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In the last few years many argue that we are witnessing the sunset of racism in America with the rise of people of color into positions of power in government, and the current Senator Obama, an African American man running for president with a major party. Yet, we also have incidents like the Jena 6, the on-going incarceration of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal, Sean Bell’s murder, and brutal immigration raids in Latino communities. Systemically there continues to be discrimination in public housing, health, and education, racial profiling and a racist justice system. Today we spend the hour hearing the inspiring voices of Americans struggling against racism. We’ll hear excerpts from an incredible new documentary about the Jena 6 in Louisiana and the greatest new civil rights struggle it inspired. We’ll also hear the incisive voice of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal, filing his commentaries about the state of the nation and world from death row.

But first, a new speech by one of the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the United States, Tim Wise. Michael Eric Dyson calls Tim Wise “One of the brilliant, articulate, and courageous critics of white privilege in the nation.” Wise has spoken in 48 states and on more than 400 college campuses including Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Columbia. He is the author of “White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son,” and “Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White.” Tim Wise is also one of our most popular guests on Pacifica although it’s been a while since we heard him on these airwaves.

Best of Mumia Abu Jamal

One of Tim Wise’s favorite opening lines is “People of color have forgotten more about racism since last night than I will ever know in my whole life.” One of those people is award winning journalist and political prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal, an incisive and brilliant commentator on issues of race, domestic and foreign policy, and more.

Today we’ll play you one of his commentaries which you hear regularly on KPFK and Uprising. Tihs one, filed on April 3rd of this year is called “What post-racial America?”

The Jena 6: a new documentary

Lawyers for the five remaining defendants facing trial in the racially divisive Jena 6 incident in Louisiana presented evidence Friday of what they said was bias on the part of the judge presiding over the cases and sought his removal. The Jena 6 case, as it came to be known, became one of the most important cases of racial injustice in recent years, and sparked one of the most most inspiring civil rights struggles. One of the 6 young men charged with aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy, Mychal Bell, served more than 9 months in jail and was released last September.

To understand the story of the Jena 6, how it all started, the racial and economic context, what it says about this country, and what came out of it, we feature today, for the rest of the hour, a new documentary put out by Big Noise Films, called simply The Jena 6.