Green Time TV July, 2015: Growing Against Racism
Do organic farms have a part in growing a world without racist intimidation? Would developing our own non-violent life styles mean that we should not call for the arrest of police who kill young black people? July Green Time episodes explore the complex interaction between these issues.
EarthDance was a multi-ethnic urban farm in Ferguson for several years before that city became infamous for the police killing of Michael Brown. Its participants share the common ground of growing food together. During the first July Green Time, EarthDance Founding Director Molly Rockamann tells of its origins, growth, and development of educational programs. EarthDance alumnus James Young describes the stigma that African Americans can feel from growing food and working outside. He explains his history as a black educator and experience of overseeing the YEAH (Youth Exploring Agriculture & Health) program at EarthDance.
The second July Green Time looks at police killings of young black people in St. Louis, beginning with the shooting of Marilyn Banks who was sitting on her front porch in 1983. Jamala Rogers, of Organization for Black Struggle, and Zaki Baruti, of the Universal African Peoples Organization, discuss how leaving Brown’s body on the ground for over four hours and confronting demonstrators with dogs and tanks was reminiscent of lynchings. They look at cases around the country, including the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo in New York, 2009 killing of Oscar Grant in Oakland, 2012 killing of Rekia Boyd in Chicago and 2015 killing of Walter Scott in South Carolina.
The third July Green Time episode asks how police treat black and white drivers differently. Are black drivers more likely to have their cars searched for drugs? LeShea Agnew, an NPR Affiliate Reporter, describes her experience of being stopped by Belleville IL police with her attorney, J. Justin Meehan, and John Payne of Show-Me Cannabis. They explore how her victimization is repeated with other black and brown drivers throughout the US. Ms. Agnew discusses how she and her car were searched without permission, discriminatory treatment in the Belleville jail, and lost job opportunities resulting from her arrest.
The final July Green Time asks how racial bias in drug law enforcement has affected distrust of the police in communities such as Ferguson. Host Don Fitz and guests Kenny Murdock, of the Murdock Report and John Payne, of Show-Me Cannabis, discuss the role of the drug war in militarization of the police. What was the role of racism in the sudden criminalization of cannabis in the 1930s? Why does the government continue to arrest so many for marijuana when more people than ever support its decriminalization?
July shows include the movies “Rooted in Ferguson,” “Students from Ferguson’s McCluer South-Berkeley High Marching Up South Florissant,” “Ferguson Protest/Press Conference at US Courthouse,” “NORML Women's Alliance: 3 Year Anniversary,” “Together We Will Win,” “End Prohibition Freestyle: Will Brennan,” and “Should Marijuana Be Legalized?”
Green Time appears at noon on Saturdays in St. Louis on Channel 24-1 and at 8 pm on Mondays in St. Louis on Channel 24-2, Springfield on Channel 39, Joplin on Channel 36 and Marshfield on Channel 17. Green Time programs air on these dates:
·July 4 & 6: “Rooted in Ferguson”
·July 11 & 13: “Black Lives Lost”
·July 18 & 20: “Green Handcuffs”
·July 25 & 27: “Racism in Drug Law Enforcement.”
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