Jeremy Scahill, author of Dirty Wars, interviewed by Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman & Juan González

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Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Civil Rights

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  • Stop_and_frisk

    Testimony, Recordings at Trial Reveal the Racial Biases and Arrest Quotas Behind NYPD's Stop & Frisk

    A historic trial is underway challenging the New York City Police Department’s controversial "stop-and-frisk" policy as unconstitutional and unfairly targeting people of color. Recent data shows the vast majority of the five million people stopped and frisked by the NYPD over the past decade are African American or Latino, with nearly 90 percent neither ticketed nor arrested. We play secretly recorded police tapes heard in the...
    Apr 04, 2013 | Story
  • Will-book-thumb

    Cheryl Wills on Her Family's Path from Slavery to Freedom & Legacy of Chinua Achebe on African Americans

    In our extended discussion with Cheryl Wills, NY1 anchor and author of "Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale," she discusses the legacy of slavery, and the impact of Nigerian literary icon Chinua Achebe on African Americans’ pride in their history. We also play an excerpt of Morgan Freeman reading the words of Frederick Douglass that inspired the title of Wills’ book. [includes rush transcript]
    Mar 26, 2013 | Web Exclusive
  • Cheryl_willis-2

    "Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale": Cheryl Wills Uncovers Family's History from Slavery to Freedom

    In this year marking the 150th anniversary year of the Emancipation Proclamation, we speak to NY1 anchor Cheryl Wills, who uncovered the story of her great-great-great-grandparents, Sandy and Emma Wills. Sandy was a slave who escaped from his master and joined the United States Colored Troops to fight in the Civil War. Wills based her book, "Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale," on thousands of documents from the National Archives. The book’s...
    Mar 26, 2013 | Story
  • King-afilmrecorded-1

    EXCLUSIVE: Rarely Seen Film "King: A Filmed Record" Traces MLK's Struggle from Montgomery to Memphis

    In a Black History Month special, we air excerpts of a rarely seen Oscar-nominated documentary about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the rise of the civil rights movement. Produced by Ely Landau, "King: A Filmed Record...Montgomery to Memphis" is made from original newsreel footage and other original video footage shot of marches, rallies and church services. "King" was originally screened for one night only in 1970 in more...
    Feb 25, 2013 | Story
  • Ben_jelous

    NAACP: New Election Commission Needed to Address Voter Suppression, Attacks on Voting Rights

    During his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Obama announced the formation of a new bipartisan commission to fix the nation’s broken voting system. In the audience was 102-year-old Desiline Victor, who waited for hours to cast her ballot in the last election. Victor lives in Florida, where an estimated 200,000 voters failed to vote after becoming frustrated by the long lines. We speak to NAACP President Benjamin Jealous about...
    Feb 15, 2013 | Story
  • Cover_eslanda

    BOOK EXCERPT: "Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson"

    Tune in Tuesday for a Black History Month special interview about the extraordinary life of Eslanda Cardozo Goode Robeson, known by her friends as "Essie." She was an author, an anthropologist and and a globally connected activist who worked to end colonialism in Africa and racism in the United States. She was also one of the driving forces behind the career of her husband — the singer and activist, Paul Robeson. We will speak with...
    Feb 11, 2013 | Web Exclusive
  • Theoharis-rebelliousrosaparks

    BOOK EXCERPT: "The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks"

    Read the introduction to "The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks," a new book just out by our guest, historian Jeanne Theoharis. The definitive political biography of Rosa Parks examines her six decades of activism, challenging perceptions of her as an accidental actor in the civil rights movement.
    Feb 04, 2013 | Web Exclusive
  • Rosa_parks_-_100th_anniversary

    On Rosa Parks' 100th Birthday, Recalling Her Rebellious Life Before and After the Montgomery Bus

    Born on Feb. 4, 1913, today would have been Rosa Parks’ 100th birthday. On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her act of resistance led to a 13-month boycott of the Montgomery bus system that would help spark the civil rights movement. Today we spend the hour looking at Rosa Parks’ life with historian Jeanne Theoharis, author of the new book, "The Rebellious...
    Feb 04, 2013 | Story
  • Amys_column_default

    Rosa Parks, Now and Forever

    By Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan
    On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Ala., thus launching the modern-day civil-rights movement. Monday, Feb. 4, is the 100th anniversary of her birth. After she died at the age of 92 in 2005, much of the media described her as a tired seamstress, no troublemaker. But the media got it wrong. Rosa Parks was a first-class troublemaker.
    Jan 31, 2013 | Columns & Articles
  • Travis_wiliams-2

    "Gideon's Army": Young Public Defenders Brave Staggering Caseloads, Low Pay to Represent the Poor

    The new documentary "Gideon’s Army" follows a group of young public defenders in the Deep South who contend with low pay, long hours and staggering caseloads to represent the poor. The film’s title comes from the landmark 1963 Supreme Court ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright that established the right to counsel to defendants in criminal cases who are unable to afford their own attorneys. We’re joined by "Gideon’s...
    Jan 24, 2013 | Story