alice walker

This documentary is a touching portrait and inspiring homage to Tillie Lerner Olsen, an absolutely unique human being who believed in the goodness of human nature and the importance of justice for everyone. Renegade, revolutionary, distinguished writer, feminist, mother, humanist, labor organizer and social activist, Olsen countered the very core of American writing by immortalizing the lives of working-class women and single mothers. Includes extended interviews with Olsen during the last years of her life interspersed with footage from her readings, lectures, book signings and archive materials. Of special interest are comments from feminists Gloria Steinem, Susan Griffin, and Alice Walker.

"Community organizer" was Sarah Palin's favorite slur on the campaign trail, but grassroots organizers have been fighting for the rights of marginalized people, often without recognition, for longer than Palin has been around. Marleine Bastien has been an organizer in the Haitian-American community in Miami for 30 years, and is now running for Congress. She joins guest host Esther Armah via Skype to talk about shifting from organizing to campaigning, and what can be accomplished in elected office that can't be accomplished on the streets. "The fastest way to stop a bullet is to give someone a job, and what better job to give them than the one that transforms where they live?" That's the question for Buffalo, New York, as People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) leads the community's struggle for better, greener jobs for everyone--and to improve the food supply and surroundings for the community as well. Less than four months ago, Israeli commandoes boarded the boats in the Freedom Flotilla headed for Gaza and killed nine peace activists. Investigations are underway into just what happened the night of May 31st, but just a few months after the attacks, a new anthology collects eyewitness testimony, analyses, thought pieces, and responses from artists and poets into a "people's record" of what happened that night--and how it just might be a turning point for the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Moustafa Bayoumi is the editor of Midnight on the Mavi Marmara, available now from OR Books, and Huwaida Arraf was on the flotilla that night. They join us to discuss what happened, what role the book can play, and how it was able to come about so quickly.

President Obama is vowing a speedy appointment to replace the retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Nan Aron and Glenn Greenwald talk about the retiring judge and why Elena Kagan would shift the Supreme Court to the right and the death of Dawn Johnsen’s OLC nomination; Alice Walker talks about her new book “Overcoming Speechlessness: A Poet Encounters the Horror in Rwanda, Eastern Congo and Palestine/Israel.” "Democracy Now!" is a daily independent newshour.