and it are those are the words of michelle alexander and those opening three paragraphs in this stunningew work " "becoming ms. burton: from prison to recovery to leading the fight for incarcerated women." michelle, before he go to break, how you see susan story fitting into this larger narrative, the way you have framed your book, , especially in the era of trump? >> when you read susan's story carefully, easy it is not only a story of individual trauma and struggle, survival and heroism, it is also a story that explains how a system has been born in the united states that criminalizes people in the year of the industrialization and globalization that has criminalized individuals for families, and communities, locking people up who are now deemed disposable, their labor no longer needed, their services no longer required in the current economy. and how we have chosen to treat drug addiction as a crime rather than a public health problem, and how the liberal war that has been declared -- literal war that has been declared on poor people and people of color have led to the birth of a pris

michelle alexander referred to you as the 21st century harriet hub man. i saw nick kristof, who was on this program weeks ago, who used that same phrase in his column in the "new york times," you are the 21st century harriet tubman. that's high cotton. that's a lot of love and a huge accolade. but i raise it it not to embarrass you but to ask you whether or not your work feels harriet tubman-ish. do you feel like you're on a journey to rescue people and to save lives? >> i know -- >> and to take folk to freedom? >> i know that what i do rescues people, allows them to have an analysis of what's happening in their lives, and breaks them free of the criminal justice system. and you know, when we talk about slavery, you know, we have to go back to the 13th amendment that says, you can be a slave if you're incarcerated. so does it feel like harriet tubman? i think so. i didn't imagine that when i started out. i just thought if i could help a handful of women come home, it would be okay. but then i started looking at the larger picture. and the systemic oppress

amy: that is michelle alexander.e are speaking with marissa alexander -- no relation -- who is speaking to us from jacksonville. marissa, if you can go back to 2010, yes, i want you to respond to what michelle alexander said, but back to 2010, and describe to us what happened. and then with the killing of trayvon martin by george zimmerman, the vigilante, who was acquitted, unlike you, how that changed your case. >> you know, for me, that particular day, it was a reaction to an action. it was a matter of a fight or flight. i felt like i did the best i could. i maintain that. i still don't believe what i did was wrong. the kids were not present. i would have never done that. i believe that came out of my first trial. as far as it played forward with george zimmerman, that was around the same time. , butase was going along mine had not made it to the media. his was, originally, he was given immunity of the crime scene but later on was charged. first, and then had to have a hearing. there is the difference between he an

i'm looking at the book written by michelle alexander a law professor called the new jim crow, mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. it tells us that the criminal justice system is dead to a very large extent for the imprisonment of blacks. it sets up this bad feeling between blacks and whites and let me say again that black lives matter as meaning that people just what to tend to skip over. time and again month after month white policeman have killed blacks, not only men but women and children and it gotten away with it. the criminal justice system has allowed it. it has created a bad feeling between blacks and whites. accob >> guest: accountability is a big part of this issue. people watch the news. they see what's happening and they see that a police officer who clearly may have been in some sort of violation in terms of these police shootings is not prosecuted and a lot of these studies by the justice department and other groups have found that accountability for police actions that are unlawful has been lacking so to move forward, part of this is accountability, holding police off

from thomas jefferson and alexander hamilton, to toni morrison and michelle alexander, our democracy has been shaped by writers. writers capture our hopes and ideas and inspire new ones. they are critical to ensuring that active engaged citizenry of which i spoke. at the core is the fact that words matter, not just to writers but to readers. the written word can be a personal missive, unified treaty, pencil story or a shared truth. it's the past, present in the future. we need to remember those who have come before and celebrate those who stand among us and encourage future generations. that's what the american writers museum can and will do. i commend and congratulate all those involved in this tremendous accomplishment. you. [applause] alderman represents the 14th ward city and is chair of the six chicago committee but he's also a writer. ed started his career as a policeman and a number of years ago but together a book called the end of watch about the sacrifices of our policeman and the times when they've laid down their lives to protect us to make our city more engaging. he's a

michelle griego. that natural gas leak happened at the corp.er of 10th and alexander streets causing a scare around 8:30 this morning. chopper 5 was overhead a short time later. it hit a one inch plastic gas line. it briefly forced evacuations at the nearby wells fargo bank which is the only business affected. we spoke to the bank. it had to open almost an hour- and-a-half late today. but it is doing business now. no word on when gas will be restored in the area. >>> developing news, the senate committee looking into possible trump campaign ties with russia, hearing from the current acting director of the fbi. seth lemon is on capitol hill. >> reporter: andrew mccabe, the acting director of the fbi took james comey's seat for a senate intelligence committee hearing. >> didn't expect to see you hear today. >> reporter: the committee which is looking into possible trump campaign connections with russia, wants reassurances that the fbi will still follow through with its own investigation. >> do you commit to informing this committee of any effort to interfere with the fbi's ongoing investigation in the l