African American issues

Documentarian Bob Mugge's new film "Black Wax" is a performance documentary with poet and activist Gil Scott-Heron. The film documents performances by Scott-Heron, including some with wax figures. Mugge's previous film "Amateur Night at City Hall," was a documentary about Frank Rizzo. The film includes Scott-Heron performing a portion of his poem/song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

Stanley Crouch is a jazz critic and Village Voice columnist who regularly writes about jazz, theater, and black issues and politics. Crouch is also a drummer who has recorded with several jazz bands. He is in Philadelphia to speak at a jazz forum and concert.

Eldridge Cleaver was active in the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and early 1970s. He fled the country after his involvement in a shootout with Oakland Police and returned in 1975. Cleaver served 9 months in jail before being released, and he finishes his last day of parole today. He joins the show to discuss what has happened since his return, including his political involvement (which has become more conservative) and return to Christianity.

Poet, playwright, and novelist Ntozake Shange is best known for her choreo-poem "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf," which has been adapted for public television. Her first novel, "Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo" has just been published. It follows three sisters whose weaver mother named them after vivid dyes. The novel mixes poems, spells, potions, and recipes, and explores the territories and choices of modern Black women.

Gregory uses his celebrity platform to raise awareness for a number of different issues, including alcoholism, the policies of the Reagan administration, and the the state of the black community today. He is currently on a hunger strike in solidarity with women in support of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Black activist Bobby Seale talks about the history of the Black Panther Party. In light of misrepresentations of the group in the media and by politicians, Seale clarifies their anti-racist positions and the reasons behind their actions and militant image. He also discusses his trial as part of the Chicago Eight. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.

Activist Falaka Fatah is the co-founder of Umoja House, an organization that currently runs 21 house on North Fraser Street in Northwest Philadelphia serving gang members and street kids. The program began when Fattah and her husband, David, invited a gang to live with them after discovering their son, Robin, had joined. The Fattahs work with gangs led to a city wide meeting and truce among Philadelphia gangs. Their new project is "Boys Town," which will serve ex-offenders. Fattah joins the show to discuss strategies for reaching youth in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Historian Philip Foner joins the show again to discuss Black history in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Foner is the foremost historian on the labor movement in the U. S. He is the author of over eighty works, including a four volume history of the American labor movement, "Organized Labor and the Black Worker," and "Women and the American Labor Movement," the second volume of which was recently published. He is currently a visiting professor at Rutgers University.

Anthony Jackson is a lawyer who wrote the chapter on the criminal justice system for the Urban League's report "State of Black Philadelphia." For three years, Jackson was the Director of the Police Project at the Public Interest Law Center. He joins the show to discuss race relations and justice in Philadelphia and the entire country.

Bobby Seale was one of the co-founders of the Black Panther Party, who was part of the "Chicago Eight," where he was eventually severed from the group's trial. Seale currently works in Washington D.C. where he has started an advocacy group, Advocates Scene, and also offers a self-help program. Seale discusses his past work and how he sees the future of African Americans.