Jailed in TX Suffer from Heat-related Illnesses; Justice for Shireen; UC Union Busting

On Pacifica's Capitalism, Race & Democracy
Incarcerated People in Texas Suffer from Heat-related Illnesses; Justice for Shireen; Unions call out UC and Netflix; Florida to Teach that African Americans Benefited from Enslavement

The University of California has invested four billion dollars in the Blackstone Group, which has over one trillion dollars in assets. One of the properties that it bought with UC money is the Laguna Cliff Marriott Hotel, where hotel workers are now striking. At the July 19 UC Regents meeting in San Francisco, union co-president Ada Braceno charged that the hotel is using young Black workers as scabs and refusing to hire them as regular staff.

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One of the biggest obstacles to a contract for SAG AFTRA and the Writers Guild is Netflix, which is controlled by Reed Hastings. Hastings is also a big supporter of privatizing public schools. Striking workers rallied at the Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, California, on July 19th.

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Legal developments for death row prisoners in Texas include executions scheduled, new mail procedures, a protest against the cruel treatment of incarcerated people during the deadly Texas heatwave, and the upcoming Prison Board meeting in Galveston. Gloria Rubac of the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement and KPFT-Houston’s Prison Show reports.

On June 27, the State of Texas approved water price increases for incarcerated people. According to a Newsbreak report, the state raised the price from $4.80 per case—that’s 24 bottles—to $7.20 per case.

This segment was produced by Akua Holt.

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The Israeli Police assassination of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was the focus of a recent forum on LaborFest.net. Shireen’s niece Lina Abu Akleh spoke. She was joined by Palestinian journalist Said Arikat, Washington bureau chief for the Palestinian, Jerusalem-based newspaper Al-Quds.

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On Friday, NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson joined Vice President Kamala Harris in Jacksonville, Florida, to discuss the Florida Board of Education’s new standards for teaching about slavery in the U.S. Johnson later issued a statement that the new standards convey a sanitized and dishonest account, “suggesting that enslaved people developed skills that could be applied for their personal benefit.” Johnson also said, “these hate-inspired policies are a cancer that, if not stopped, will spread throughout this nation, destroying hard-won victories and setting us back decades, if not centuries.”

Professor Michael Eric Dyson responded to Florida’s new standard for teaching the US history of slavery on MSNBC.

For more, see. “New Florida Standards Teach Students that Some Black People Benefited from Slavery because it Taught Useful Skills.

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The DeSantis administration in Florida wants to turn a small public university in Sarasota into a model conservative campus. Sophia Brown of WSLR- Sarasota Florida, has this report.

And that concludes today’s edition of Capitalism, Race & Democracy. We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by the Capitalism, Race, & Democracy collective and hosted by Steve Zeltzer.

Thanks for listening!

Music:

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong Summertime

We Will Not Go Down (Song for Gaza Palestine) by Michael Heart

Texas Prison Worksongs

Freddie Hubbard, Backlash from the LP Backlash, 1967