POLITICAL PRISONERS AND MASS INCARCERATION: A STRUGGLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN AMER

In an Op-Ed post written in the Internet publication TruthOut, Chris Hedges wrote, “If, as Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote, “the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons” then we are a nation of barbarians. Our vast network of federal and state prisons, with some 2.3 million inmates, rivals the gulags of totalitarian states. Once you disappear behind prison walls you become prey. Rape. Torture. Beatings. Prolonged isolation. Sensory deprivation. Racial profiling. Chain gangs. Forced labor. Rancid food. Children imprisoned as adults. Prisoners forced to take medications to induce lethargy. Inadequate heating and ventilation. Poor health care. Draconian sentences for nonviolent crimes. Endemic violence.”

Our guest on this week’s Black Reality Think Tank is Dr. Musa Dan-Fodio, JD, PhD.  Dr. Dan-Fodio is the Managing Attorney of The Dan-Fodio Law Group, P.C., in Atlanta, Georgia, where he serves as the firm’s chief litigator in human rights, public interest, civil and criminal matters.

Dr. Dan-Fodio is representing several high-profile cases involving African Americans who are incarcerated and being denied basic rights because of their political affiliations.   Our discussion will focus on legal efforts being employed to bring justice and human rights to those unable to fight for themselves.  The goal and objective of the Black Reality Think Tank is to understand the past, dissect the present and support implementing a meaningful future.