The struggle continues and the protesters persist. It’s been more than two weeks since a grand jury decided not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown; it’s been more than 9 days since the same outcome was reached for a New York police officer responsible for the choking death of Eric Garner. These non-indictments, the deaths of other unarmed Black men and children—including 12 year-old Tamir Rice—caused by police officers, and the heavy handed violent response of the state has prompted sustained protests throughout the country. We’ll take the first hour of the program to talk about the purpose of the protests.
First, we’ll be joined by Shawn Torres and Benjamin Perry, two graduate students from Union Theological Seminary. Torres and Perry both participated in protests against police brutality but had vastly different experiences. While peacefully offering their selves up, Torres who is black was arrested, while Perry, who is white was pushed away, thrown to the ground and told ‘Just get out of here.’
Then, veteran organizers and activists will discuss what it takes to turn a march into a movement. Our panelists include:
- Frances Fox Piven, author of “Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America”
- Vince Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights
- Barbara Smith, author of “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around”
- Carmen Perez, executive director of Gathering for Justice and co-founder of Justice League NYC
In the second hour of the show, we’ll shift our attention to the CIA interrogation program. Did the program cross the line? Is torture ever appropriate? Did medical professionals protect or prolong abuse? Was the program effective… and does that even matter? Frances Piven and Vince Warren will be joined by Earl Catagnus, assistant professor of History and Security Studies at Valley Forge Military College, and Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, author of “Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician.”
Then: under the radar. Mark Greenblatt, national investigative correspondent at Scripps, joins us to discuss the little known, yet frightening, secret about military sexual offenders: many live amongst us without registering with public sex offenders registries. Greenblatt will be joined by Anu Bhagwati, former Captain of the U.S. Marines and executive director of Service Women’s Action Network. Be sure to read what we’ve linked above, and watch Melissa Harris-Perry Saturday at 10am ET on msnbc. Help us with Sunday’s show! Send us your favorite good news story of the year or a photo of your favorite childhood toy… extra points for throwback pics! Share your stories and pics on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #nerdland.
Victoria Asbury Recommended
