Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2025-11-11 Tuesday

Episode Date: November 11, 2025

Democracy Now! Tuesday, November 11, 2025

From New York, this is Democracy Now. On this vote, the eyes are 60, the nays are 40. The bill, as amended, is passed. The longest government shutdown in history could soon end. after seven Democratic senators and one independent joined Republicans to pass a short-term government funding bill that now goes to the House. We'll look at the growing calls for Chuck Schumer to resign as Senate minority leader over the deal. Then to Chicago, where protesters have denounced federal immigration agents for dragging a daycare teacher out of a Spanish immersion

school in front of students and parents. We'll speak to the mother. of one of the children. Diana is a wonderful mother, teacher, and friend to our community, and we are grieving her absence tonight. We are full of sadness, but we are also filled with rage. Yes. Diana was targeted, stolen on her way to care for our children by armed intruders from a private business without a warrant.

Then free Joanne Little. A new documentary looks back at the 1975 murder trial of the first woman in U.S. history to be acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault. We recorded. This song about a woman named Joan Little, I remember thinking that this could be my daughter, my sister, my mother could be any woman on the plant. We'll be judged by the last Joan is you and Joanne is me. I'm prison as the whole society. We'll speak to filmmaker Yeruba Ritchie. All that and more coming out. Welcome to Democracy Now.

Democracy Now.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. The U.S. federal government shutdown has entered its four. 42nd day. On Monday night, a group of seven Democratic senators ratified a deal with Republican senators to approve a bill to reopen the government and end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The bill notably does not include an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies the Senate Majority Leader John Thune has agreed to a separate vote on them. The measure now heads to the House, which has not been in session since mid-September. The House vote on the

spending package could come as early as Wednesday afternoon. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders called the vote a horrific mistake. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed to stand firm on the issue of health care subsidies. We're not going to support partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people. And we're going to continue the fight to extend the affordable care. tax credits. And if it doesn't happen this week, next week, this month, next month, then it's the fault of Donald Trump, House and Senate Republicans who continue to make life more expensive for the American people. Meanwhile, the Trump administration again

informed the Supreme Court that it wants to prevent a lower court ruling requiring full food benefits under SNAP. That's the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to be dispersed in November. One in eight people in the United States rely on SNAP for food assistance. This is Tony Miller at a food bank in Phoenix, Arizona. Trump is a joke. He's a joke. I work hard. But those little stamps that we get, it helps out. And he's starving to American people. I know he had lost a lot of supporters. He's a So Syria's President Ahmed al-Shara met with President Trump at the White House yesterday. It was the first visit by a Syrian president to Washington, D.C. in history.

And it comes just days after the U.S. said Al-S. was no longer a specially designated global terrorist. Al-S.urah once had a $10 million bounty on his head and was jailed by U.S. forces as an insurgent in Iraq from 2005 to 2000. He was also leader of the Islamist group Hayat Therir al-Sham, that's HTS, which was formerly al-Qaeda's official wing in Syria before breaking off in 2016. In the Oval Office, President Trump promised sanctions relief for Syria and commented on the historic nature of his meeting with Al-Shara. We want to see Syria become a country that's very successful, and I think this leader can do it. I really do.

I think this leader can do it. And people said he's at a rough pass. We all had rough pasts, but he has had a rough pass, and I think, frankly, if you didn't have a rough pass, you wouldn't have a chance. European officials, speaking to Reuters, have expressed concern that the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire is effectively stalled, and that reconstruction is increasingly unlikely. It comes as Israel continues to violate the U.S. brokered truce, killing at least 242 Palestinians, and injuring 620. since the deal came into effect, October 10th. Under the agreement, the Israeli military currently controls a little over half the Gaza Strip,

including the southern city of Raffa and parts of Gaza City. Nearly two million residents of the Gaza Strip are crammed into tent camps in the sections controlled by Hamas. This is Hamas spokesperson, Haasem, calling for the reconstruction phase to begin. clearly saying that Hamas won't be in the picture of ruling the Gaza Strip during the next day, and this has been agreed upon. There will be a social support committee from independent people, which will rule everything in the strip. Therefore, we are working on removing all the excuses put by all sides to prevent reconstruction. All the regions of Gaza deserve reconstruction equally. Hamas is ready to hand in power from now in a way that

the process of the Gaza Strip's reconstruction starts, and this is a right of the people of the Gaza's trip. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced yesterday. The U.S. military killed another six people on Sunday in two more strikes on boats in the Eastern Pacific. Since early September, the Pentagon's claimed responsibility for 19 attacks on boats. The U.S. has said, without evidence, are carrying drugs in the Pacific and the Caribbean, killing 76 people overall. The strikes come as the Pentagon's deploying its largest warship, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier to join a buildup of U.S. forces in the Caribbean this week. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal on Monday to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

The justice has turned away the appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk, who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the court's 2015 ruling in Obgerfell v. Hodges. Human rights campaign President Kelly Robinson praised the decision, saying, quote, the Supreme Court made clear today that refusing to respect the constitutional rights of others does not come without consequences, unquote. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in a case challenging misconduct. Mississippi's counting of mail and ballots received after election day. Under Mississippi's election law, ballots must be postmarked by election day and can arrive days later and still be counted.

The Republican National Committee is challenging Mississippi's law. President Trump has railed against mail and ballots and blamed them for his loss in the 2020 election. In more Supreme Court news, the private prison company Geo Group is seeking immunity from a lawsuit filed by more than 30,000 former prisoners of an ICE jail in Colorado who say they were coerced into participating in a $1 a day detainee work program. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in the case with several Supreme Court justices appearing skeptical of geo-group's position.

The for-profit prison company is claiming sovereign immunity. The protection provided to the government from lawsuits because it was operating under a government contract. The GEO Group is opening more detention centers nationwide and receive more than half. It's $2.4 billion revenue from federal contracts. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino is reportedly leaving Chicago soon after months leading President Trump's contested immigration crackdown on the city. Bovino has been embroiled and controversy for defending his agent's use of force and lying about being attacked. hacked by protesters.

CBS News reports Bovino and several of his agents could depart as early as later this week, though some customs and border protection officials are expected to stay in Chicago. In related news, federal immigration agents reportedly pepper sprayed a father and his one-year-old daughter at close range over the weekend in the parking lot of a grocery store in Cicero, a Chicago suburb. Rafael Vrazza said his family was in their car when they, They heard a helicopter and hunking. As he attempted to leave the area, a masked agent approached the car and pepper sprayed them at close range through an open window, hitting Verraza, who's a U.S. citizen and his toddler, who struggled to breathe.

The Trump administration is attempting to deport Kilmar Abrago-Garcia to the West African country of Liberia. Abrago-Garcia's case has been at the center of Trump's brutal crackdown on immigration. as officials have repeatedly threatened to deport the Maryland father to several nations where Trump has so-called third country agreements, including Uganda and Eswatini, countries Abrago Garcia has no ties to. Abrago Garcia is awaiting trial for human smuggling charges, which he and his legal teams say were fabricated by the Trump administration. To see our coverage of Abrago Garcia's case, go to Democracy Now.org. British journalist and political commentator, Sammy Hamdi, is set to be released from ICE custody, according to his lawyer. Hamdi was detained by ICE agents last month at San Francisco International Airport while he was on a speaking tour in the United States on a valid

visitor visa. His visa was later revoked without his knowledge. Hamdi is an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights. The CEO of Care, California. California, Husam Ailush, said, quote, Sammy's case shows how quickly our government officials are willing to sacrifice our First Amendment and free press when a journalist uses this platform to dare put America first before Israel, unquote. President Trump's threatened to sue BBC for a billion dollars over the public broadcaster's edit of a speech he made on January 6, 204. 2021, before a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Lawyers for Trump are demanding BBC retract the panorama documentary that featured his speech, edit, by Friday. The threats follow the abrupt resignation of two top BBC executives, which Trump celebrated, saying on truth, social, quote, these are very dishonest people, unquote. A whistleblower has told House Democrats and the Judiciary Committee that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, is seeking a commutation of her 20-year sentence from President Trump. That's according to Maxwell's email to her attorney reviewed by NBC News with a subject line commutation application, unquote. The whistleblower also reportedly detailed Maxwell's concierge-style treatment at the minimum security prison camp she was transferred to. In response, House Judiciary Committee ranking member, Congress member Jamie Raskin, wrote a letter to President Trump saying,

quote, you should not grant any form of clemency to this convicted and unrepentant sex offender. Your administration should not be providing her with room service, with puppies to play with, with federal law enforcement officials waiting on her every need or with any special treatment or institutional privilege at all, Raskin wrote. In India, a car explosion near the Red Fort in New Delhi killed at least 13 people injuring 20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to find those responsible saying his government will, quote, get to the very bottom of this conspiracy. Police in New Delhi have invoked an anti-terror law in their investigation. In Pakistan, at least 12 people were killed and several injured after a car bomb exploded in the parking lot of a busy judicial complex in Islamabad.

Government officials are investigating it as a suicide attack. Pakistan's defense minister said on ex-Pakistan's in a, quote, state of war. Witnesses of the bombing describe the chaotic scene. It was 30 to 35 minutes since we parked our vehicle and entered the gate. Then there was a loud explosion. It was a big blast. It was fire all over. Body parts were strewn.

There was chaos. Then police and security personnel came. It was a big explosion. It looked like a bomb blast. In Ecuador, at least 31 people were found dead in a prison in the city of Machala, including over two dozen prisoners who'd been hanged. This came just hours after prison guards found another. four people killed. Authorities of blame the deaths and clashes between gangs as human rights

groups sound the alarm over overcrowded and dangerous conditions inside Ecuador in prisons, causing a series of recent deadly attacks and riots. Meanwhile, relatives of those inside have repeatedly urged authorities to step up security and to detain rival gangs separately. And leaders and delegates from more than 190 countries gathered in the Amazon city of Belén, Monday for the opening of the U.N. climate summit, marking the 30th year nations are gathering to address the climate crisis. The United States, the world's biggest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, boycotted the climate talks this year. Meanwhile, the Brazilian president, Luis Anasya Lula de Silva, warned against attacks on science and the interests of denialists

and lobbyists attempting to derail climate negotiations. It's time to inflict another defeat on deniers. Without the Paris Agreement, the world would be doomed to catastrophic warming of almost 5 degrees by the end of the century. We are moving in the right direction, but at the wrong speed. To see our discussion about the Guardian Exposé on fossil fuel lobbyists getting access to UN talks and helping block climate action. action, thousands of lobbyists, go to DemocracyNow.org.

Democracy Now will be in Belen, Brazil, all of next week, covering the UN climate summit. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now. Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman in New York, joined by Democracy Now is Juan Gonzalez in Chicago. Hi, Juan. Hi, Amy, and welcome to all of our list is in view as across the country. country and around the world? The longest government shutdown in U.S. history has entered its

42nd day, but it could soon end after seven Democratic senators and one independent joined Republicans to pass a short-term government funding bill that now goes to the House. The measure was passed by a 60 to 40 vote in the Senate. The bill does not include an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which had been a key demand for Democratic lawmakers. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has agreed to a separate vote on extending the subsidies. Joining Republicans to approve the funding bill were Democrats, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Catherine Cortez-Mastow, and Jackie Rosen of Nevada, John Federman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan, and Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Dick Durbin of Illinois, as well as Maine's

independent Senator Angus King. Some Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups are now calling for Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer to resign his position as minority leader. While Schumer voted against the bill, he's facing mounting criticism. Democratic Congressman Rocana said, quote, Senator Schumer's no longer effective and should be replaced. If you can't lead the fight to stop health care premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for, Kana asked. Meanwhile, Congress member Delia Ramirez said, quote,

eight Democrats caving to empty promises is an indefensible leadership failure. For the sake of our country, Schumer needs to resign, the Chicago Congress member said. We're joined now by David Dayan, executive editor of the American prospect. Can you talk, David, about what exactly the senators who have agreed to avoiding getting rid of a filibuster, getting rid of the filibuster by getting that 60 to 40 vote. What they've agreed to and what they haven't agreed to and what happens next. Well, they didn't agree to too much. I mean, they get this promised vote on extending the ACA subsidies.

But there was actually a vote on that yesterday as an amendment. to the bill and all the Democrats voted for it and all the Republicans voted against it. And there's no reason to believe that that won't happen again during this promised vote down the road. There is three of the 12 appropriations bills that were negotiated in a bipartisan fashion. They will pass for a full year in this bill along with a continuing resolution to fund the other programs of the government through January 30th. And there is a prohibition on the administration firing federal employees. And to me, that shows that the Democrats had the ability and the knowledge to stop the power

grab by the Trump administration, but only chose to do it in this one area of reductions in force rather than extend that to the withholding of funds, the dismantling of agencies, the rescinding of funds. And so Trump is going to get a bill and sign it for appropriations to fund the government, but he still could very easily not fund whatever he so chooses under this agreement. And David, you've pointed in particular in a recent piece to Section 120. What does that call for and why is that concerning? Yeah, it's actually not concerned.

It's what I referred to before. Section 120 of the continuing resolution says that no money appropriated during this continuing resolution can be used to fire federal workers. and indeed the federal workers who were let go during the shutdown must be reinstated with full back pay. So that's an example that we have the ability as Congress to reassert itself as an institution and use the power of the purse to say, Trump, you can't continue to unilaterally, you know, put forward your prerogatives. The problem is they just didn't do it for anything else, and therefore we're making an agreement. Democrats are making an agreement with someone who has shown an ability and an eagerness not to honor that agreement.

And I think that is one of the fundamental problems with this deal. And what do you think in terms of the pressure of the Trump administration? especially around the issue of air travel every day in the headlines on national news, the emphasis on the disruptions being caused in air travel across the United States, and sometimes even more than the issue of the cuts in SNAP benefits to the neediest Americans. Yeah, I think what frustrates a lot of Democrats is that Donald Trump and the Republicans were being blamed for all of this chaos. The shutdown happened during a time of the off-year elections,

and those elections produced huge wins for pretty much all Democrats who were on the ballot. And yet days later, this group of Democrats, with the tacit support of Chuck Schumer, decide that they're going to end this and cave into this pressure. People don't really understand when in a situation where the Democrats were seem to be winning the politics of the shutdown, when Donald Trump was kind of flailing and asking for an end of the filibuster, which I think long term would have been good for the country. Why would you end this now, especially when if this is what you get after 42 days, it calls into question why you. even put the shutdown forward to begin with. I want to go to President Trump, praising the Senate deal Monday. The deal is very good.

We want a health care system where we pay the money to the people instead of the insurance companies. And I tell you, we're going to be working on that very hard over the next short period of time where the people get the money. We're talking about trillions and trillions of dollars where the people get the money. So if you could talk about that, what he means by the people getting the money. but on the issue of the extending health insurance benefits, while Thune says he's going to take that as a separate vote,

of course they can vote it down. The House Speaker Johnson has not said necessarily that he would do that. He hasn't said either way. So what do you expect what happened? If that vote were taken in the House, if, in fact, this deal gets approved by the House, what do you think would happen? And then talk about the money Trump wants to disperse.

Right. Well, the fact that Speaker Johnson hasn't committed to holding a vote whatsoever just shows you how worthless the ask of a vote in the Senate really was. And again, the Republicans already voted down a one-year extension of the health care subsidies yesterday. day. So I don't know what that really gets you. As far as what Trump wants to do, his idea is that these enhanced subsidies, which are about $35 billion annually, they're not trillions of dollars, that that money would go directly to individuals to then have to purchase health insurance. So tell me exactly how this is any different than the subsidies low.

lowering the cost of a premium. What I believe Trump wants to do is allow individuals to buy essentially junk insurance that doesn't really work. It takes us back to a time before the Affordable Care Act when your insurance was something when you tried to use it, you had to basically cross your fingers whether or not it would provide any benefit to you or not. David Dayan, if you can talk about this call for Schumer to step down as Senate minority leader. Now, he voted against the deal, but some are alleging he actually behind the

scenes was supporting those like Gene Shaheen of New Hampshire and the other senators in voting for it. And then if you could comment on Gene Shaheen, who seems to be the leader of the group of eight, seven Dems, and independent, Gene Shaheen's daughter running for the House this year in New Hampshire was opposed to the deal. Yeah. I mean, we've reported that. that minority leader Schumer was in constant contact with these eight Democrats who were negotiating an end to the shutdown. He was getting daily updates. And he was very involved, even if he ends up voting against the bill. I think it's kind of an insult to our intelligence for him to say, oh, I had no idea what was going on. I mean, only one of two things are true in that instance.

either you're misleading people and you were more involved than you say, or you just can't control your caucus of which you are the leader. And so I don't think either scenario looks very good for Chuck Schumer. And I think that's why a number of Democratic groups as well as members of the House have said that he should step down. There is actually a mechanism by senators to call a vote on Chuck Schumer's leadership. And, you know, we will see if they end up taking that step. So far, no senator has come out and said they want Schumer to go. As far as Jean Chaheen, she is retiring next year,

she is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. One of the facets of this deal is that some bipartisan appropriation bills will then pass, and she seems more interested in her parochial work product to have these appropriations bills pass into law than the signature policy that Democrats have advanced over the last 20 years, which is the Affordable Care Act. And what's your sense of a bunch of these appropriations bill being postponed now until January? what will be the battle in January? And will the Democrats be able to get any kind of concessions

from the Republicans back at that point? Yeah, we're here all over again on January 30th, and there's still nine appropriations bills that will need to be passed at that time. And now that Democrats have kind of shown their hand that they are divided caucus on this matter and that they have a number of members, members who are all too happy to just move on, I think it's going to be difficult to hold together

the caucus to get any other concessions in that time frame. So, you know, I think it will hinge on what happens as far as the Affordable Care Act subsidies. But one thing I would like to see in that final deal is some more guardrails and safeguards against Donald Trump. doing what he's done all year, which is withhold funds, rescind funds, dismantle agencies. All of this violates the principle of the power of the purse, the constitutional requirement that the legislature actually controls the funding of the government. And if Congress won't stand up for itself, then we have a fundamentally different government than we thought we did.

Last question, David Day and Adelita Grajava. the Congress member elect, who represents more than 800,000 people in the greater Tucson area, has not been seated yet, to the shock of many, even Republicans, not to mention Democrats. If the House reconvenes, though he could have done it anyway, will Johnson have to seat her? Speaker Johnson has said he will seat Adelaide to Grahalva. It doesn't change the math as far as passing this bill to reopen the government. So what that means is that there will then be 218 votes on a discharge petition to release the Epstein files. There is every indication that Grahalva will sign that and become the 218 vote.

that means it gets an automatic vote on the House floor, and I would expect that to happen rather quickly after she is sworn in. And that comes as the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin, says, in speaking to a whistleblower, Gilaen Maxwell, the Epstein co-conspirator jailed for 20 years, is seeking a commutation from Trump, and in the meantime, is getting concierge treatment at a minimum security prison that she's been moved to after meeting with Trump's former personal attorney. David Dayan, I want to thank you for being with us, Executive Editor of the American Prospect.

Coming up, we go to Chicago, where Juan is, but also where protesters are who've denounced federal immigration agents for dragging a daycare teacher out of a Spanish-Iroup. immersion school in front of the pre-k students and parents. We'll speak to a mother of one of the kids. Stay with us. I'm I'm I'm

I'm I'm I'm remember that is the most that has

passed in the life entire entire This is Democracy Now, New York. I'm Amy Goodman in New York, Juan Gonzalez is in Chicago, where protests are continuing over the Trump administration's massive immigration raids over the weekend federal immigration agents reportedly pepper sprayed a father and his one-year-old daughter

at close range in the parking lot of a grocery store in the Chicago suburb of Cicero. On Friday, police arrested 14 mothers who are protesting outside the Broadview Immigration Jail. There aren't enough people speaking up. There are people protesting here at this Broadview Ice facility every Friday, but not enough. We are in our communities being terrorized by ICE and Border Patrol. They are tear gassing neighborhoods for fun. We saw that report this week, video of them saying, have fun as they do tear gas candidates in the residential neighborhood.

They ran in this week to a daycare center and pulled a teacher out in front of toddlers who were screaming and crying. In my school, at the elementary school, we have to walk children to and from school because their immigrant parents are afraid to leave the house. Our entire community in Chicago and across the suburbs are being terrorized. by ICE and Border Patrol. We are moms. We are mad.

We are coming together to say that families should not be torn apart. Immigrants should not be targeted. The Broadview protests came days after a shocking video went viral, showing armed ICE agents in black vests, dragging a teacher out of a Spanish immersion daycare and preschool in front of the children and parents. Deanna Santiana Galliano is a beloved teacher at the Raito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center. Community members, including Democratic Congress Member Delia Ramirez, have denounced her arrest. They didn't just walk in chasing one person.

They went into multiple rooms asking and looking for teachers while children were present. This is an agency that has gone. rogue. And it's an agency that believes that as long as they can cover their face, they can get away with anything. It is why this immediate press conference was so important and why all of us are here with the parents, with teachers, with someone who I just talked to an hour ago and she said, Delia, I don't think I can go back to work tomorrow. I don't know that I'm safe. We go now to Chicago, where we're joined by Tara Godarsie, a parent of a three-year-old who attends Reito del Sol, where Diana Santiana Galliano was detained by ICE on November 5th in front of

parents and the young kids. Tara, thanks so much for being with us. You came right after this happened. Can you describe what everyone described? Of course, we see this woman being taken out the teacher at the daycare center. Explain what the kids and the parents saw. Hi, good morning, Amy. Thanks so much for having me. Yeah, I was on my way to drop off my son to school when I started getting a bunch of calls and texts about the situation at the school. My son was super excited to start his normal day at his favorite place and see all his friends. And when we arrived, it was just a shocking scene. There were crowds of parents and teachers huddled together and crying.

Kids were crying. Some were in corners, like being shielded. by their teachers, almost as if they were hiding. It was a devastating scene, and my son quickly became emotionally affected by it as well. And Tara, the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson claimed on X that individuals were attempting to barricade themselves inside the daycare center. What do you know actually happen when these agents arrived? My understanding is that the teacher was just trying to get to work to start her normal day.

She is a beloved member of our community. We want her to be there teaching our children. And she was followed in to the school. Our school has security measures in place, such as signs outside that say that it's a private establishment for authorized personnel only. We have locked inner doors that prevents people from just walking in. And so Diana was allowed in to start her normal day. She is absolutely a teacher there. My understanding is she was just trying to get to work that day.

And how have you and the other parents begun to process what happened to the children of the daycare center? Yeah. Yeah, we have really banded together as a community as part of the larger efforts of resistance that have been happening in Chicago for months now. So mirroring those efforts, we have started our own parent patrols outside of the school with whistles. You know, our whistles are kind of the only thing we have right now in Chicago to protect ourselves in our communities from these agents. We've started meal trains. We've started rideshare programs for the teachers who are maybe too scared to drive themselves to work every day or even to go to their assigned court dates for some immigration hearings. So we have safe passage escort programs for them.

We've also started legal defense funds and we're working on like master lists of readily available immigration council that can be of help to any educators. that are in need. So it's really emphasized, it's really brought an awareness and a heightened sense of community to our neighborhood and our city in an effort to heal from the trauma that we faced last week and that we have been facing for months now since the onset of Operation Midway Blitz. GoFundMe has just

exploded supporting the mom, the teacher. Also, can you talk about the mutual aid networks that are providing ride shares and groceries for neighbors who are too afraid to leave their homes now? Yeah. So, you know, everybody has a different risk tolerance in Chicago. So there's a different way to contribute and chip in for everybody. If you want to be a little bit more low profile, there are mutual aid networks everywhere. In every neighborhood, a lot of organizations are starting their owns. A lot of schools are starting their owns. their own. There are food pantries that are constantly up and running, looking for volunteers to take shifts. People pack groceries. People sign up for delivery shifts all over the city. And there's just, there's just been an explosion, like you said, of opportunities to contribute to our

immigrant communities. They are, they are deeply, deeply important to us in Chicago. And right now, we really just want to do everything we can to support them. And do you think, Tara, that the institutions, the local institutions in the city, the police, the mayor, and other elected officials are doing enough to assure the safety and the tranquility of not only of your daycare center, but of immigrants and folks throughout the city right now? Yeah, I'm, you know, I'm fully supportive of Mayor Johnson's executive order that he signed a little while ago, which prohibited ICE from utilizing public spaces for any operations. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's being adhered to. So I think we really do need to reevaluate what else can be done to protect us from these federal agents.

Unfortunately, I have been at Broadview myself. I have seen Illinois State Police acting in a violent way. towards peaceful protesters. And over the weekend, I saw Chicago police officers doing similar activities. So we are starting to get increasingly concerned about some of the state police activity that's been happening. And I do think this is an issue that needs to be addressed with both the governor and the mayor. And if you could finally, Tara, talk about how you're a little boy, three years old, who came right after, but all the other kids terrorized. and the parents, how are these kids dealing with what they saw, their teacher being dragged out?

And, I mean, she herself, this Spanish immersion teacher of preschoolers, has two kids herself. Yeah, she is a mother, and she's actually an infant teacher. So we entrust Diana with our youngest kids at this school, babies. You know, that's how much we love and support her. People send their new babies as young as four months, I believe, to be in her care every day. You know, the kids have been so confused. The kids have been saying things like, are they going to take me next? If I speak Spanish outside, am I going to get taken from my mom?

Where is my teacher? I miss Miss Diana. You know, I'm afraid. These are things that our children have said to us. My son was completely, like, he shut down emotionally after this happened. You know, kids process things differently, and he was just, like, so, so shocked by the state that his school and his safe place had transformed into. And we really need to start working on how to talk to our kids about these issues. I'm personally working on some know-your-rights materials that can be, like, transferred to little kids, so we can start having these conversations with them.

as well as showing them like age-appropriate books about how to, you know, interact with our neighbors and our community and learn about what it means to be undocumented in Chicago, just so they can all start learning, unfortunately, from an early age, what this has done to our city. I want to thank you for being with us, Targa Darcy, parent of a three-year-old who attends Raito del Sol Daycare Center, where one of the young teachers, Diana Santiana, was violently detained by ICE dragged out of the school on November 5th in front of parents and young children. Coming up, Free Joanne Little. A new documentary looks back at the 1975 murder trial of the first woman in U.S. history to be acquitted of using deadly force to resist sexual assault. Stay with us. Back in 20 seconds. was his second daughter, her father's pride and joy. Somebody's mother, brother, best friend, sister lover.

Maybe an A1 student running, hiding, taking cover. The women gather crying, tears that fill a million oceans. It doesn't matter where you're living. The women gather crying tears that fill a million oceans. People say, not in this neighborhood. It doesn't happen here. Our kids have everything. What do we have to fear?

Women gathered by Sweet Honey and the Rock, performing with Bernice Johnson Regan, in our Democracy Now, Firehouse Studio, back in 2000. 2003. Bernice Johnson Reagan is featured in our next segment. This is Democracy Now. I'm Amy Goodman with Juan Gonzalez. Before we begin with our last segment, we want to note it includes a discussion of sexual assault. 50 years ago, August 15, 1975, Joanne Little became the first woman in U.S. history to be acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defense against sexual violence. Joe Ann Little was charged with first-degree murder after she was. She stabbed a white guard named Clarence Alligood, who, she said, tried to rape her in the Beaufort County Jail in North Carolina. She faced the death penalty, if convicted. Her landmark trial inspired a national campaign for racial justice,

prisoners' rights, and a woman's right to self-defense against sexual assault. Those who defended her included Angela Davis, Rosa Parks, and its impact is felt today in the Me Too movement and calls to say her name. Now, a new documentary called Free Joanne Little will have its world premiere Wednesday and Thursday at Doc NYC Film Festival. In a minute, we'll speak with the director, Yoruba Ritchin. But first some clips. This is Karen Bothea Shields, now Karen Galloway, who was on Joanne Little's legal team. She was the first African-American woman to graduate from Duke University's School of Law.

We got a call from the medical examiner who told us we need to see the autopsy report. The autopsy report showed how his body was. He stabbed a number of times. And then we realized the most important detail. Alligate was found dead naked from the waist down. And there was semen found dripping from his penis. Obviously, he died not in the line of duty. because what kind of duty is that?

That was when I understood that what we were dealing with in Joanne's case was rape. Joanne Little's lawyer, Jerry Paul, pushed to make sure she would not be held in the jail where the attack took place. Again, this is Karen Bathia Shields, key member of Little's legal team.

Joanne was afraid and she had a right to be. At that time, in North Carolina, the sentence she could be facing for first-degree murder was the death penalty. One person was ready to get her out of the country, and she refused. She says, I want to stay here and tell my story. She wanted people to know what really happened to her. Now, if you're not telling the truth, you're not going to be saying that. So I believed her. and so did a lot of people.

As Joanne Little's case drew national attention, it was a focus of a song by Sweet Honey and the Rock. We hear from member Bernice Johnson Regan in this clip from Free Joanne Little. But first, Angela Davis. Who is this girl? And where is she to you, Joe, Joel, Joe and Lil? She's my sister, Joy and Little.

She's my mama. Bernice Reagan of Sweet Honey in LaRott wrote a song. Joanne's the woman who's born that carry a child. We recorded. This song about a woman named Joanne Little, I remember thinking that, This could be my daughter, my sister, my mother, could be any woman on the planet. That last voice was Christina Green, author of the book, Free Joanne Little,

The Politics of Race, Sexual Violence and Imprisonment. And finally, this is a clip from the film about Joanne Little's testimony in her case, featuring a dramatic reading from the trial transcript when she was questioned by her own lawyer, Jerry Paul. First, we hear from another of her lawyers, Karen Bathia Shields. She was nervous. But we had prepared her for the type of questions she was going to get. We told her just to tell her story and answer the questions correctly and truthfully.

Miss Little, on the 26th of August, did you see Clarence Alley Good? Yes, sir, I saw him. Did he say anything to you? He was talking about how nice I looked and that he wanted me to have sex with him. What did you say to him? I told him no. And I would really appreciate it if he left, and he left. Do you know about what time that was?

It was about two. What happened later? He came back again with a pack of cigarettes and a bag of sandwiches. He had a sort of, I'll say him. silly grin on his face. For more on this remarkable documentary, Free Joanne Little, which has its world premiere Wednesday and Thursday at Doc NYC, we're joined by its director, the acclaimed filmmaker Uruber Rich and founding director of the documentary program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School

of Journalism at CUNY, City University of New York. But welcome back to Democracy Now. What an amazing documentary short this is. What a lesson in history. Why did you choose to do it now? Yeah. Thank you so much, Amy. So I discovered this story when I was making my film about Rosa Parks, the rebellious life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. And Rosa was one of her advocates. She created the free Joanne Little committee in Detroit. And one of the things we did in the film, the Rosa Parks film, was look at Rosa Parks' lifelong commitment to putting a light, shining a light, and invent. investigating sexual violence against black women, starting in the 1940s with the most famously

the case of Risi Taylor. And then we connected it to her work in the 70s around the Joanne Little case. And when I discovered this story, I was amazed. It was, you know, hidden in plain sight. It was recent, relatively recent. And there was so much footage. It was really well covered, like, throughout the world. So I knew I wanted to go back to this. story. It was only a small part of my film, the Rose Park film, but I knew I wanted to go back to this story and bring it to light and show how these various movements as well, disparate movements who were, you know, sniping and not aligned on a lot of things, similar to what we see today, came together for the fight for justice. And, you know, in this unlikely, unlikely

circumstance, a black woman accused of killing a white prison guard, you know, they were able to have victory. And so I think it's such an important lesson for today. And Yeruba, could you talk a little bit more about that? What prompted this national movement to develop on a case that would otherwise not have necessarily garnered much attention out of, except where it actually happened? Yeah, I think the lawyers, Jerry Paul, Karen Bothea Shields, they recognize. that in order for justice to happen for Joanne, they had to create a movement. They had to foster a movement.

And so they reached out to Larry Little, who's also featured in the film. He was head of the Black Panthers in North Carolina. They reached out to him. He went around the country with Joanne, and they organized. It was organized. It was meeting people in where they were around the country. It was reaching out to, you know, the white feminist movement, to the black power movement, to LGBT labor, that sort of on the ground work. And we show that we have footage of him, you know, doing that work that got people motivated and invested in this case.

And the case became, you know, a really rallying cry for all these communities. and throughout the world. It was covered by a Swedish television. It was featured in newspapers in Europe, in the Middle East, in Africa. So it became an international rally and cry for justice. And I think it inspired, you know, as the song says, Joanne is you, Joanne is me. Bernice Johnson Reagan says, you know, this could be my mother, my sister, my child. People related to what happened and to the sexual abuse. of women that, you know, was so rampant and is so rampant, too, in prison and in our society. And could you talk about the trial itself, the decision of the attorneys to put Joanne Little on the stand to testify in her own defense? And also, what happened to her after her acquittal?

Yeah, so that decision was key. As you know, a lot of times defendants do not testify in their own trial and especially victims of sexual violence and especially at that time you know as we see in the film there are headlines calling her you know a whore or a murderess women who were sexually assaulted or accusing people of sexually assault were completely victimized I mean completely criminalized and made you know

and made to be that they're bringing it on to themselves or that she was seducing him. So to tell her own story, to choose to tell her own story on the, in court was a radical act. And it was, it moved the jury to tears. They, they saw her, you know, looked at the facts, felt her testimony, you know, listened to her testimony, and they acquitted her within a couple hours.

And it was a mixed race jury. And then afterwards, she, Joanne did. did have to serve the remainder of her time that she was in for the initial charges. So she did serve her time. And then she went on to live a life of, you know, she hasn't spoken about the case for 30 years. She had some other run-ins with the law, but she is, my understanding, she's raising her family, it's till this day. And she has not spoken about the case.

And as Karen Bathia Shield says, she does not want to be re-traumatized by this, the worst moment of her life. But she, her legacy and the importance of the trial still resonates today. What's amazing is she escaped after she killed him. And then they said that he was killed in the line of duty. She faced first degree murder. But then there was a problem when they had to reveal that they found him naked from the waist down, only wearing socks. But when the lawyers, and Cunsellor was involved with us too, right, William Cuncelor, um, decided to bring her back in.

They didn't bring her to that jail, scared that she, there was a death bounty on her head. And so they brought her to the State Bureau of Investigation. Um, I have to go back and look at the, they didn't bring her to that jail. Exactly. Because she was, that's right. Of course. They were scared she'd be killed. Absolutely.

Well, this is an amazing story. In the last 20 seconds, what lesson do you think it has for today? Well, I think it's an inspiring lesson that when groups and marginalized communities and people who are fighting for justice come together, they can win in unlikely circumstances and in unlikely times that victory can be achieved. and also that the scourge of violence and abuse in jails and in prisons is still something that we are reckoning with and that we are dealing with today. Well, it's such an important film. Yeruba Richen is the acclaimed filmmaker and director of Frie Joanne Little, which is having its world premiere this Wednesday and Thursday at the Doc NYC Film Festival here in New York. Happy birthday to Ale Tutsch. I'll be speaking in Amsterdam at the International Film Festival there on Saturday. Check our website at DemocracyNow.org.

I'm Amy Goodman with Juan Gonzalez for another edition of Democracy Now.