This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by Dr. Abigail Cartus, PhD in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh; Justin Feldman, epidemiologist and Health and Human Rights Fellow at the Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights; and Jay O'Neal, West Virginia teacher and organizer who co-founded the West Virginia United Caucus within the WVEA. After getting to know our guests, including Jay’s experience leading the West Virginia teachers wildcat strike in 2018 that kicked off a wave of teacher strikes nationwide, Abby, Justin, and Jay help us better understand the impact of the pandemic on the United States' educational institutions and how the pressure to open schools is failing our teachers and students, leaving them at greater risk despite little to no support from state officials. 

Abby and Justin explain the myths and realities behind many of the studies being shared on social media, and Jay argues why it's necessary that public health advocacy on behalf of school re-openings involves a thorough understanding of what community transmission means and its implications both inside and outside the classroom. Jay also gives us a clearer picture of how dire things are for teachers, many of whom are risking their lives after being pressured to go back to in-person teaching.

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This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) organizer Lillian House, one of 6 leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement in the Denver area to be arrested on September 17, 2020. After sharing a bit about her own path to organizing, Lillian shares her insight into the strength and endurance of BLM organizing in Colorado around the cause of 23-year-old Elijah McClain, slain in 2019 when Aurora, CO police put him into a chokehold and injected with a sedative. Lillian describes how she and her comrades were held illegally for 8 days before seeing a judge and now face decades in prison on trumped-up federal charges, as well as how the local community and labor organizations around the world have shown up to support them while continuing to demand justice for McClain.

You can find more info and ways to help at the National Committee for Justice in Denver website as well as the PSL website, where you can donate to the legal support fund, sign and share this petition demanding that all charges be dropped, and sign and share this statement of solidarity for your organization. 

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This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by Cliff Willmeng, a registered nurse of 13 years, an activist in rank and file labor and environmental struggles, and a front line healthcare worker unjustly dismissed for bringing attention to safety violations which includes the reusing of hospital scrubs and the lack of basic supplies.

Cliff, who once ran for Boulder County Commissioner as a independent socialist and worker’s candidate, helps us understand the impact of the pandemic on nurses, and how hospital administrators have been retaliating against workers such as himself who have been bringing attention to the lack of PPE, despite the obvious risks this poses to both nurses, their families, and patients alike. 

Finally, we discuss how capitalism has devastated US hospitals and why the fight to win healthcare for all necessitates a united front against administrations and health industry CEOs who are profiting off of a global pandemic.

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