05/26/23 05/26/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from cambridge, massachusetts, this is democracy now! the far right founder of the oath keepers stewart rhodes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for his role in the january 6 insurrection. we will get the latest. then we hear from pulitzer prize winning journalist nikole hannah jones and oscar winning filmmaker spike lee on the legacy of malcolm x and the

power of history. >> ancestors risk their life because they understood education was going to be the key. our ancestors risk their life to be educated. we cannot let that go. >> the reason we are the only people in the history of the united states where he was illegal to read and write because we know --? we know education leads to liberation. you can't keep people down to understand her history. amy: plus, we look back at the 1937 memorial day massacre in chicago. >> on memorial day 1937, striking workers at republic steel in south chicago gathered for a picnic. when union activists marched toward the plant, police attacked. why was the film hidden?

amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the white house says it's nearing a deal to avert a default on the national debt less than a week before the treasury department says it will run out of money. as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling, house republicans have been insisting on large cuts to domestic programs, coupled with increases in spending on the military and at the southern u.s. border. under an emerging plan, republicans, led by speaker kevin mccarthy, would agree to raise the debt limit for two years in exchange for strict caps on non-military discretionary spending. president biden said he's optimistic he'll strike a deal before a june 1 deadline. pres. biden: i made clear time

and again defaulting on a national debt is not an option. the american people deserve to know their social security payments will be there, veterans hospitals will remain open, and the economic progress we made we are going to continue to make. default puts all of that at risk. amy: on sunday, president biden said he'd proposed more than $1 trillion in cuts to federal discretionary spending. reuters reports the white house and house republicans remain about $70 billion apart. the white house is reporting a proposal to slash $10 billion of funding to the internal revenue service to hire thousands of new agents. meanwhile, environmentalists are warning the deal includes a provision to substantially weaken the national environmental policy act in order to fast-track federal review of permits for new energy projects. it's a move favored by conservative democratic senator joe manchin that's previously faced a number of defeats in congress.

friends of the earth responded in a statement -- "once again, lawmakers are expected to make the unconscionable decision to tack unpopular and environmentally harmful policies onto a must-pass bill." south korea and the u.s. held their largest ever live-fire military exercises thursday in what they say is preparation for any full-scale attack from north korea amid mounting tensions on the korean peninsula. officials say another four drills will take place in the coming weeks. this came just days after south korea and the european union agreed to increase security cooperation. this is eu commission president ursula von der leyen. >> just like we do not accept russia's military aggression against ukraine, we condemn the dprk's constant nuclear favor rattling. we stand firmly by the republic of korea.

amy: meanwhile, north korea labeled plans by south korea, the u.s., and japan to share real-time data on north korean missile launches as sinister. in paris, french riot police deployed tear gas and pepper spray as hundreds of climate activists converged on the totalenergies shareholders meeting earlier today. investors are voting on a resolution to make accelerated emissions cuts in line with the french government's climate goals, a measure opposed by total's board. the protests in paris come days after activists in london disrupted shell's annual shareholders meeting. here in the united states, the supreme court has sharply limited the authority of the environmental protection agency to protect and preserve wetlands under the clean water act, a landmark half-century-old environmental law. thursday's 5-to-4 opinion, written by justice samuel alito, effectively ends protections for about half of all the wetlands in the contiguous united states.

conservation groups called the ruling a devastating setback for clean water and called on congress to pass new legislation protecting wetlands. this is white house press secretary karine jean-pierre. >> the decision aims to take our country backwards. it will jeopardize the sources of clean drinking water for millions of americans. the clean water act is the reason why american lakes today are swimmable, while we can fish in streams and rivers and why say tricking water comes out of our taps. amy: indiana's state medical board has reprimanded and fined an indianapolis doctor who publicly disclosed she had provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape survivor from ohio last year. a majority of the board found dr. caitlin bernard violated privacy laws by speaking about the girl's case, fining her

$3000. at thursday's hours-long disciplinary hearing, dr. bernard explained why she decided to speak out. >> i think it is incredibly important for people to understand the real-world impacts of the laws of this country, about abortion or otherwise. i think it is important for people to know what patients will have to go through because of legislation that is being passed. amy: indiana's republican attorney general todd rokita launched an investigation into bernard last year after she came forward, calling her unfit to practice medicine and urging the forge -- board to take disciplinary action. abortion is still legal in indiana up to 22 weeks into a pregnancy. the founder of the far right oath keepers militia group stewart rhodes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of seditious conspiracy over his role in the deadly january 6 insurrection at the u.s. capitol. it's the longest sentence handed

down so far for anyone tied to the insurrection. one of rhodes' associates, kelly meggs, received a 12 year sentence for seditious conspiracy. we'll have more on this story after headlines. in minneapolis, community members gathered thursday for a vigil at the intersection where george floyd was murdered three years ago by police officers. a daylong festival and concert are planned for saturday. other cities around the country also held memorials and protests. in related news, the guardian reports u.s. cities will pay at least $80 million to racial justice protesters who were violently attacked by police in various incidents during the black lives matter uprising following floyd's killing in 2020. that number, already record-breaking, is expected to go up as pending lawsuits are resolved. in new york city, protesters, activists, and dozens of groups are calling on the city council

to disband the nypd's strategic response group, which has engaged in brutal attacks on demonstrators. scores of new yorkers testified this week, including organizer isabelle leyva. >> during the more than 200 protests i have document and myself with my two eyes, i have seen the barricades to break limbs, then cattle protesters, holding the taser to the head of an unhoused man, use their bicycles like baseball bats come in swinging them at people's heads. i've seen the srg stand on top of cars and swing the pathans crowd below. i have seen the srg pile on top of protesters as they scream "i can't breathe." amy: a mississippi family is demanding accountability after a police officer shot an 11-year-old black boy who had called 911 for help. aderrien murry's mother had given him a cellphone and asked him to call the police during a domestic disturbance with the father of another one of her children. nakala murry described what

happened when officer greg capers arrived at the scene in the early hours of saturday morning. >> he was like, come out with your hands up. that is when my son came out. i don't understand. i said, you're not going to die, baby. just keep talking. amy: aderrien murry was released from the hospital on wednesday after being treated for a collapsed lung, fractured ribs, and lacerated liver. migrants -- and finally, in the mediterranean, humanitarian aid workers are continuing to search for a boat carrying hundreds of migrants that's been missing since wednesday morning. the boat was reportedly adrift, with no working engine, in the middle of the sea between the northern libyan coast and over -- and the italian island of

sicily. this is albert mayordomo with the italian humanitarian aid group emergency ngo speaking from aboard the rescue vessel "life support." >> there are 500 people on board including 45 women, also pregnant, and 56 children. we tried our best to find these people and we will look for them until tonight. unfortunately, after 32 hours of try to reach and 24 hours of active search, we still not have found them. however, it is unacceptable ngo's -- amy: in related news in france, five soldiers have been criminally charged, accused of refusing to rescue a group of migrants, resulting in the deaths of 27 people as they crossed the english channel in a small boat in november 2021.

and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from cambridge, massachusetts. the founder of the far right group oath keepers stewart rhodes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for plotting to keep donald trump in power after the 2020 election, resulting in the deadly january 6 insurrection at the capitol. it is the longest sentence handed down so far for anyone tied to the insurrection. one of rhodes' associates, kelly meggs, who led the florida chapter of the oath keepers, was sentenced thursday to 12 years in prison. a jury had convicted both men of seditious conspiracy in november. following joe biden's defeat of trump in november 2020, rhodes told his followers, "we are not getting through this without a civil war." federal prosecutors had accused rhodes of playing a key role in

planning the january 6 insurrection even though he did not enter the capitol during the riot. prosecutors described him as a "general overlooking a battlefield while his troops stormed inside." during thursday's sentencing, stewart rhodes wore an orange prison jumpsuit and claimed he was a political prisoner. judge amit mehta rebuked rhode'' , saying -- "what we absolutely cannot have -- is a group of citizens who because they did not like the outcome of the election, were then prepared to take up arms in order to foment a revolution. that's what you did." the justice department had sought a 25 year sentence. we are joined now by kristen doerer. she is an independent journalist covering right-wing extremism. first, respond to this verdict. both for stewart rhodes and talk about who he is, and his associate. >> thank you for having me. this was a very substantial win

for democracy. this was -- 18 years is a very long time for stewart rhodes to be in prison. it sends a strong message of deterrence to anybody else who is considering doing -- trying to overthrow the government again in 2024 or in future years. stewart rhodes is the leader of the far right oath keepers organization. the oath keepers is in antigovernment extremist organization founded in 2009. they had this idea they are protecting the united states from the federal government. so they have always been willing and ready to defy the federal government, and they have heavily recruited from military -- former military leaders and police officers.

they have had as many as 40,000 people on their membership rolls, though likely they have only had a few thousand people as members at a time. i will say they have always been very conspiratorial in tone. leaders of the oath keepers, like stewart rhodes, suggested the federal government has been taken over by global elites and that they want to put americans in concentration camps. this is acres -- this is a very inspiratory, far right, extremist antigovernment organization. amy: this is the most severe and longest penalty of over 1000 criminal cases stemming from the capitol attack? >> yes. this is the most -- this is the longest sentence. before that, it was one other man who had i think up to 32

prior convictions and had assaulted a police officer and he was given 14 years. kelly meggs, who you mentioned earlier, the leader of the florida chapter of the oath keepers, was sentenced to 12 years, which is now the third longest. this really sends a strong message of deterrence. it also sends a message to those who are still waiting for their sentencing who have been convicted of the seditious conspiracy. amy: can you talk about the fact that stewart rhodes wore the orange prison jumpsuit? and the fact he is saying he is a political prisoner, what he said in the court? >> this is exactly what he has been doing since he has been in prison. he has said he is a political prisoner -- i don't want to mess this up so let me take a quick look. he promised to "expose the

criminality of this regime" while he was in prison. these are still things that he has said during this time waiting to be sentenced. he has said the election was stolen. which it was not. and he has said his only crime is having different political views. but we very well know that he was plotting and planning for a violent overthrow of the u.s. government, and he was just waiting for trump to invoke the insurrection act before they brought weapons to the capitol. amy: according to "the new york times," it is also this sentencing is the first to be increased for fitting the legal definition of terrorism? >> yeah, so this is something that i think prosecutors were going after when they were

seeking a 25 year sentencing. seditious conspiracy holds a charge of 20 years, and so this was something that prosecutors were trying to put, you know, stewart rhodes in jail for for a longer period of time. this is something that the judge recognized. amy: during a recent town hall, cnn town hall, former president trump said if he's elected again he'd be inclined to pardon many of the insurrectionists. the cnn host kaitlan collins also asked trump if he had any regrets about his actions on january 6. this was his response. pres. trump: january 6 was the largest crowd i have ever spoken to. that was prior to the walk down to the capitol building. i don't think -- and i have spoken to hundreds of thousands of people. i have never spoken to a crowd as large as this. that is because they thought the

election was rigged. they were there proud. they were there with love in their hearts. it was an unbelievable and it was a beautiful day. what i was asked to do -- i wasn't involved very much. i was asked to make a speech. i made a speech. i said, walk peacefully and patriotically. many different things. amy: can you respond to this, kristen doerer? >> it is a bit -- it is unsurprising in some ways. we saw immediately after january 6, trump -- or even during january 6 trump not wanting to tell the protesters to go home. he has always remained very loyal to those who are unapologetically for him most of think he saw the oath keepers as tools, as allies in a certain sense. and i think he also is going to say he is going to pardon these

-- he is going to pardon these people who he calls political prisoners in an effort to hold onto his base and to gen up enthusiasm. there has been a major rewrite among the far right and the republican party to rewrite january 6 into not a national tragedy but a political protest that got out of hand. amy: now, the far right likes to call this an inside job, what happened on the january 6 insurrection. the fbi reportedly got a tip about oath keepers plans for an armed fight in november 2020. this was well before january 6. why wasn't this stopped then? >> you know, this is one of the

most frustrating things. even researchers and reporters have been seeing this violent rhetoric, this -- all of this activity around january 6. there was bad communications it appears between the different government agencies. there were certain people who did not take these threats seriously. that is something we have seen time and time again where when it comes to right wing extremist, those threats are not always taken seriously. amy: kristen doerer, independent journalist covering right-wing extremism. coming up, the pulitzer prize-winning journalist nikole hannah jones and the oscar-winning film maker spike lee on the legacy of malcolm x, the making of the film and the power of history. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "father to son," music from the movie "do the right thing," composed by bill lee the father of spike lee. bill died earlier this week at -- on wednesday at the age of 94. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as attacks on the teaching of black history escalated in florida and other states, we turn to two of the nation's most acclaimed storytellers, the oscar winning filmmaker spike lee and the journalist nikole hannah jones, who won a pulitzer prize for her work on the 1619 project. they both spoke last friday at the malcolm x and dr. betty shabazz memorial and educational center, which is housed in the former audubon ballroom in new york where malcolm x was assassinated in 1965. last friday marked what would have been malcolm's 98th birthday. we begin with nikole hannah jones. >> i was a sophomore in high

school when i first read the autobiography of malcolm x. it was one of those three transformative texts in my life. i could never see myself as a black person the same after reading that text. a year later i sat in the movie theater in iowa captivated by mr. lee's brilliant storytelling in malcolm x -- >> [inaudible] >> anybody who knows me knows that is my favorite movie. i have watched it so many times. i was just watching recently. if you going to the newspaper archives, you'll will see a young nikole hannah jones with a malcolm x medallion on after i let the walkout at my school demanding black history be taught to all in our high school. [applause] i am honored to be here with you tonight and to stand in this room, and is very room in 1964,

where malcolm x said "plymouth rock did not land on us, the rock was landed on as." i would never imagine i would be standing here right now trying to tell the story of another ship that arrived a year before the mayflower. the same year i read malcolm x book, i read one called "before the mayflower." they told a story not 1620, but 1619. we know every and can child learns that story of the mayflower and yet the story of another ship called the white lion has been erased in the story of america because we like to tell the stories that glorify our country and want to hide the ugly parts. i realized at that moment as a 16-year-old child that history is not simply what happened on what day and who did it, but what powerful people what us to remember about what happened. what we commonly call history is actually memory.

that memory of the u.s. has been shaped too often by white men in power who want us to remember the history of a country that never existed. my work is to ensure that before you ever learned about the mayflower in 1620, you're going to learn about that ship in 1619 called white lion. our stories the contributions of black americans and we will not be erased from the narrative of the country that our ancestors built. [applause] to stand here in this very space , on this hallowed ground, is an incredible honor. i am honored to be here with all of the honorees tonight. i think about that book 30 years ago, how my life has been inspired by malcolm x. inspired by all of the truth tellers. we see why they are trying to ban our history.

once you learn your history, challenge the way the power is wielded against the vulnerable. that is why they want to outlaw history because history will radicalize us, it will open her eyes. there's a reason that we are the only people in history for whom it was illegal to learn to read and write. education leads to liberation. you can't keep people down to understand the history. i will try to uphold the great legacy of whatever most ardent truth tellers, a man who stood up to power all across this nation. as long as i have breath, they won't bury our history. thank you. amy: "new york times" journalist nikole hannah jones, who won a pulitzer prize for her work on the 1619 project, speaking last friday at the malcolm x and dr. betty shabazz memorial and educational center in new york at an event to mark what would

have been malcolm x's 98th birthday. the acclaimed filmmaker spike lee gave the keynote address. he talked about the making of 1992 film "malcolm x," as well as his family and the power of education. just days after this event, spike lee's father, the bassist and composer bill lee, died at the age of 94. bill lee had a prolific musical career performing with legendary artists, including harry belafonte, aretha franklin, odetta, and bob dylan. he also wrote the scores to many of spike lee's films, including "do the right thing" and "mo' better blues." this is spike lee speaking last friday. >> i am not a keynote speaker. i come to say what i've got to say and that will be it. [laughter]

the most important book i ever read, seventh grade in the people's republic of brooklyn, new york. is brooklyn in the house? all right. harlem? all right. that's it. that's it. you know what? can we have a moment of silence for mr. harry belafonte? and mr. jim brown who passed today, too? jim brown passed away today. freedom fighters. that is what they are. they will be looking down on us, what we're doing.

when i read the book and seventh grade, i wrote a paper on it. i got a "c." you got to read that book more than once. [laughter] my mind was developed. what brother malcolm is putting down. but i come from a long line of educators. educated black folks. my father bill lee, jazz bassist, who has done a lot of scores for my films, was a freshman at morehouse when dr. martin luther king was a senior. my classmate could 1979, -- my father went to morehouse, grandfather went to morehouse,

and my mother and grandmother went to spelman. we have to understand we have a long line of educated black folks. as you said, sister, it was against the law for us to read and write. the day we had off on sundays, that is what we would do, read the bible. but a master caught you, you would be whipped and if yet a bad day, would be castrated and home. our ancestors risked her life's because they understood the education was going to be the key stuff our ancestors risked their life to be educated. we cannot let that go. i'm going to go to the film. the making of that film was the hardest thing i had to do.

the rights were bought from dr. betty shabazz way back. way back. for 20 something years, he tried to get it made. several directors, several actors. finally, nor juice. when i heard it was directing this i said hel to the nah. but here's the thing. i respect norman because it was his job. he gracefully she didn't have to do that. so once we got that -- i'm the very beginning, we did not have enough money. we did not have enough money. i put half my salary into the film post warner bros. knew it.

we all knew it. the studio system, it is impregnated. so we knew one day the money would run out. warner bros. did not want the length of that film to be three hours. it was done about ego. to tell the many different lives that malcolm led, we needed that time. we needed that time. it is crazy. we showed the full version to warner bros.. four hours. it was the day of the rodney king verdict. so we are screening the film but

one of other executives, two presidents, the secretaries are coming out because l.a. is burning. to their credit, they stayed for the whole four hours. it was a long discussion because helicopter came to warner bros. lot and took them to where they had to go. the said, how long is the film in the theaters? i said, how long is "jfk"? because it was just coming out. they said, two hours. they ignored oliver stone. i called all her and said, how long is of ago jfk"? he said, three hours, but don't tell them i told you so. so we knew we had to keep going. they did not cut the film, the length. warner bros. that the bond company take over the film. all of the people in

postproduction got letters saying "you are fired." five i had already put half my salary into the film, so it was the lowest point in my life with the exception of my mother dying. and malcolm came to me. self-determination, self-reliance. i kept thinking about that again and again and again. what does that mean? and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. i know some black folks that got some money. [laughter] so that is the plan. i had their phone number. so i made a list. here is the key thing, this was -- they could not get any money

back. it wasn't a tax write off. it had to be like, here, take it. take it. and the first person i called was bill cosby. called him up and said, bill -- first thing i said was, how is camille? then i told him what it was about. he says, spike, i will put the check in the mail. i said, no -- i knew he lived in a townhouse on the upper east side. knocked on the door. did not even come in. snatched that check and ran to the bank before he could change his mind. so i made a list. i always get the order mixed up. great woman, she wrote a check. tracy chapman. janet jackson.

prince. and then there were two left. so here's the other thing, every time -- yes, i was asking for more money. i was feeling it. i had two people on my list. called up magic. boom. then the last call, the goat, who was born in brooklyn, not north carolina, michael jordan. born on myrtle avenue, same hospital mike tyson and bernard king were born in. one thing about michael he don't like to lose nothing. very competitive. so i just let it slip how much magic gave. [laughter] oh, oh, oh.

sorry, sorry. she is in there. i tell you -- i said, magic gave -- he said, magic a what? boom! so now had the money. had the money to rehire the crew. at this time, there was no talking between myself and warner bros. because warner bros. gave the film to the bond company. so on this date, on malcolm's birthday, we had a press conference at the schaumburg collection, the library. we announced these prominent african-americans wrote these checks. and the next day, warner bros.

financed the rest of the movie. [applause] true story. and the movie is because of denzel washington. denzel had done an off-broadway play, and there were many times when he was on camera that our skin was crawling because we saw malcolm. it was eerie. and there is one scene -- all of the speeches were malcolm's speeches. there is one scene where man is behind him and so we're looking -- denzel is talking.

i am next to my great cameraman ernest dickinson. there's only 10 minutes in a roll of film. we are shooting 35 millimeter. denzel is going, i'm turning the page, he is killing it, killing it, killing it. ernest is tell me, spike, we are about to roll out. then i see i am reading the script and this is where it ends and he keeps going. we were all mesmerized. finally, ernest said, we rolled out. so i went over to denzel and his eyes were glazed over. his eyes were glazed over. anybody was there, we saw the spirit of malcolm. the spirit of malcolm came over denzel. but here's the thing, though. denzel, he started working on

that role a year before we even began to shoot. stopped drinking. no more swine. no pork was on his fork. [laughter] we're not talking about shawrty now. but learned how to pray and read thekoran. he devoted his life to that role. i'm not going to name no names. you can put the makeup on and the hair but that stuff is superficial. that performance happened because he put the work in. denzel put the work in.

it doesn't seem like 30 years, but that performance gets better every year. it is a great travesty that denzel did not win the academy award for that role. but let me break it down to you. in basketball, there's a thing called the makeup call. everybody know what that is? when the referee sees it and they don't call it in the next time, boom stop one of the greatest actors ever al pacino -- give it up frappuccino. he got nominated but did not win for godfather, godfather ii, sir picoult, dog day afternoon.

al pacino is from the bronx. so, he did not win all of those times. denzel is young, he will be back. he gets it. jill comes around again, "training day," boom. the thing about an artist, cannot allow other people to determine -- you know what i'm talking about, sister. you can't let other artists determine what our worth is. so in closing, i am honored to be here. we all love -- oh, last thing. this is for you, my sister. ms shebazz. you're taking your glasses off. >> [inaudible] >> ok, it is about your mother.

during the preproduction of this film, i had several conversations with your mother. she is responsible for one of the best -- one of the best scenes in the film. ernest dickinson, great cameraman, he went to howard. we came up in nyu film school together. we were doing this thing called the double doubty shot where it looks like summit is floating. before we did malcolm x, ernest and i said, we can't keep seeing that stuff to show. we have been out of comes over

many years. we have to have a reason to use that shot. dr. betty shabazz told me that she felt her husband knew he was going to be assassinated right here. she told me that. and when dr. betty shabazz told me that, that is when i knew, that is where the devil doubty shot had to be. you know the scene, sam cooke. that is how that scene came to be. dr. betty shabazz, thank you. good night. amy: the oscar winning filmmaker spike lee speaking last friday at the malcolm x and dr. betty shabazz memorial and educational

center, housed in the former audubon ballroom in new york where malcolm x was assassinated in 1965. slightly was speaking -- spike lee was speaking on what would have been the 90th birthday of malcolm x. we come back, memorial day massacre. workers died, film buried. we look at the massacre in 1937 chicago. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "a change is gonna come" by sam cooke. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as memorial day weekend begins here in united states, we end today's show looking back at the largely forgotten 1937 memorial day massacre, when police in chicago shot at and gassed a peaceful gathering of striking steelworkers and their supporters, killing 10 people -- most of them shot in the back. it was a time like today when unions were growing stronger. the workers were on strike

against republic steel, and the police attacked them with weapons supplied by the company. the tragic story is told in a pbs documentary "memorial day massacre: workers die, film buried." it is based on book with oral histories of eye witnesses and begins with a great radio broadcaster studs terkel. >> this is 1937. the labor battles are going on. the cio was being organized. the steelworkers are organized. the big steel companies finally agreed, the recognized the union. but there is one company in chicago, republic steel, saying i will not recognize the union. so there was a strike. memorial day 1937. there was a picnic, strikers and their wives and kids on the ground. republic steel in south

chicago. someone threw a stone and cops were there. they shot down 10 people. >> in the days that followed, newspapers from coast-to-coast portray the incident as a riot provoked by dangerous mob which left police no choice but to open fire. with 10 dead within days. the key piece of evidence, the only film of the tragedy, remained buried. paramount is created and suppressed a newsreel airing the footage. when the hidden footage was finally screened, the shocking images drew national attention. vital lessons for today. amy: that's the opening to the

documentary "memorial day massacre: workers die, film buried." this is another clip. an eyewitness and a reporter and molle west who was teenager when she attended the memorial day gathering in support of the striking workers. >> we just walked. people were talking and holding hands and the children were being carried by their fathers on their shoulders and everybody was laughing and it was a joyous thing. as we came closer to the mill, the walking slowed a bit. it seemed like the entire police force of the city of chicago was out there. but that did not deter -- we were still going to go to the mill and just conduct a

peaceful mass picket line. >> i could see a few objects through the air. i can see things being thrown. not much. it wasn't a lot of stuff. maybe a couple of rocks. there was a dry, crackling kind of noise. it took me a moment to figure out what it was and i realized it was gunfire. and by that time, people were falling. they were turning and trying to run in the gunfire continued. it was clear whole number of these people have been shot in the back. they were trying to flee and they were still being fired at. >> and then a whole number of people were piled up on top of me. i could barely breathe. also, there was tear gas. people finally began to get off, get on their feet. when i finally stood up and i --

total bewilderment, looked around and i saw a battlefield. amy: the new pbs documentary "memorial day massacre: workers die, film buried." it just aired on pbs and now online. it is the latest project from a longtime author and journalist greg mitchell, was written 12 books and made many films about u.s. politics and history. welcome back to democracy now! this is a devastating documentary about a story very few people today know what happened 86 years ago in chicago. take it from where we have just heard these eyewitness descriptions. how did this happen? >> ok. i am happy to be here. yes, the police in fact shot 40 people, the vast majority in the back or side. 10 would die within days. then as the film shows, they

waited through the crowd beating people over the head. sometimes with ax handles provided by republic steel. so there were another 50 people injured enough to be hospitalized. again, as the film shows, the injured, instead of getting any medical treatment, were arrested and shoved into paddy wagons stop they were taken to jail or just to hospitals. this is all on the paramount news footage which was suppressed. we know the step by step things that happened, and you can watch -- amy: greg, your film is so good i want to go back to another clip from "memorial day massacre." >> a disturbing new account at the death of one man emerged. a photo of earl hanley being carried by police seemingly for

medical attention, had appeared in newspapers earlier. now the full story came out. hanley, a 37-year-old carpenter, have been shot in the thigh so a worker tied attorney kit to stop the bleeding. he was shown being taken to a car for a quick trip to the hospital. after the camera stopped rolling, however, police yanked him out of the car and carried him to their paddy wagon. as his tourniquet slipped off, and he bled to death. a doctor who treated some of the wounded presented autopsy reports proving that nearly all of the dead have been shot in the back or in the side. amy: and this is another clip from "memorial day massacre"

about how progressive senator robert leffel let subpoena the suppressed footage of the attack. this was the first time film was shown as evidence in a senate hearing. >> the senator and has the footage would be screened at with regular speed and slow motion. pointedly, he asked the top chicago police officials to take a seat to view the film. this was reportedly the first time film footage had ever been introduced as evidence in congress. the reaction in the hearing room, guests. some tears. but stony silence from the top police officials. the slow motion revealed a murderous new detail. much of the press coverage flipped to blaming the police come although many news outlets now claim the camera could indeed lie. looks what happened in south

chicago. >> also the following day, paramount, after bearing the first two newsreels, at last released a film based on its footage. >> the following pictures made before and during are shown exactly from the camera without editing and presented before the united states senate committee in washington. >> to claim the footage was not edited, but this was false. it omitted this crucial footage, the deadly first 15 seconds. so paramount was still withholding evidence from the public. amy: another excerpt of "memorial day massacre: workers die, film buried." the director greg mitchell is with us. this story of what the public understood happened with 10 people killed, talk about the role of the media and the police working with it -- whether the camera was shut off as we saw in the first clip or paramount

suppressing this, greg. >> the importance of it was the mass media right up to open with the new york times" was supporting the police story, that they had no choice but to fire on this mob. paramount had the footage, had the evidence of a newsreel and and they decided not to release it. they created a second newsreel and did not release it and it took being subpoenaed by a hearing and screening on capitol hill that forced paramount to release a third newsreel. even then, city officials in chicago and st. louis and massachusetts banned it's showing. even in its final form, it was not released in full. amy: in this last minute, why is paramount so significant?

people might not understand that today. and what is the most important lesson to take of what took place? >> as you know, the movies were incredibly popular than. this was before television. most people got visual news from these newsreels, which were shown in every movie theater every movie showing. the lesson, among other things, the importance of visual evidence when there are police shootings and police brutality, as we see today. that is why there is such a focus on releasing body cams and dashboard cams. another lesson is with the great labor activity today, that they stand on the shoulders of the people from the past who sacrificed so much. that is why i am happy people can watch this film now on pbs, everywhere in the country. of course the book has the oral histories of all of the eyewitnesses and many of the activists who were wounded.

amy: greg mitchell, director of "memorial day massacre: workers die, film buried." and that does it for today's show. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now!