We spoke with Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, about the massive police corruption trial underway in Baltimore and why the national media’s not talking about it. Full interview here.
Democracy Now! is an independent, daily global news hour anchored by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. We air live weekdays 8-9AM ET and rebroadcast throughout the day on nearly 1,400 TV & radio stations in 43 countries. Here we post excerpts from our interviews and key moments from our daily show.
Interview with Shaun King: For Erica Garner, Justice Delayed Was Justice Denied
Shaun King spoke with Democracy Now! about his friend, 27-year-old activist Erica Garner, who died Saturday:
“A lot of people failed Erica and failed the Garner family. And I’m a rather new New Yorker. When I moved to New York, there was this view that I had of the city that it was a progressive haven. And I think that irritated Erica that people saw this city as incredibly progressive, and yet she couldn’t get the most basic form of justice for her family.
And so, they never fired Officer Daniel Pantaleo, which, you know, I even confronted the chief of police myself about this. And they talk about rules and regulations that make it difficult. But here we are, over three years later, and he clearly violated NYPD policy. They didn’t fire him. The city, including the mayor, fought the family, over and over and over again, for the release of his disciplinary records, which was just ridiculous. I think that Mayor de Blasio will look back on this with deep regret. It was a missed opportunity to do right by a family. And now, I really don’t even think it’s something he can make right. Erica was the most fierce defender of her father. And I don’t think there’s really a way that the mayor could fix this at this point.
And so, even the Obama administration and the Justice Department really seemed to make a commitment to Erica—even Donald Trump made a commitment to the Garner family—that they would do something about this. And people continued to just kick the can or, you know, just continued to put it off. And here we are now with Erica’s loss. And it just shows justice delayed is justice denied, in so many ways. And I’m pissed, and Erica was furious. And I think I’m angrier now than I’ve ever been to see a family denied justice like this.”
Erica Garner, Anti-Police Brutality Activist, In Coma & Declared Brain-Dead After Heart Attack
Erica Garner, a nationally recognized anti-police brutality activist, is in a coma after suffering a heart attack, and doctors have now declared her brain-dead with no chance of recovery. She is just 27 years old. Erica helped lead the struggle for justice for her father, Eric Garner, who was killed when police officers in Staten Island wrestled him to the ground, pinned him down and applied a fatal chokehold in 2014. His final words were “I can’t breathe,” which he repeated 11 times. Erica’s mother says her daughter was hospitalized on Saturday after an asthma-induced heart attack.
Erica in her own words on Democracy Now! last year:
I’ve protested. I’ve spoke on panels. I traveled across this nation. I exhaust all avenues. I even endorsed Bernie Sanders to get my message out. And it’s like we keep having a conversation I exhausted for two years. And, you know, how much talking do we need to have? The Black Lives Matter movement been very compassionate, patient, and basically begging the nation. You know, we are under attack as black people. We are being gunned down every day. And these officers are not being held accountable.
Playing the national anthem and having the teams line up before games, it has a long and hallowed history that goes back to the days of Jersey Shore and Justin Bieber. I mean, we’re talking 2009. I mean, Fast & Furious 4 came out in 2009. That’s how long players have lined up for the anthem. And, yes, it comes out of a partnership between the Department of Defense and the National Football League.
Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation magazine, speaking with Democracy Now! Monday. Find the full interview and transcript here.
You take the middle school teams that are taking a knee, and there’s not even a lot of fans in the stadium, but they’re taking that knee. And you see high school people doing it, and you see college people doing it. Then you see guys in the NFL doing it. And it’s like, man, that started a fire. And the greatest thing was that the young kids were aware, starting to be awoke about things that are going on, and more aware. And I thought that was the coolest part about all of it. It was that the young people—the seed that [Colin Kaepernick] planted with the young people, it started growing, and it caught—started growing like fire and just started growing like weeds everywhere. And it was special.
Seattle Seahawks star Michael Bennett speaking in February on NFL player Colin Kaepernick “taking the knee” in protest against racism and police brutality. Read the full interview here.
In Bakersfield, California, more than 100 residents and family members gathered for a candlelight vigil Tuesday night for Francisco Serna, a 73-year-old man who was shot seven times by police just after midnight on Monday as he was taking a walk in his neighborhood. Read more ⟶
I think when people think of NFL athletes, they forget that they are citizens of this country, that they are bothered by the problems that we all face. And so, Colin [Kaepernick] is enormously courageous. And he’s sparked a movement.
Black Lives Matter activist and New York Daily News senior justice writer Shaun King on NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest against racial oppression and police brutality by kneeling during the pre-game national anthem. Read the full interview: Shaun King on Colin Kaepernick: He is Enormously Courageous and Has Sparked a Movement Among Athletes.
[In] Rio, which is one of the most dangerous cities in the Western world, one out of five homicides are committed by police. Relative to a year ago, police killings are up 135 percent.
Dave Zirin, sports writer for The Nation, has covered Brazil’s political and economic crisis amid preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Read the full interview: Brazil’s Dance with the Devil: 2016 Rio Olympics Begin with Government Dysfunction & Police Violence
I won’t be surprised if not one officer is convicted of one count, because it’s not illegal to kill black people in America. And that’s what we’re trying to change, and that’s what people are advocating and fighting for.
Baltimore activist Kwame Rose on the acquittal of a Lt. Brian Rice, a third police officer just acquitted in the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Watch the full interview: Third Officer Acquitted in Freddie Gray Death, But Activists Convicted for Protesting Killing
There will never, ever be peace without justice. There will never be calmness without accountability. There will never be order without fairness. So when I hear the authorities call for peace and call for calmness and call for order, I say, yes, but it’s not the absence of tension… I don’t want the police killing on behalf of me. I want the police to be treated with respect and fairly, and I want black youth and brown youth, black men and black women to be treated fairly.
Dr. Cornel West, a professor at Union Theological Seminary. See the rest of the interview: Cornel West: Justice and Accountability are Necessary to End Tension over Killings by Police