Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary andanalysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Margaret Kimberley, along with my co-hostGlen Ford. Coming up: The nation’s best known political prisoner will celebrate his 67 thbirthday later this month, if Mumia Abu Jamal survives his latest health crisis. And, mostpeople think of maroons as enslaved people that escaped to hideouts in the mountains.However, history shows that maroons often found freedom at sea.

But first – George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police set off the largestprotests in US history. The trial of the cop charged in Floyd’s murder was still inprogress when police in a nearby town killed another unarmed Black man. InWashington, Sputnik Radio host Garland Nixon spoke with Dr. Gerald Horne, the prolificwriter and professor of African American Studies and History at the University ofHouston. Dr. Horne says Blacks have always been in conflict with the U.S. State and itspolice.

That was Dr. Gerald Horne, speaking on Sputnik Radio, in Washington.

Justin Dunnavant is a post-doctoral student with a deep interest in Maroons, theenslaved people that escaped captivity and established relatively free settlements in theAmericas. Dunnavant has researched enslaved and maroon communities in theCaribbean, Central America and Africa. He’s written an article titled, “Have Confidencein the Sea: Maritime Maroons and Fugitive Geographies.” Dunnavant says people thatescaped from slavery lived in lots of places besides up in the mountains, thanks to theirseagoing skills.

That was Justin Dunnavant, an expert of seagoing maroon communities.

Supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, expectedthat he would undergo heart surgery for blocked arteries last week. But thePennsylvania prison system won’t even tell Mumia’s family what medical plans theyhave for responding to Abu Jamal’s health crisis. A number of his supporters gatheredfor a press conference last Thursday, in Philadelphia, hosted by educator Marc LamontHill. First up, was Mumia’s grandson, Jamal, who said the people’s movement – notsupposedly progressive district attorney Larry Krassner – would ultimately free Mumia.