The Response: Mutual Aid with Joshua Potash
Joshua Potash is an anti-capitalist abolitionist based in New York City. Joshua co-founded Washington Square Park Mutual Aid, which provides free food, clothing, and various supplies once a week in the New York City park. They also co-host events like film screenings, skillshares, and various trainings. The group was founded in response to NYPD violence with the aim of creating a counter-narrative and being a community hub for folks...
MOVE Demands Justice for Children and The Return of Stolen Remains
Making Contact · MOVE Demands Justice for Children and The Return of Stolen Remains On this episode of Making Contact, MOVE members and supporters of the Black radical liberation group demand that the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University return the remains of two children killed in the 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia. Both Universities claim to not know where the remains of the two children, Tree Africa, age...
President Biden and America’s Expectation
Making Contact · President Biden and America’s Expectation Today, a divided nation experiences one of the most tumultuous presidential transitions in US history. Leaders from marginalized communities across the nation are watching, with cautious optimism, as Biden and Harris seek to tackle several serious crises amid a raging pandemic. Thank you to freelance journalist Maritza L. Félix for reporting from Arizona. Like...
The Fallen of 2020
Making Contact · The Fallen of 2020 2020 was a tumultuous year rocked by two twin plagues: police violence which led to the George Floyd protests and continued discussions about police brutality and of course the novel disease COVID-19. Normally here at Making Contact, we look back on movement leaders we’ve lost over the year in order to pay them tribute and honor their lifetime of work. But this year, we’re commemorating...
#SayHerName: Black Women, Police Violence, and Abolition
Making Contact · #SayHerName: Black Women, Police Violence, and Abolition It’s been six years since #SayHerName, the movement to draw greater awareness and action around Black female victims of police and state violence, was created by the African American Policy Forum. Today, the deaths of Black women and girls at the hands of law enforcement still don’t generate the same vocal concern and outrage as that of Black...
The Bombing of MOVE, 35 Years Later
The Bombing of MOVE, 35 Years Later Our radio adaptation of the film, Let the Fire Burn explores the controversial, 1985 clash between police in Philadelphia and MOVE, a radical, non-violent, back-to-nature group. After a standoff with the group MOVE, Philadelphia Police dropped a bomb on the roof of MOVE’s home, killing 11 people including five children, and destroying approximately 61 homes. Thirty-five years later,...
50 Years Later: Remembering Fred Hampton
Remembering Fred Hampton Our radio adaptation of the film, The Murder of Fred Hampton, produced by filmmakers Mike Gray and Howard Alk, provides a glimpse into the life of Hampton and the Illinois Black Panther Party. On December 4th, 1969, exactly 50 years ago, Black Panthers Fred Hampton, age 21, and Mark Clark, age 22, were shot to death by Chicago police. In an infamous moment in Chicago’s...
The Murder of Fred Hampton
Dec 4th is the 47th anniversary of Fred Hampton’s murder. We are presenting this program to provide historical context amidst current media dis-information and government surveillance of groups organizing for Black Lives and Liberation. Trump’s legitimization of white supremacist ideas and actions makes Fred Hampton’s words from 1969 apt today. The Murder of Fred Hampton began as a film portrait of Hampton and the...
Call for Pitches: April 14, 2016
We’re looking for pitches from freelancers on several themes. See list below. If you feel you have a story that fits or you have a new idea, please let us know! We’re also always interested in pitches on any of our ongoing beats: prisons, poverty, corporations’ undue influence, reproductive health, climate change and the environment. We’re still looking for reporters who are themselves immigrants for our Immigrants...
