Eddie Conway, a fearless fighter for working people everywhere, died on February 13th. Eddie was a Black Panther who was unjustly imprisoned for 44 years. In his honor we republish a series of biographical interviews hosted by Paul Jay, first released in 2015.
Murders take place in Baltimore at a rate that compares with New York, thirteen times the size; Eddie Conway says deep poverty, unemployment, and brutal policing are contributing factors to the murder epidemic – on Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay.
We continue our Reality Asserts Itself series with TRNN Executive Producer Eddie Conway, who spent 44 years as a political prisoner and is now in the leadership of TRNN.
This interview was originally released on August 21, 2017. On Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay, Troy LaRaviere says that the “parasitical wealthy” should be fought for control of the Democratic Party.
On Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay, the president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, Troy LaRaviere, says there’s no evidence that giving corporations tax breaks or putting schools in competition with each other makes for better education; in fact, the evidence says the opposite.
This interview was originally published on August 15, 2017. On Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay, Troy LaRaviere says growing up in poverty prepared him for a fight to defend public education in Chicago, even when it threatened his own job as a school principal.
This interview was originally published on August 10, 2017. On Reality Asserts Itself, Paul Jay talks to the president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, Troy LaRaviere, about his new report that found systemic racial discrimination in the way Chicago Public Schools receive special education funding.
This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced on July 7, 2015. On Reality Asserts Itself, Chris Hedges and Paul Jay discuss Ferguson, Baltimore and the need to build a movement with candidates that targets white supremacy and corporate capitalism.
Mr. Conway says that after 44 years in prison, he found the conditions in Baltimore worse than when he went in. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself produced on November 28, 2014.
Mr. Conway says police are asked by society to control the poor as if they are fighting a war, so anything goes. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself produced on November 26, 2014.
Mr. Conway says after 44 years in prison, he considered people to be of value and to be respected and refused to be dehumanized himself. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself produced on September 16, 2014.
Mr. Conway says prisoners were treated like animals; and because he resisted and organized, he was in lockup twenty-three and a half hours a day for six years. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself produced on September 25, 2014.
Mr. Conway tells the story of his arrest and trial and being “represented” by a lawyer who spent 45 minutes with him before going to trial. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself produced on September 24, 2014.
Mr. Conway says, by targeting the Panthers, the FBI and other state and local agencies were functioning as national secret police. That was COINTELPRO; it carries on under The Patriot Act. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself produced on September 16, 2014.
Mr. Conway says the Panthers were also a threat because they recognized the humanity of and worked with all ethnic groups. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself produced on September 14, 2014.
Mr. Conway describes the campaign by police agencies to destroy the Black Panthers, and how he joined the Baltimore chapter which he later found out was founded by an agent of the NSA. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself produced on September 10, 2014.
Mr. Shallal says at the local level is where you can make a change. It’s very hard to expect change on the national level. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced March 28, 2014.
On Reality Asserts Itself, Mr. Shallal says we went from No Child Left Behind under the Bush era to no kid left untested, then to no teacher left unstressed, and our schools are still doing very poorly. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced March 27, 2014.
On Reality Asserts Itself, Mr. Shallal tells Paul Jay how speaking out against war led to his passion about schools. This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced March 26, 2014.
This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced on January 14, 2014. Marisela Gomez tells Paul Jay that redevelopment in Baltimore must start with revitalizing the community, not to gentrify and raise real-estate values, but for the benefit of people who historically lived there.
This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced on January 9, 2014. Hopkins trained doctor Marisela Gomez tells Paul Jay that Johns Hopkins expansion plans are changing the class and racial character of the surrounding community.
This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced on January 9, 2014. On Reality Asserts Itself, Marisela Gomez tells Paul Jay that Johns Hopkin’s “broken windows” policy and Baltimore’s use of eminent domain law helped destroy a once vibrant community.
This is an episode of Reality Asserts Itself, produced on January 8, 2014. On Reality Asserts Itself with Paul Jay, Marisela Gomez, a doctor, and community activist, says one can’t arrive in the Hopkins community and not see the huge disparity between this institution and surrounding it, a community that’s been completely disinvested and abandoned.