Sojourner Truth - Friday, May 22, 2026

Follows the audio · click any line to jump

1. It's Lupe. I listen to you guys every morning and I've been listening to you guys since I was 19 years old.
2. I listen to Democracy Now! and the one in the afternoon. I always forget.
3. Background briefing. There you go.
4. All right, Lupe.
5. As a KPFK listener, you expect to hear smart conversations about important issues every time you turn on the radio.
6. We bring you facts and analysis, not partisanship or hype, so you can form your own opinions on the news.
7. You count on KPFK for informed, insightful reporting.
8. Don't take coverage like this for granted.
9. It's here for you, thanks to the generous financial support of our listeners.
10. Support the programming you rely on right now by calling 818-985-5735 or contribute online at kpfk.org.
11. You're listening to KPFK 90.7 FM, Los Angeles.
12. Welcome to Sojourner Truth.
13. We live in a global world.
14. We are all interrelated.
15. So on Sojourner Truth, we work to bring directly to you news and views on local, national, and international policies and stories that affect us all.
16. And we draw out how those of us most impacted, women, communities of color, and other communities are responding.
17. We also discuss the relationship between art and politics.
18. You are listening to Sojourner Truth with your host, Nada Jumfi.
19. Today on Sojourner Truth, all roads lead to the South as we speak with Cliff Albright and Rukia Lumumba on the ground in the fight for voting rights and a multiracial democracy.
20. All this and more on Sojourner Truth Radio.
21. You are listening to Sojourner Truth with your host, Nada Jumfi.
22. On May 16th, all roads led to the South, and specifically to Alabama, in the fight for racial justice and voting rights.
23. and democracy itself. Pleased to be joined by Cliff Albright, co-founder and co-executive
24. director of Black Voters Matter, to talk about the attack on voting rights and the people's
25. pushback. Greetings, Cliff. Glad to have you. Always good to have you on the show.
26. It's always good to talk to you. Thank you. Thank you so much for joining us.
27. We need to dig in to what is happening now with Black Power and Black Voters Matter,
28. and you are always a good place to start.
29. So looking at where we are right now I know that folks that are listening that have been you know that listen to the show and have been following along know that there been attacks on Black voting power Obviously
30. this is not the beginning, but what is the moment that we're in right now?
31. Yeah, I mean, I don't think there's any exaggeration to say that we are in a full-blown
32. confederacy level post-reconstruction type transition to jim crow era right that's a
33. that's a lie but that's a that's a long way of saying that they are trying to take us back
34. to pre-1965 uh when there was no voting rights act when we were in the jim crow era when
35. we didn't have representation when they can do poll taxes and all of that without having any
36. any federal intrusion or oversight or anything.
37. You know, we are headed towards that area.
38. And we said all this in a report that we released, two reports that we released a few months
39. ago that was laying out what would happen if there was a negative decision in the Cal-A
40. case.
41. That's the case that was just decided by the Supreme Court, which was asking the fundamental
42. question whether or not Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act was still constitutional. The very
43. thing that basically, the thing that gave the Voting Rights Act teeth, especially after it was
44. gutted back in 2013, you know, when they got rid of, in 2013, they got rid of preclearance, which
45. was the thing that says before any of these states do something, they got to get it cleared by the
46. Department of Justice, right? So the Supreme Court got rid of that. But they said, oh, don't worry
47. about it because you've still got section two. You've still got this other part of the Voting
48. Rights Act that lets you sue. And, you know, you could use that to make sure that you're getting
49. representation and getting districts. And so now they got rid of that. And so what we're seeing is
50. and what we predicted is all these southern states that have moved aggressively, quickly to try to
51. redistrict, to do not just doing mid-decade redistricting, which is bad enough in and of
52. itself. But in some cases, they're redoing districts, you know, even as elections are
53. taking place. Like, that's how far they're going to try to get rid of these Black districts. And
54. again, some of these states are trying to make it so that there is zero. They're not just trying to
55. get rid of the districts that they were arguing in court. They're trying to get rid of all Black
56. districts in Alabama, all Black districts in Mississippi, all Black districts in Louisiana,
57. All Black districts in South Carolina. Do you see the pattern? And so when I say that they're trying to take us to that post-reconstruction period up until 1965, that Jim Crow period, that is not an exaggeration. They are doing exactly what we predicted they were going to do.
58. I'm thinking about a phrase that I often use that I borrow from
59. Bajie's deputy director Abraham Paulos who points out that those who know freedom least
60. know freedom best and I'm thinking about that tradition of black power and how it shows up
61. in legislatures you know this other aspect that we talk in this country about freedom
62. And we talk in this country about a multicultural democracy.
63. And that really, whether we're talking about free lunch,
64. whether we're talking about public schools,
65. whether we're talking, you know,
66. there's so much of what it means to honor human rights
67. in this country that comes from the black freedom struggle that gets legislated becomes policy because black legislators from city council to the school district county board state legislature to the feds are there doing the job of representing our
68. people. Talk a little bit about that, the freedom aspect of Black voting power and Black representation.
69. You have taken the words right out my mouth. I was just talking about this the other day in
70. Mississippi at their rally as part of their response, you know, in the follow-up to the
71. All Roads Lead to the South event last Saturday in Montgomery, Mississippi had a huge rally,
72. thousands of people that were out the other day in Jackson, and I was one of the speakers,
73. and I said exactly what you just said, right, that in Mississippi where you've had, you know,
74. Fannie Lou Hamer, right, who famously, you know, on the televised committee hearings when they were
75. trying to decide whether or not black folks would be able to be seated at the Democratic
76. Convention, she asked the question, is this America, right? And in so many ways, you know,
77. the things that they fought for in Mississippi, the things that, of course, folks in Alabama fought
78. for, the things, just our entire movement, right? And you named a few of the things, right?
79. Education, you know, free lunch. Heck, Frederick Douglass demanded the right for women to vote
80. while there were still white women that were afraid to ask for it in the 1800s, right?
81. I mean, everything that you look at that has led to Black advancement, the reality is
82. it's always advanced and benefited the entire country. The 14th Amendment has benefited the
83. entire country. Some of the rights and privileges and due process of law and equal protection,
84. that hasn't just benefited Black folks, that's benefited the entire country. You can't name a
85. movement that hasn't been from workers' rights to immigration rights to women's rights.
86. You can't name people who have disabilities.
87. Every movement in this country has benefited from the voices of Black folks who have, from
88. the very beginning, been trying to make this country be and this so-called democracy be
89. what it said it was on paper, but has never actually been.
90. And every time we move that needle, it's not just us that benefits, it's everybody that benefits. I said it the other day, you can't even spell freedoms without an M and an S for Mississippi. It's embedded in the very word, right?
91. And that's true about the South writ large, that this country has no freedoms without the struggles that have been rooted in the South and rooted in our experience and rooted in our representatives who, again, have always been there at every level.
92. Federal, state, and local have been pushing the envelope of these notions of right.
93. So when we come up, everybody comes up.
94. When black folks have full access to the vote, everybody gets full access to better policies and better quality of life. That's what our history shows. That's what this current moment shows. And the last thing I'll say is this. In Louisiana, I just talked about how they, in mid-election, they suspended the election.
95. after it had already started, after ballots had already been thrown away, right? And so,
96. I mean, not thrown away, ballots have been sent back. So literally, and some of those were from
97. people serving overseas, 45,000 ballots that literally are just going to be wasted and ignored.
98. And not all of those from Black folks, right? And so again, when we fail to protect Black folks and
99. black access it doesn just it a cancer that spreads and it impacts everybody in the entire system But the reverse is also true that when we are empowered when we are given when we are able to achieve full access
100. everybody benefits in this country. We are speaking with Cliff Albright,
101. co-founder and co-director of Black Voters Matter on the mobilization against Jim Crow
102. and in support of voting rights and racial justice.
103. Before we talk further, I want to remind all of our KPFK family that we are in fun drive.
104. If you want to keep this station going, want to keep Sojourner Truth on the air
105. and on the internet, we need your support.
106. I'm joined now by Gary Bothell, KPFK Program Director.
107. Gary, what's the word?
108. You are listening to Sojourner Truth right here on KPFK 90.7 FM, Los Angeles, with Nana Jumfee.
109. You go, Nana.
110. Strong woman who is a civil rights attorney, professor, and executive director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration.
111. not to bring sharp legal insight and unwavering commitment to community power and global justice
112. we are in our fun drive this is sojourner truth last fun drive show so here's your chance to let
113. management know here's your chance to get your vote in for this program that it stays on the air
114. 818-985-5735 818-985-kpfk since its founding in the early 2000s sojourner truth radio has
115. become a vital platform for connecting grassroots movements with national and international issues.
116. Created by host Margaret Prescott, the show was born out of an urgency to center voices often
117. excluded from mainstream media. From black women leaders to frontline immigrant organizers, over
118. two decades it has covered pivotal moments, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the global women's
119. strike, Ferguson uprising, Standing Rock, and countless international human rights struggles.
120. Its legacy is one of truth-telling, radical solidarity, and bridging the local and global
121. resistance. 818-985-5735 is the number to call to pledge at any amount for Sojourner Truth,
122. the great work that Nana Jumfi is doing, as well as the foundation that Margaret Prescott
123. lay down. 818-985-5735. In the background, you hear Stevie Wonder. We have Stevie Wonder's
124. greatest hits, a two CD set. This is for a $100 donation. You get part-time lover. I just called
125. to say I love you. Make a call to KPFK and say you love us and pledge your support. Superstition,
126. Sir Duke, my Cherie Amour, I was made to love her. Overjoyed, hey love, sign sale delivered,
127. I'm yours. You are the sunshine of my life. Ribbon in the sky. Master blaster. Living for the city.
128. Uptight. Everything's all right and it's gonna be. Lately. Do I do. Send one your love. Ebony and
129. ivory. All I do. That girl. I wish. Boogie on reggae woman. Higher ground. Stay gold. These are songs
130. that are included in the Stevie Wonder two CD set. A song review. A collection of greatest hits.
131. 818-985-5735
132. you also get
133. songs from the
134. motion picture
135. soundtracks
136. Jungle Fever
137. The Outsiders
138. The Adventures of Pinocchio
139. and he does a song
140. by Bob Marley
141. called Redemption
142. song from the original motion picture soundtrack get on the bus 818-985-5735 is the number to call
143. and the pledge level for stevie wonders two cd set is a hundred dollars call now and pledge your
144. support you know you're going to call anyway right and pledge for sojourner truth and nana jumpy
145. and the content that's here but hey how about getting a cd out of it as well 818-985-5735
146. 818-985-KPFK
147. Before we go back to Sojourner Truth,
148. we also want to let you know we have Sam
149. Cook. 100 hits,
150. 100 songs, 25
151. songs on each disc.
152. That's 4 CDs. So you
153. get 100 songs. That's for a
154. $120 donation to the station.
155. Get pretty much Sam Cook's
156. entire collection. All the great songs
157. of course are there. Cupid,
158. Having a Party, Bring It On Home to Me,
159. You Send Me, 818-985-5735
160. and this helps KPFK.
161. So if you were thinking of pledging your support
162. for Nana Jumfi and Sojourner Truth,
163. go ahead and get yourself a CD out of it.
164. Pledge that $100 and support public radio,
165. support nonprofit radio,
166. listener-sponsored KPFK.
167. This is the last Fun Drive show for Sojourner Truth,
168. so now's the time to get your pledge in.
169. Now back to Sojourner Truth with Nana Jumfi.
170. Thanks so much, Gary.
171. Get those donations in, folks. We really need your support.
172. Focusing on the South and looking at the way that Black folks have mobilized in just a short period of time to get over 6,000 people to Alabama, in less than a week, to get over 6,000 people to Mississippi.
173. Talk about what our people are doing with allies to fight back.
174. Yeah, you know, it's really been incredible to see, like you said, it's really come about, you know, we didn't have a whole lot of time by we, I mean, this entire movement, national orgs, local orgs, state orgs, between, I mean, the ink wasn't even dry on the Supreme Court's ruling by the time that some of these states announced these special sessions, these Jim Crow Confederacy sessions to redo these maps.
175. And when I tell you the folks in Tennessee came together and responded quickly, the folks in Alabama, the folks in Louisiana, you know, and so basically what people have been doing has been pushing back, trying to slow down the process, using every tool that we have.
176. Some people organizing at the Capitol, some people using litigation, right? Some local actions, but also some bigger national actions like the one that we mentioned last Saturday, All Roads Lead to the South, right?
177. But at the end of the day, this work moves at the speed of trust. And what's made this fast response possible has been groups within these states that were already in relationship and already had been talking and planning for some of this. Groups at the national level that are already in relationship and were able to quickly come together and move on this.
178. Now, I'm not going to lie. You know this as well as I do. I think for all of us, even those who are most cynical, those of us who know America's history, like you said, those of us who have been without it for the long without the freedoms for the longest, we all knew what to expect from the Supreme Court.
179. But I think all of us for a minute or two had to absorb a gut punch, you know, because like any gut punch, you might know it's coming.
180. But when it comes it still hurts Right And so it took us a minute to just kind of like the rest of our folks our folks were in pain You know it one thing to know that you know you never really had full citizenship
181. But when you get that reminder, right, from a Supreme Court, or when you get that reminder because you just watched a video of a police officer on George Floyd's, you know, neck or Breonna Taylor.
182. Like when you get that reminder, you know it.
183. You've experienced it.
184. You even come to expect it.
185. but it still throws you for a loop for a minute, right?
186. And so, but folks bounced back quickly
187. and got in formation and started pushing back with these.
188. So what we're asking folks to do is to get involved,
189. to get plugged in, right?
190. To spread the word.
191. There's going to be a whole series of actions
192. the rest of this fall, the rest of this summer and fall.
193. We're calling it Freedom Summer and Freedom Fall
194. because what happened on Saturday is not the end all be all.
195. What happened in Mississippi this week
196. is not the end all be all.
197. There's going to be activations all throughout the rest of the year.
198. And some of those are going to be activations to have like an economic impact.
199. Like you got a lot of discussions about how do we make corporations pay in some of these states that where they're they're contributing to the vote suppressors like FedEx in Tennessee.
200. You got to you got to let them carve up Memphis FedEx and you're not going to say anything about it.
201. or even worse, you're donating to the very conservatives that are violating our rights,
202. there's got to be a price to pay. So you got that whole discussion taking place, right? And
203. there'll be some activations around that. There's going to be some activations clearly around
204. getting people involved in voting, right? Getting people registered and getting people
205. educated about the process and helping people to mobilize and talking about election protection and
206. all those issues. So there's going to be a whole voting aspect to these activations throughout
207. the rest of the year. And I'm going to tell you what else, there's going to be some love and joy
208. at some of these activations, right? Because we need that and we deserve that. And that's always
209. been a part of our movement. And so, you know, you'll have some stuff, especially around Juneteenth.
210. We're going to celebrate Juneteenth, but you best believe we're going to be doing some organizing
211. around Juneteenth. And again, these are the key dates. In August, when you got the anniversary
212. of the march on washington definitely going to be some activations around then so this is a big
213. coalition and it includes a lot of the black organizations and the traditional legacy
214. organizations and all that but it includes a whole bunch of other organizations at all levels and it
215. includes a lot of our ally organizations i got a shout out indivisible was a big help this past uh
216. saturday in alabama they mobilized their bases right you may not have seen thousands of
217. of activations like you saw on some of the No Kings Day.
218. But guess what?
219. Like you said, this was over seven days versus two or three months that they planned out
220. those No Kings Day, right?
221. But they stepped up in a big way in front of the scenes and behind the scenes.
222. And so this is a big coalition that we're talking about on these voting rights issues.
223. It may be black-led on a lot of these activations, but it's a very big coalition.
224. And there's something for everybody to do who's listening because this issue affects
225. everybody.
226. Everyone has a role to play. Our Baba Kwame Ture teaches us in the revolution. Everyone has a role to play. And this is a really critical piece. We were talking about Alex Preddy and others and saying, you know, people ask the question, how could it happen when white people get shot and killed by ICE, right?
227. Nicole Wood you know people want to know how did this occur Or Nicole Good excuse me people want to know how did this occur But you know you ask that question when it Breonna Taylor You ask that question when it George Floyd You know what I mean When you stop it there you don get to the point where you now have body snatchers just shooting people in the face willy nilly how they want to in Minneapolis and in other places across the country
228. And it's the same here. If we, you know, we don't wait, you know, the SAVE Act, all of these different voter ID laws that they've put in are, yes, targeting Black people, but not exclusively. Don't wait until they shut out Black folks to decide that you want to get involved because they start shutting you out too.
229. So shout out to the allies that get it. Shout out to the accomplices that get it and that are engaging.
230. How do folks, you know, where do folks go to get more information on how they plug in, how they get into all those things that you talked about in this Freedom Summer?
231. Yeah. So there's a bunch of ways. Right. You can go to all roads lead to the south.
232. All Roads Lead to the South, right?
233. That'll still get you plugged in, even though that specific event has passed.
234. It's not just about an event.
235. It's about a movement.
236. So you could go there and get plugged in.
237. You can connect with any of the organizations that have been a part of this.
238. You can connect with Black Voters Matter, right?
239. You can follow us on social media at Black Voters MTR.
240. That's on all platforms, at Black Voters MTR.
241. And follow us.
242. You get plugged in.
243. But there's a bunch of other organizations that you can follow to get plugged into.
244. You know, it could be NAACP.
245. It could be LDF.
246. It could be Color of Change.
247. You know, just a bunch of organizations that have been in this.
248. It could be Baji, right?
249. You know, it could be any of these organizations that are involved.
250. But just the main thing is, and as you referenced, you know, our ancestor Kwame Ture, we got
251. to organize, organize, organize.
252. We got to be in some type of organization because we can't do this as individuals, right?
253. That's how they pick us off one at a time.
254. We got to be organized.
255. So join an organization or at least follow.
256. Just get on the mailing list, right?
257. Follow them on social media so that you can at least be in the know, even if you're not
258. at the point of like, oh, I'm going to be a member.
259. I'm going to be a paid member and all that.
260. But get connected to somebody that's involved in this movement.
261. And guess what?
262. You'll have a role to play even in your own neighborhood.
263. because a lot of these activations are going to have satellite opportunities where you can do your
264. own thing like we got groups that do uh dinners for democracy where they just have dinners in
265. their house and they invite over five or six people right you could do that um you could do a
266. a watch party for some of these events that take place you know you can do um you could do just
267. your own little it doesn't have to be a thousand people at a rally you know if you're in a smaller
268. community or whatever, you know, just do something with 10, 20, 50 people. That's still a part of the
269. movement. So there's something for everybody to do, no matter who you are, where you are,
270. or what your talent is that you've got to give, or your resource that you've got to give. You
271. might cook food, you might do artwork, you might be a speaker, no matter what it is that you've got,
272. no matter what your gift is, and we all got a gift. Be clear about that. No matter what it is
273. that you got to give, there's a role for you to play in this movement.
274. Absolutely. Thank you so very much, Cliff. Really appreciate you sending you positive vibes,
275. sending you strength and peace I know that you are in the middle of it all So really appreciate the work that you doing Have a wonderful rest of your day Thank you sis Love you That was Cliff Albright co and co of Black Voters Matter on the mobilization
276. against the rollback to Jim Crow and in support of voting rights and racial justice.
277. We are in fun drives, folks, and every donation counts.
278. Gary, I know I've got to get the folks agitated and get them moving towards supporting this station.
279. It should not be hard because there's so much that we get from Pacifica Radio and from KPSK.
280. What do people do if they want to plug in and donate now?
281. Thank you, Nana. Here's our second break.
282. Asking you to go to your phones for Sojourner Truth.
283. This is the last Fun Drive show for Sojourner Truth.
284. So now's the time to get your pledge in.
285. 818-985-5735 is the number to call.
286. 818-985-KPFK.
287. You hear stories of love, stories of injustice.
288. You get interviews with the people on the front line right here on Sojourner Truth.
289. So we're asking you to support this.
290. There's no other radio station like KPFK around.
291. and the fact that we bring you the news, the music, the culture, it's all here.
292. 818-985-5735.
293. Did you know there's a show on tonight called East Side Story Radio
294. at 8 o'clock tonight playing the oldies?
295. That's what KPFK is all about.
296. You get shows like Democracy Now!, Tom Hartman Program,
297. Background Briefing with Ian Masters,
298. Cut to the Chase with Sylvester Rivers,
299. The Signal, Think Outside the Cage,
300. Pledge Now, and these shows stay on the air.
301. pledge today and make that pledge count. One way of doing that is getting Stevie Wonder's
302. Greatest Hits, song review, a Greatest Hits collection. You get songs like Love, Light,
303. and Flight, Redemption Song, written by Bob Marley, That Girl, All I Do, Do I Do, Lately,
304. Living for the City, Ribbon in the Sky, Master Blaster, You Are the Sunshine of My Life,
305. Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours
306. Hey love, overjoyed, I was made to love her
307. All great songs written by Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy, Henry Crosby
308. All great people
309. Of course you get I Just Called to Say I Love You
310. From the original motion picture soundtrack The Woman in Red
311. 818-985-5735
312. 818-985-KPFK
313. And with that $100 donation it goes a long way for Sojourner Truth and KPFK
314. It means that we can keep the lights on and still give you great programs in June and July until our next Fund Drive, which will be somewhere a couple of months from now.
315. Now is your time to show management and Sojourner Truth that you care, that these shows mean something to you.
316. This is the last Fund Drive show for Sojourner Truth.
317. So this is where it counts.
318. This is where you vote and say, you know what?
319. I know Nana Jumphy.
320. I've been listening to her for years.
321. I love what Margaret Prescott did to lay the foundation for Sojourner Truth.
322. 818-985-5735.
323. Let the phone room know.
324. I want to pledge.
325. I want to get that greatest hits by Stevie Wonder.
326. And we wanted to present this because this evokes love.
327. And that's what Nana Jumphy brings to KPFK is love.
328. That's why we love the program.
329. You can feel it.
330. 818-985-5735.
331. Let me say that slowly because I want you to call and get the CD, two CD set, a song review, Greatest Hits Collection, 818-915-8185.
332. 885-5735 or get Sam Cooke's 100 hits, 100 songs for $120 donation.
333. Become that sustainer.
334. Become that sustainer that says, I want to pledge $20 a month for that CD.
335. I want to pledge $50 a month for that CD.
336. All it takes is six 20s.
337. So you would be a six month sustainer to KPFK.
338. And that says, hey, I support KPFK.
339. I want this Stevie Wonder two CD set.
340. and give it to someone who will appreciate it.
341. How about your next door neighbor, your wife, your husband?
342. You know, they'll be on those long trips.
343. It'd be so good to hear Ribbon in the Sky.
344. You probably got married to that song, maybe even had your first dance with that song.
345. Then Master Blaster comes on.
346. Then Living for the City comes on.
347. Then Uptight, Everything's Alright.
348. Lately, Stevie Wonder telling you everything's alright.
349. And it is. We're going to get through this Trump administration one way or another.
350. Nothing lasts forever. He won't be there forever.
351. 818-985-5735. Sojourner Truth right here on KPFK.
352. Call now 818-985-5735.
353. Now back to the show.
354. Thanks, Gary.
355. You are listening to Sojourner Truth with your host, Nada Junkie.
356. Rukia Lumumba is a daughter of Mississippi and the director of the Electoral and Policy Department of the Movement for Black Lives.
357. She co-organized the second major activation of the All Roads Lead to the South Freedom Summer, and we were pleased to be able to speak with her the day after over 6,000 people rallied in Jackson, Mississippi.
358. Greetings, Rukia. How are you doing?
359. I am good. Good morning. How are you?
360. I am all right. I am all right. Putting one foot in front of the other in the name of liberation.
361. This is where we are. And I really want to thank you coming off of this great Mississippi Day of
362. Action, which we're going to talk about in a moment. So really thank you for speaking with me,
363. for sharing with listeners, because Mississippi is always so critical to everything Black power. So
364. really, really appreciating that you're on. I think when people are looking at this moment
365. and what's happening with this attack on voting rights, I think people are shocked.
366. It's a little jarring for people. One of the main reasons, I think, is the speed at which things are
367. moving. But the other, I think, is the fragility that people suddenly realized that we've had in
368. terms of this power to vote, the power to make decisions at the legislative level and to control
369. resources at the legislative level. But it's not new to Mississippi at all. So talk a little bit
370. about this attack on Black electoral power, specifically in Mississippi, and a couple of
371. ways it has manifested even recently? Good question. Good question. You know,
372. So Mississippi has always been a testing ground
373. for how far America chooses or could interrupt divert from what we
374. would call a true democracy. And so from, you know, the passage of the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s
375. to today with the gutting of the Voting Rights Act in 2026.
376. The South and specifically Mississippi holding a very special role
377. has maintained this presence as a place to experiment
378. with limiting Black and Indigenous power, right?
379. And I also mentioned indigenous power because we talk about like we're talking these days and it's important that we have the conversation about what's going on in Gaza, what's going on in Sudan, what's going on in the Congo.
380. We also want to remember how this country wiped out whole populations of people.
381. They no longer exist.
382. And Mississippi is one of those.
383. I think about the Natchez people and how they literally no longer exist.
384. there were a Native tribe that no longer exists. They were completely wiped out in Mississippi.
385. I bring that up because as you asked me to talk about how political power has been threatened in
386. Mississippi, Black political power in particular, I think about the first ICE raids that we saw in
387. 2019, the largest ICE raids we saw in 2019 in over 30 years across this nation was the ICE raids
388. that happened on the first day of school in Mississippi in seven counties at four different
389. factories, mostly chicken plants, where over 700 people and children were detained on the first day
390. of school. That was an attempt to test out how do we quietly come in and kidnap people?
391. How do we quietly come in and kidnap people in communities where black and brown people are building power, are maintaining political power, and are moving forward in a united way?
392. So that was our first example of that happening.
393. But it wasn't even a first.
394. It was one example.
395. Let me say that.
396. It was one example.
397. I think about 26, 2017, when they began the fight, the state of Mississippi began the fight to take our school district away from us.
398. Most places know that once you take the school district, once a state decides it's going to take a school district away from you normally, it wins.
399. well in Jackson under the our former mayoral leadership of Shokwe and Tarlamumba we were
400. able to defeat the state from taking our school district and we did that through strong coalition
401. coalition of yes municipally elected officials like our city council our state legislators our
402. board of supervisors, and then a huge mobilization of parents and students and teachers, right?
403. And we were able to prevent the state from taking our school district The question remains would we have been able to do that had we had non representation right Had we had predominantly white representation in the municipality as our elected leaders
404. Would they have been savvy enough to work together and understood the cultural implications of what shifting this school district would do to our students, to our parents?
405. Would they have felt the importance of it?
406. Jackson is an 86% city, 86% black city.
407. That means that, and not only is it 86% black city,
408. but it is also a city designated as,
409. the school district is designated as 99% free lunch,
410. free and reduced lunch.
411. Most black students in Mississippi
412. and black families in Mississippi
413. funneled through the Jackson Public School District from their grandparents to their parents
414. to current students now, right? And so there is a recognition and an importance of the schools
415. in the school district. There's an ownership of the school. You know how people in college will
416. say, oh, you know, I went to Howard or I went to Jackson State or I went to, you know, whatever
417. of school this is and they'll love that football team or you know most places like uh you know
418. where you from you have a a a a big um nfl team or you have a big nba team right basketball team
419. or football team you know some people bull fans some people pistons fans you know i'm a pistons
420. fan right but in mississippi and specifically in jackson you rep your high school right that's your
421. big that's the big school you're gonna rep you're gonna wear the colors you're gonna support it you
422. alumni all these things right and so um the representation of the place has to match the
423. people at a place because it is important to understand the intricacies of what it is to live
424. love and want to be a part of a community in a particular play space and in a particular way
425. So before we talk about the action that happened, the day of action that happened in Mississippi, talk a little bit, please, about what that pushback has looked like.
426. Like who have been the people who have been standing firm, who have been the people who have been pushing forward, particularly as you articulate, let's look in the last 10 years.
427. Over the last 10 years, it has definitely been residents, it's been community members of Black, predominantly Black community members in Mississippi have been pushing back.
428. We've been fighting a redistricting fight for several years in Mississippi, way before the Cal-A decision was decided.
429. Just last year in 2025, we actually finally won the redrawing of maps that allowed for us to see three new black, predominantly black districts created in Mississippi.
430. That resulted in three new black seats, political seats to our legislature, which helped to eliminate or eliminate our supermajority, the Republican conservative supermajority in our state legislation.
431. That was a big victory for us Just this year immediately after the Calais decision the Supreme Court went back to discuss and to issue a statement on wanting to vacate that decision in Mississippi
432. Nobody asked them to. Nobody petitioned for it. They did this on their own.
433. So we are in jeopardy now of losing those three seats.
434. you know so the people that have been fighting you have the Jackson People's Assembly
435. which is an entity that was created by the Malcolm X grassroots movement in 2006 after Katrina
436. mobilizing people to come together to have make big and small decisions around what they want to
437. in terms of government and in terms of governmental resources.
438. And so they've been a big part of that fight.
439. You have folks like Mississippi Votes,
440. which is a Black woman-led youth-based organization
441. that works across the state of Mississippi
442. to mobilize people around issues of redistricting,
443. issues of policy and legislation,
444. and issues around voting in particular.
445. They do an amazing job.
446. You have organizations like Mississippi for a Just World, which is a newer organization that came around in the past two years that has jumped into the scene and has been doing lobby watching and work and seeing where the money is going into the hands of our state legislators to see why are the bills that we're seeing being passed being passed?
447. Why are who's behind some of the redistricting efforts? And so they've been doing that work.
448. You have folks like Fair Fight Mississippi under the leadership of a Mississippi Amar.
449. You know, grew up in Meridian, Mississippi, where, you know, worked and lived in hotels.
450. Right. Most of his life. So very, very committed, you know, to this work.
451. Who's helping to lead that? You got folks like Southern Poverty Law Center, Mississippi, with Wakenya Clanton.
452. really leading the effort in that way to help push for this. And then you have, you know,
453. organizations like the Mississippi Center for Justice that has, and the ACLU of Mississippi
454. that is consistently pushing for the legal strategy that we have taken up over and over
455. again for all of these fights, whether it's been our school district, whether it's been their
456. attempt to take our water, you know, have been showing up. And then we have, you know, the brave
457. souls of our national partners like Center for Constitutional Rights, who just joined us in
458. Mississippi starting about three years ago. They've been back in Mississippi. They started in Mississippi
459. years ago and had left us for about 20 years, but they're back in Mississippi.
460. And they've been with us for three years and they have led our water fight actually through our
461. legal strategy. They have been leading our legal strategy water fight. We have a lot of thanks to
462. them. And, you know, these are some of the partners, but we make up, and then Legal Defense Fund, of
463. course, but we make up what's called the Voting Rights Act redistrict. I'm sorry, we make up the
464. VRA Rapid Response Coalition, the Mississippi VRA Rapid Response Coalition. So all of these groups,
465. we make up a coalition called the Mississippi VRA Rapid Response Coalition. And we started this
466. coalition not even a year ago. It's been about nine months ago, maybe a little bit more than
467. nine months ago, we started this coalition and what we're calling a Mississippi plan.
468. We have a plan to protect Black representation and to also expand it. Mississippi, what folks
469. don't realize is that Mississippi has more Black people than any other state, right?
470. We make up nearly 40 percent. We actually make up a little more than 40 percent of the state population.
471. And so it's important for resources. Right.
472. To actually be concentrated in the hands of the majority of our people. Right.
473. And not in the hands of a few folks. We also represent out of that 40 percent.
474. there are at least 19 counties that are predominantly Black in Mississippi. And so
475. we have to really engage in an understanding of what does it mean when lines are redrawn.
476. That is going to absolutely decrease the ability for our people to see representation
477. that actually not only looks like them,
478. because we know not all skin folk are kin folks,
479. but representation that thinks like them,
480. that cares about their needs.
481. Yep, all skin folk and kin folk.
482. We certainly want to also lift up
483. as you have the importance of Black electoral power,
484. the importance of the power over our resources and the decisions about how those resources are used.
485. And so all roads led to Mississippi this past Wednesday. Wanting to hear from you,
486. what did that day of action look like? And what would you give as like the top two highlights
487. of the day of action? Oh, that day of action was beautiful. The day of action was beautiful. Over
488. 6,000 people came out, actually it was nearly 7,000, came out in Mississippi to rally around
489. our voting rights, to prevent redistricting, to show that their voices mattered and that they
490. were serious about this. You know, folks don't understand in Mississippi, people come out and
491. vote. They vote, right? And so the fact that we are in jeopardy of losing even more of our voting
492. capacity, people are, we're upset. It's not, it's not, it's this, this is not going, we're not going
493. to be silent. So folks came out. That looks like not only folks coming out and speaking, right,
494. speaking on it, but thousands of folks came out and we marched. We marched from the old Capitol,
495. which is now the War Memorial or Confederate Museum, right? We marched from that building,
496. from the old, we marched to the new. We marched past the new Capitol and then over to our meeting
497. grounds at the convention center because it was raining. So we wanted to get people into a safe
498. space and thousands of people, we marched to the convention center, chanting, rallying,
499. calls of action. People began to come out of their office spaces, out of their apartments,
500. and join the marchers, join the marchers as we marched on.
501. Then made it over to the convention center.
502. And as folks in the convention center were rallying
503. and we have representation from all across the nation,
504. also present, Black Voters Matter, Cliff Albright
505. and Melanie Campbell came out a strong tray
506. with legal defense fund.
507. So many organizations made the journey,
508. had their leaders make the journey here
509. to be with us on this day.
510. And that meant a lot to us because we often feel left out of the conversation although we are the ground for where these experiments happen And we also are an example of constantly how Black political power wins which is why they
511. continue to attack us on a local level, right?
512. So it felt really good to have that national presence to support us.
513. It felt even greater to have so many of our local folks present there from all across
514. the state from northern Mississippi, southern Mississippi. But while we were rallying on the
515. inside of the building and shout out to Brooke Floyd with the Jackson People's Assembly and
516. People's Advocacy Institute, who riled up the crowd one last time with an amazing speech,
517. you know, just really helping us remember, telling us we need not forget, right,
518. about, you know, what all has happened and what we will not allow to happen again.
519. And so did that. And while we were rallying on the outside, there were young people and an intergenerational group of young people and old people who made a chain, who sat in at the governor's mansion and refused to leave.
520. And they ended up being detained and later released. But it was a day of just true action of civil disobedience of community coming out, letting their voices be heard. Very, very, very, very proud of what happened yesterday.
521. I mean, proud, it sounds so powerful. Where are we going from here? Because we know, you've already talked about that there have been moments before, there is clearly a moment now, and how should people be pivoting? How do people support? What should we be thinking about to make sure that we don't go back, right?
522. to make sure that we honor the work that so many have, you know, died for, so many have struggled,
523. so many have marched, so many have been beaten. You know, I think of Mama Fannie Lou Hamer. I
524. think of Baba Kwame Ture, then known as Stokely Carmichael. I think of the Medgar Evers and so
525. many others, right, that sacrificed so much in order to have that voting power, right, in order
526. for Black people to have that representation. So where do we go in the last few minutes from here?
527. Yeah. And one thing I want to just say about yesterday, we didn't just end the day with a
528. rally. We ended the day actually with a strategy session that night at one of our historic churches,
529. Mount Ham. And I say that because we understand that we're not just letting our voices be heard.
530. We're also in deep strategy and collective strategy, right? It's a fragile unity, but we're
531. unified around this issue. And it's important that we're constantly thinking about how to attack
532. the attacks, right? How to defend against these attacks and how to build, right? We're not just
533. interested in getting a voting rights that resembles the old Voting Rights Act. We want a
534. Voting Rights Act that's better, right? That pushes us forward, not pushes us further behind,
535. Right. We want a Voting Rights Act that actually allows us to have true democracy.
536. And so that's one thing is that we we are thinking bigger.
537. And one of our tasks, one of the tasks of not just us, but the task of all of our community members and all of our organizations is to realize that this is bigger.
538. Right. That we're not defending. We're not only defending the past, that our task is to build a democracy.
539. Why are the other people who led it, who bled to create it in the first place?
540. Thank you so very much Rukia Really again appreciate you Appreciate all the work that you doing Appreciate your carrying on the legacy as our dear Mama Sada Shakur talks about
541. And appreciate you making sure
542. that we have a clear sense
543. of where we need to be headed
544. and for helping to lead us there.
545. Have a wonderful, wonderful rest of your day.
546. Thank you.
547. And thank you for having me.
548. And thanks to your listening audience.
549. Appreciate you.
550. have a great day as well you are listening to sojourner truth with your host not a jumpy
551. we are almost at the end of the hour and you still have time to donate to our fun drive
552. gary how do folks get it in where they fit it in right here at the end of our hour
553. You are listening to Sojourner Truth right here on KPFK 90.7 FM.
554. We also are offering the Tom Hartman book, The Last American President by Tom Hartman.
555. This is a deep dive into the corruption of Donald Trump, who is a crook.
556. 818-985-5735.
557. If you believe he's a crook, then call now and pledge your support at 818-985-5735.
558. Tom Hartman, a four-time Project Censored Award winning New York Times bestseller.
559. 818-985-5735
560. He goes into Donald Trump's childhood
561. How he was defined by cruelty by his dad
562. 818-985-5735
563. A bully
564. He's the kid in the block that has the bicycle with the ice cream
565. While other kids just have an ice cream or just a bike
566. He thought he had everything
567. But at one point he'll probably have nothing
568. Who knows
569. No one lasts forever
570. 818-985-5735
571. 818-985-KPFK
572. That's a $100 donation for the Tom Hartman book.
573. We also have The Big Cheat.
574. This is for a $100 donation.
575. And this book is by David K. Johnson.
576. The Big Cheat, How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family.
577. A Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and dean of Trumpologists,
578. Dave K. Johnson reveals years of eye-popping financial misdeeds by Donald Trump and his family.
579. More than $1.7 billion flowed into Donald Trump's bank account.
580. During his four years as president, now he's even making more.
581. He wants his family to be the richest family in America.
582. And I think that's appalling, especially when he doesn't give anything back.
583. 818-985-5735 or get the Stevie Wonder CD, two CDs set, for a $100 donation.
584. Call the phone room, ask them about the details about these offers.
585. 818-985-5735
586. We have to fight for democracy
587. We have to make it right
588. Nothing lasts forever
589. Trump will lead one way or another
590. Even if he has to be dragged out of the Oval Office
591. We make it right
592. We're the future
593. It's all about us
594. 818-985-5735
595. Once again we're offering Stevie Wonder's
596. Greatest Hits 2 CD set
597. 818-985-5735
598. 818-985-KPFK
599. Featuring songs
600. that made him famous, overjoyed,
601. hey love, my Cherie Amour, one of my
602. favorites, Sir Duke,
603. Superstition, and just call
604. to say you love us. That's also in
605. the CD,
606. two CD set. But really folks,
607. we really need your call and pledge your
608. support for Sojourner Truth with
609. Nana Jumphy. Since its founding
610. in the early 2000s, Sojourner Truth
611. Radio has become a vital platform for
612. connecting grassroots movements
613. with national and international issues.
614. Sojourner Truth Radio
615. brings you public affairs from the front lines of the global and local struggle hosted by nana jumpy human rights attorney The show amplifies voices too often erased connecting grassroots organizing to policy history and global movements
616. Each episode offers sharp headlines, deep analysis, and cultural context
617. through the lens of racial justice, gender liberation, and international solidarity.
618. This is the last Fund Drive show for Sojourner Truth,
619. So right now is the time to get to your phones and pledge and let management know, let KPFK know that this show is important.
620. And next week you will not be able to pledge for this show, so do it now.
621. Go ahead and pledge that $100, get that Stevie Wonder CD, get that Tom Hartman book, get that book that we're also offering,
622. The Big Cheat, How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family.
623. That's for a $100 donation.
624. Call the phone room and they'll let you know. Sojourner Truth, right here on KPFK. Call now, 818-985-5735. Now, back to the show. Thank you, Nana.
625. Thanks, Gary. Looking forward to seeing those final donations roll in.
626. And that's our show.
627. I'd like to thank our guests, the Sojourner Truth team, including our dear sister, Margaret Prescott, our board operator, Ozzy Flamenco, and producer, Gary Scott, and of course you for joining us.
628. Let's get together at the same time and place next week for Sojourner Truth Radio.
629. Be well.
630. Hi, this is Michelle Coltrane.
631. Join me every Saturday at 4 a.m. for my show, Awakenings.
632. We will be taking a musical and spiritual journey
633. into the world of Alice Coltrane and beyond.
634. That's Awakenings every Saturday, 4 a.m. on KPFK, 90.7 FM Los Angeles, and online for the world at kpfk.org.
635. Let that love supreme reign over the universe.
636. Om Shanti.
637. Yo, yo, what's up? It's Emiliano.
638. And Jess the Best.
639. coming at you with the sickest, most happening show on the airwaves every Friday night.
640. That's right. It's Soul Rebel Radio.
641. Oh my goodness. I just can't contain the excitement.
642. Well, hold on there, Jess.
643. What's the deal with Soul Rebel Radio?
644. Well, let me tell you and all the beautiful people at SoCal
645. that Soul Rebel Radio is the best show on the air.
646. Always coming at you with the best mix of segments around.
647. What? Like what?
648. While there's music, health, fitness, always with new producers dropping a 411 each week.
649. That's right. Our contributors rotate from week to week, so you never hear the same theme twice.
650. Then, we've got probably the most varied show on the air.
651. It's like a box of chocolate.
652. You'll never know what you're going to get.
653. If you're on the way home from work, pumping iron at the gym, or just chilling at home,
654. Soul Rebel Radio is here to keep you company.
655. Tune in every Friday at 7 p.m.
656. That's right.