics said the limits are not good enough. walmart is raising its minimum wage from $12 to $14 an hour. labor advocates have long called for a minimum wage of at least $15. walmart ceo doug mcmillon makes -- burned 25 point $7 million in 2022. -- burned $25.7 million in 2022. and the journalist, author, and former publisher of the nation, victor navasky, has died at the age of 90. navasky became editor of the nation in 1978 and was its publisher emeritus until his death this week in new york. in 1980, his book "naming names" was published, chronicling hollywood's era of blacklisting. navasky spoke in 2009 at an event at google. >> the nation was founded by people in and around the abolitionist movement and the

abolitionist movement turned out to be ahead of its time. the nation has been, as katrina said, a fighter for equal rights, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties during the years of the bleakest years of a segregationist country. the nation was ahead of its time. amy: that was victor navasky, who died on monday at the age of 90. he's survived by his wife, three children, and five grandchildren. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by democracy now!'s juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: germany has officially announced it will send 14 german-made leopard 2 battle tanks to ukraine and allow other nato allies to send more german tanks to help kyiv in its fight against russia. germany made the announcement

after the united states reportedly agreed to also send 30 m1 abrams tanks to ukraine. in a statement, german chancellor olaf scholz said -- "this decision follows our well-known line of supporting ukraine to the best of our ability. we are acting in a closely coordinated manner internationally." germany will also provide training and ammunition for the tanks. scholz had faced increasing pressure in recent weeks from poland, the united states, and other european nations to approve the tanks despite concern by many in germany that it could lead to an escalation of the war in ukraine and retaliation by russia. the head of the left party in germany's parliament warned the move "potentially takes us closer to a third world war than in the direction of peace in europe." supporters of the decision include nato secretary-general

who has repeatedly urged nato members to speed up deliveries of every weapons to ukraine. >> the only way to a lasting peace is to make it clear to putin he will not win on the battlefield. therefore we must provide heavier and more advanced systems so that ukrainian forces are able to repel the russian forces. not only to survive, but to win, take back and prevail as a sovereign independent state in europe. amy: we are joined now by a member of germany's parliament sevim dagdelen. a member of the opposition left party in germany. elected to the german parliament in 2005 and a member of the foreign affairs committee. she is also a member of the nato parliamentary assembly. she is joining us from have an a, cuba, where she is visiting as part of a delegation organized by the progressive

international. it is great to have you with us. for people in the united states, they might particularly not understand what this controversy is about, for some people. could you talk about what the decision means today, the announcement to send these leopard 2 tanks to ukraine but also allow other countries like poland to have these tanks and in scandinavia to be able to said them to poland as well, getting them originally from germany? >> well, hello, amy, thank you for having me. this decision, sending battle tanks to ukraine from germany and giving the decision that poland and others can send leopard 2 tanks is a decision only because of the pressure, the heavy pressure of the united

states, biden administration. in the german parliament, they said it is a redline if the line of escalation sending battle tanks from germany to ukraine, that would cross a redline. at the pressure now was too heavy, too strong from the biden administration dissent germany at the frontline of this war. and it was the pressure of the coalition partners, the liberals -- actually, the neocons in this coalition in germany, they officially said they would breach the coalition if the battle tanks leopard 2 works sent by chancellor scholz to ukraine. that was the problem. we are now in very bad situation because i think it is a wrong decision -- historic wrong

decision because it gave the majority of the population in germany, according to recent days, the majority of germany sending battle tanks to ukraine, the majority is in favor for more diplomacy, for negotiated peace in ukraine. the other thing is january 1 will be the anniversary, the 80th anniversary of the battle installing guard and every family in russia lost loved ones in this battle in styling guard. you don't have to be a prophet should know that sending german tanks against russia in this proxy were of united states will have way more mobilization in russian society, in this war. it means you have the opposite impact what you want exit within russia toward this war. this is why it is historically

so wrong to send battle tanks. juan: sevim dagdelen, here in the ited states, the mass media are even more warlike than the government must constantly pressing the biden administration to provide more aid and increasingly lethal aid to ukraine. i am wondering, what is a situation in germany in terms of the media's impact on your government leaders? how are they portrayed or depicting the need for more armaments for ukraine? >> well, you know, we have a really extremely warmongering atmosphere in germany caused by the media, the mainstream media as well. it was interesting. i was in march or april last year in the united states and a washington, d.c., and representatives of the state department at the pentagon and

the national security council, they all said that the german media makes such a great push in germany to push the german new government for the hundred billion euro for militarization and sending weapons and arms to ukraine. it must be something wrong if representatives of a third state like in the united states are saying the german press is working well. the problem is, the german mainstream press is so much involved, inc. within the atlantic council, transatlantic think tanks, and so on, so many editors, mate editors, chief editor inc. and the translated ash cooperated and the transatlantic think tank. that is the problem. we have the policy of interest

of the united states and i believe not even the interest of the population of the people in the united states cometh the interest of the elite -- it is the interest of the elite, the neocons in the united states are having obviously the position that europe -- like in america in the 1970's, a continent where you can do what you favor is what you please. and that is really a problem. obviously, it is a good business to have war in europe for the u.s. industry and military-industrial complex in the united states. and this is also complete example sending tanks to ukraine. sending tanks from germany and the leopard 2 is also in the interest of united states military-industrial complex

because -- the most modern weapon system in europe, we do have tank system, then they can supply their own tanks because, you see, the other thing is, scholz failed -- amy goodman just announced scholz failed in his demand toward the united states to send also tanks, battle tanks to ukraine. because according to "the washington post," it can take up to several years to send the u.s. tanks. so they are pushing as, the germans, into this fire, into the frontline of this fire and especially regarding their own interests, supplying their own military industrial product and to have the situation that germany and russia for good have

no relation at all. i mean, that was in the past when you see the books of many think tankers in the united states, it was always an aim by the united states elite to destroy the relationship between germany and russia. and this is my concern bause yesterday, last night, already the green foreign minister in germany started to say officially, we are fighting for war against russia. that means we are in a war already against russia. and that concerns me a lot and concerns me a lot also that many so-called progressives in the united states are supporting this line by the biden administration to push germany more and more into this proxy war.

and taking the risk that it can have an extension to the third world war. juan: you mentioned -- >> a third world war in a continent in europe not affect you in the united states. it will affect our people in europe. juan: you mentioned also the fracking industry and this proxy war. for most americans, they are not aware of the enormous profits being made by u.s. natural gas companies as a result of this war and the impact it is having on the energy needs of europe. could you talk about what is happening in germany in terms of gas prices and the necessities for heating there? >> well, according to the new publication by several economic is to tooth in germany, we have

a real loss of wages of about 5% , concrete 4.7%. it is the biggest loss in real wages -- the biggest loss in history of the federal republic of germany since 1945. people cannot afford to pay their rent, to pay the gas prices, the energy prices, the petrol. they cannot afford even to pay for food. that is the problem. 2 million people, the first time in germany last year, they had to go to the public food services to get food. in one of the most economic powerful countries in the world. so we have really lost in the

majority of the population. and on the other side, we have a huge profit on the side of the companies. more than 100 billion profits made by the industry of energy and oil companies and all the big companies as well. and the fracking industry from the u.s. is a big profiteer of this crisis as well as the sanctions. it is all caused by the sanctions against russia, the energy sanctions. and it does not harm russia. the russians, gazprom, the company, made in the first half of 2022, or than $40 billion profits. just profiting. the same at the end of the year. so they are profiting from this war. the only one who is suffering as the population in europe because

of the sanctions, because the sanctions are turning into an economical war against their own population. and the fracking industry from the united states, they are sending now tanks of their dirty gas from the united states, which is against the climate as well. and the thing is, one tank that can get profits up to 200 million or 300 million euro. they have no limit at all. just from the united states to europe, the prices can rise. they are making a lot of profits . the need for germany for this gas is approximately that you would need more than 1100 tanks a year and i can't see that we can't afford this to pay to the united states in comparison to

the cheap and less dirty gas from russia. amy: i wanted to ask about germany's new defense minister boris pistorius', is just before we went to air. this is what he said. >> i believe this decision is historic because iis being made again and according to manor, it is being made in a highly explosive situation in ukraine. that is why the decision deserves respect. also deserves the respect of everyone who is concerned this war will continue in this way and we will possibly suffer more from it at some point that we would like today. one thing is clear, we will not become a party to the war. we will make sure of that. amy: if you can respond with the new minister said. the previous minister, she was ultimately forced to resign.

and if you can talk about this controversy and also respond to the division of progressives from the united states to germany. those that say do not feed the military-industrial complex and those that say if ukraine does not get these heavy weapons, russia will succeed in taking more land. >> well, i really have to warn all these illegitimate, all these people who are fantasizing about the victory against russia. they are underestimating russia like napoleon and his lot did in the past. it is nuclear, the most powerful nuclear power in the world. there is no way to win a war, a conventional war against such a nuclear power. and this is the dangerous part

of this discussion that on the one hand side, they all are saying president putin is insane and crazy and a monster and whatever kind trying to demonize him like they did in the past with saddam hussein, or qaddafi, or anyone else they want to put down. and the thing is, they say he is crazy. but on the others, they say, well, it is a bluff, we don't think putin is so irrational to use new their weapons. , on. we cannot seriously debate using nuclear weapons because if they are used once, it is the end of human civilization, at least in europe, maybe not in the united states. but in europe, definitely. that makes me really worried about it, this debate. the other thing is, the former minister comment defense

ministry in germany, she was so much under pressure from the neocons in germany, the greens, liberals, and mass media. they put her under a lot of pressure to resign because they wanted to replace her with a more transatlantic warmonger than she was for them. she was not enough warmongering. pistorius was surprisingly a decision made by chancellor scholz. unfortunately, he is disappointing as well because he is not acting according to the will of the majority of the population in germany that says more diplomacy for a negotiated peace rather than sending battle tanks. he is now saying, well, we are sending battle tanks in cooperation with our allies. i have to say very frankly, united states has no allies.

the united states is just interested in their own interests and just interest in battle. poland and the other countries who were pushing germany and chancellor scholz to say yes to the leopard 2, they're also doing exactly that, what united states wants from them. united states is pushing them into the front and saying, please do this, and then there putting the pressure in creating an atmosphere of pressure to the german government. because of german history. two times. two world wars started from germany with the attacks against russia or respectively soviet union. and now we are sending again tanks against russia, against moscow. and our new foreign minister, i mean, she actually says

pistorius is wrong because she actually said last night, we are in a war against russia. she said that, literally. that means i am very concerned that this is not the last decision taken because sending the leopard 2 tanks, they are not a game changer. in the long-term or the medium-term, they will not change anything on the ground in ukraine because russia will react. the problem is now the nationalist government in ukraine already demanded from germany and from the nato states really massive combat systems, helicopters, euro fighters. it is understandable from the point of the ukraine government to put nato more and more into this war to help them to

survive, but i do think that it is not a military game changer sending the tanks but it will be a political game changer to put nato states like germany more and more against russia. but we do need more diplomacy to end this killing, the senseless killings. whoever wants to send more weapons to ukraine is in favor of more killings in ukraine. amy: sevim dagdelen, thank you for being with us member of the , a opposition left party in germany. member of the german parliament and also a member of the nato parliamentary assembly. she is in havana, cuba, as part of a delegation of progressives. the doomsday clock is closer to midnight more than ever before. back in 30 seconds.

♪♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. the bulletin of the atomic scientists is warning the world is closer to global annihilation than ever before in part due to russia's invasion of ukraine. since 1947, the bulletin has maintained a doomsday clock to illustrate how close humanity is to end of the world due to

existential threats, including nuclear war and the climate emergency. on tuesday, the bulletin reset the doomsday clock for 2023. >> the members of the signed security board moved the hands of the doomsday clock forward, largely, though not exclusively, because of the mounting dangers in the war in ukraine. we moved the clock forward come the closest it has ever been to midnight. it is now 90 seconds to midnight. amy: after the doomsday clock was reset to just 90 seconds to midnight, rachel bronson, the bulletin of the atomic scientists spoke. >> russia's threats to use nuclear war reminds the world escalation of the conflict accident, intention, miscalculation is a terrible risk. the possibilities that the conflict could spin out of anyone's control remains high. amy: we are joined now by frida berrigan, longtime peace activist and nuclear weapons abolitionist. her new cover story for in these times is headlined "how to avoid nuclear stand-offs that threaten

the entire world." she is the daughter of liz mcalister and phil berrigan and the niece of the late father dan berrigan. thank you so much for being with us. talk about the doomsday clock. >> the doomsday clock was developed as a metaphor by the bulletin of the atomic scientists in the late 1940's. it moved a number of times, 30, 40 times in the last 70 years. as you said, it is the closest it has ever been to midnight, just 90 seconds. what is striking about this is we think about other hot moments in the nuclear age -- the cuban missile crisis, for example. seven minutes to nuclear midnight at that hot point when

this country people around the world really believe nuclear conflagration was imminent. i think comparing it to the missile crisis is a good metric for understanding just how dangerous this moment is with the confluence not only of the war in ukraine, but the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world and the climate crisis all coming together stop the doomsday clock kind of takes those -- takes its measures from those three crises. i am glad this is getting more attention. the doomsday clock is not always front page news although it ought to be. 90 seconds is a very dramatic wake-up call to the world, and i hope many, many people are hearing loud and there the clock is ticking and nuclear

disarmament, nuclear abolition should be on the forefront of everyone's mind in this moment. juan: i wanted to ask you about whateems to me the perennial arrogance of political military leaders to fill you can wage these kinds of wars and control the possibility of them ending up with nuclear war. the sense that war once unleashed can be controld. >> the word is aogance. the united states has because of the way we have invested in nuclear weapons, the hubris of using nuclear weapons not once but twice in 1945 and hiroshima and nagasaki, insulated the united states ever since from the consequences of hegemony in

the imperial project of the united states. we continue today to pump tens of billions of dollars annually just into nuclear weapons. united states military and weapons contractors are always seeking to refine and further perfect the ability to end the world as we knowt. i think at the height of argance at this moment is the notionf tactical small nuclear weapons, that we c control the blast, we can control the dissemination of radiation, and that there are usable nuclear weapons that we can -- that the united states can use in wartime and not feel the consequences back here in the united states. and this is a liea

fabrication, a fantasy that is perpetrated by war planners in the united states. it is very dangerous logic. and so i think at the end of the cold war, the united states had a choice. it could either disarm completely, abolish nuclear weapons -- and there was global momentum behind that. the world calling out for glol abolion of nuclear weapons. and instead, the u.s. military planners and the weapons industry, this multibillion-dollar industry that is so entrenched in american politics, decided to continue to make nuclear weapons relevant. the vast apparatus of weapons

contractors and laboratories, that this would all stay and we would continue to invest billions and billions of dollars into nuclear weapons going forward. i think in opposition to this growing global dissent that we see in the tree on the -- treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons that is gaining traction, more more country signing on every year and there is a reckoning coming for the united states and other nuclear weapons, stand against this global defensive for nuclr abolition. amy: frida berrigan, thank you for being with us, longtime peace activist and nuclear weapons abolitionist. her new cover story for in these times is headlined "how to avoid

nuclear stand-offs that threaten the entire world." and she is the author of "it runs in the family: on being raised by radicals and growing into rebellious motherhood." when we come back, the state of florida has blocked black studies ap course from being taught. we will speak with the first openly gay state senator in florida. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we look now at how racial justice advocates and educators in florida are vowing to fight the rejection by florida state education officials of a new advanced placement course for high school students and african american studies. florida's education department said the course lacks

educational value and reportedly raised concern about six points in the curriculum -- black queer studies, intersectionality, movement for black lives, black feminist literary thought, the reparations movement, and black struggle in the 21st century. on monday, republican governor ron desantis said he supports the florida education department's rejection of the course and claimed it violates state law. >> this course on black history, what are one of the lessons about? queer theory. who would say in important part of black history is queer theory? that is somebody pushing an agenda on our kids. when you look to see they have stuff about intersectionality, abolishing prison, that is a political agenda. amy: later today, civil rights lawyer ben crump announced a lawsuit over florida -- on

florida. he will be joined by three ap honor students who will serve as the lead plaintiffs in by one of our guests who joins us now from florida in tallahassee, the capital florida. shevrin jones is a democratic florida state senator representing the miami gardens area. he is bahamian-american and florida's first openly gay state senator. and in miami, dr. steve gallon elected school board member for , miami-dade county schools, lifelong educator and a former school teacher, principal and superintendent. state shevrin jones, your response to the state blocking this national ap black studies course? >> first, thank you for having me. i think it is important for us to point out this is far greater than just talking about ap classes right now.

what we're talking about is the history of black americans, the plight of black americans. we should also make sure we're pointing out when we look at what governor desantis and republicans are doing, this is not just a florida thing. this is something we need to ensure does not happen and spread across the country. as i have made it clear and will continue to say it, our history does bring educational value. we are of value come of substance to this country and this state. what the governor is doing blocking students from being able to not just learned about history but to understand other people's history, it is not only wrong, it is disingenuous to the 22 money people living in a state and a 20% of african-americans who live among those 22 million people in the state of florida. juan: senator, obviously not just the governor come the education commissioner called "woke indoctrination

indoctrination." can you tell zweifel this movement from the most extreme elements of the republican leadership in florida is occurring now? >> it is important to understand these buzzwords indoctrination, woke, all of these things that the governor and republicans across the country are saying actually have meaning. the word woke was used in the 1930's that was used by activists, by leaders to inform black americans to be cognizant of policies that were coming down from elected officials. and now that is being termed and they are trying to indoctrinate children of the state and that is wrong. since when have we come to a place where we are banning books and telling children what is appropriate, where they can and cannot learn? that is not wokeism indoctrination, that is fact.

that is how i learned. that is how you learn. that is how the american people have learned over the years. we have learned about jewish history. now african market histories or problem? no, it is about what is happening across the country and what is being spread across the country before a time we have fought so hard, mancestors have fought so hard to get to this point to get his from where we were to where we are now. amy: can you respond specifically, state senator shevrin jones, to dissent is questioning what does black queer history have to do with ap black studies? in your response, if you can talk about, oh, everyone from baird reston to james baldwin and what this means to you as the first openly gay state senator elected in florida? >> list could continue to go on.

we can talk about marsha johnson. let's continue to call those names. that is america's story. that is who we are. i am america's story. and somebody else will become to be america's story. why are we taking that away from children? here's what we cannot allow, the governor's office or anyone to get past, and that is the fact they simply said african-american studies brought no educational value to children in our education system. that means we have the potential for black children under the state of florida to learn and not be represented in their education must is a black man, the first openly black man in the state of florida, i know what my history is. there's a young woman and young man who needs to know a james baldwin, who must understand their story has been told before.

they made it, they can make it and others will continue to make it as we continue to live in this place we called america. juan: i would like to bring an dr. steve gallon to the conversation. your reaction to the decision and the support of the governor against this ap course? and also what has been reaction on the miami-dade school board that you serve on? >> good morning. thank you for having me. my initial reaction was that the position that was messaged was countered to florida law. florida law explicitly stipulates black history shall be taught to students throughout the state. it does not say "hey" or "can." to the extent there was a denial of access to this information to a segment of students that may be interested in desiring, pursuing advanced placement courses, which has a significant economic impact to them in their

trajectory for higher education, i was somewhat taken aback. i share the sentiment relative to the message they came out significantly lacks educational value. i think that resurrected a great sense of rancor among not only african-americans but people throughout the state and quite frankly as you can see throughout the country. as i have represent -- although we represent approximately 22% of the state of florida, african art history is not something we -- it should be continuous and accessible to all students because i contend knowledge is the abridged understanding. if we are going to deny that bridge and deny students and opportunity to cross that bridge to better understand their fellow students and neighbors and citizens, i think that is taking us back. i think the rancor around this particular issue has opened up significant ones that have lingered for over 400 years. amy: and can you talk, dr. steve

gallon come is a former superintendent come a former principal, a former teacher, they are talking about actual felony charges against teachers who speak about various issues. explain what teachers are facing right now. >> i can't imagine what it is like having been a classroom teacher as well senator jones has been, classrooms and quite friendly public education, i believe, still represents the final frontier for social justice. it represents the epicenter of freedom. and to the extent teachers are feeling unsafe, not feeling comfortable, they're looking over their shoulder, they're walking a fine line between instruction and being able to allow students to express themselves, there's been a great degree of consternation. i've heard from teachers directly regarding the fact the academic freedom principles upon which instruction pedagogy and

public education have been grounded are being severely compromised. students need to have an opportunity to express themselves. education can be used as an instrument of freedom or an instrument of conformity. what we're seeing in some cases is either you conform or else. conformity is not something you what to present to our students not only in their learning but in their lives in what we call a democracy of the greatest country the world has ever known. juan: dr. gallon, can this decision of the education department be challenged? we are hearing now potential lawsuit about to be announced. are there any other ways to challenge this decision? >> what i initially anticipated -- again, it is not messaging, having been part of the bureaucracy for over 30 years. the process of submission, review, and feedback. that is a normal process for one

to submit something and have it reviewed, to have feedback provided, and to have an opportunity to remediate any since the -- deficiencies or gaps that may be perceived by the organization that received it. that is normal. what came out was the messaging and that appeared to be somewhat -- not appeared to be. it was actually offensive the language that was used when you're talking about something significantly lacking educational value or a portion of it. that level of ambiguity along with the messaging created the rancor and quite frankly the harm that many people feel regarding something that we are deeply concerned about. we did anticipate there would be an opportunity -- i see that is starting to take place now but it is not about content. it is about impact. the impact has already been felt by teachers, educators, by community members, by our leaders. this is not something that is restricted to the

african-american community. this is something each and every one of us should all be concerned about because we are the end of the day all americans and we should be willing, ready, and able to embrace, share, and appreciate and most importantly respect each other stories. amy: i want to play more governor ron desantis when he took his culture were on the road a few months ago to stub for trump-backed candidates and the growing speculation about him running for president in 2024. >> we must fight the woke in our schools. we must fight the woke in our businesses. we must fight the woke in government agencies. we can never ever surrender to woke ideology. and i will tell you this, the state of florida is where woke goes to die. amy: i want to tk about people dyin i report from the trevor project last year found lgbtq youth who

learned about lgbtq issues or figures in school are substantially less likely to report a past dear suicide attempt than those who did not. talk about the fear of lgbtq students right now, their safety. >> one and four lgbtq youth commit suicide, amy, and it is not because of who they are. it is because of how they are treated. just last year, we did the parental rights education bill. lgbtq youth was far within the capital, talking to legislatures. it rings great harm. when individuals feel they are not represented come here within their state, individuals feel left out. they feel as if

they're going to lash out. so it is dangerous what we are seeing. school board member gallon, he said it best. the intersectionality of who we are, tt makes us who we are. but what we are seeing within the state of florida is that pending against marginalized amenities, against lgbtq people, against african-americans. you just heard from the governor this is where woke comes to die. clearly, there's nothing free about what we are experiencing in the state of florida. marginalized people are in bondage. every single year it gets greater and greater because of this theme that is being pushed. juan: senator jones, this agenda has been pushed out only in florida, although it is becoming a poster state, but climbing across the country as a wave of states attempting to censor discussions of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity

in schools. why do you think that is? >> i can't speak to individuals why they are doing what they're doing, but what i can say is there is an outcry that is happening. this is more than just a black issue, more than just a lgbtq issue. this is an issue we as americans should be fighting together. to speak to why this is happening, it is a power issue. when individuals see the shifting of america, it calls for individuals to rise up and say this will not be allowed. we want to make sure we do everything to keep our finger on the pulse, to make sure we can ntrol what you learn, what you teach, we can control what you say and we can control what you do. amy: beholding a news conference today with ben crump. can you talk about the lawsuit being filed and how you will

deal with this as we move into black history month? >> absolely. we will just test we were planning on having a plain press conference but this has calls for students, high school students, college students, and florida state universities to join in. we have rebecca pringle who is coming down, the naacp will be present. this is a national outcry because i will say what you all just said, this is bigger than just a florida issue. this is a national issue. if you think people across the country are not watching what happens in florida because they believe if we can do it here, they can do it there. and that will be a problem. that is why you see the national outcry. the press conference today is to make it sure if you're going to start here, we are going to match your energy. we are going to start here also with our lawsuit to make sure it is clear that black people,

marginalized people will not be the political punching bag. amy: florida state senator shevrin jones, first openly gay state senator in florida and dr. steve gallon miami-dade county ówówóoc■j?

stomach hello and welcome back to nhk newsline. i am takao minori in new york. western allies have grappled for months over sending tanks to ukraine. those in germany finally relented to the pressure, and now, those in the u.s. have too.