Legal Defense of Communities Under Fire; Exposing the Fascists in the US Government

On Pacifica’s Capitalism, Race & Democracy: Legal Defense of Communities Under Fire; Exposing the Fascists in the US Government; Remembering the 1934 West Coast Longshoreworkers’ Strike; Forces Allying against Zohran Mamdani

CRD’s Thomas O’Rourke speaks to Los Angeles attorney Mark Kleiman about defending medical whistleblowers, US college students protesting Gaza genocide, and migrant workers and students in the crosshairs of ICE and DHS. Part Two of this interview will air in a future program.

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Russ Bellant is a researcher and writer on fascism and Nazism in the US. At a recent panel during Laborfest, he reported on the new Trump budget and the political economic agenda of the Trump administration. Bellant is author of The Challenge From The Religious Right, Mania In The Media: The Original Promise and The Goals Of The Promise Keepers, and Old Nazis, The New Right & Republican Party.
https://laborfest.net/2025/event/fascism-project-2025-the-working-class/

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In July 1934, West Coast longshoremen were on strike for union hiring halls and a West Coast contract. On July 5, in San Francisco, police shot two strike supporters in the back. The police were trying to break the strike, but instead they touched off a San Francisco general strike that eventually led to the victory of the West Coast strike.

After the longshoremens’ strike, hundreds of thousands of workers joined unions in the Bay Area, making it one of the most unionized regions in the United States.

All West Coast ports shut down on July 5 to commemorate the strike. At the San Francisco commemoration, retired ILWU longshoremen Clarence Thomas and Jack Heyman spoke on the lessons of the strike. Oakland poet laureate Nairobe Barnes, daughter of a woman longshore worker, also read a commemorative poem.

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Kshama Sawant is a leader for Workers Strike Back and Revolutionary Workers. As a Seattle City Council member, she battled against the Democratic Party establishment and the oligarchs who poured millions into campaigns to defeat her. Speaking to Journalist Chris Hedges, Kshama details the onslaught of attacks that will come down on New York Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani from the Israel lobby, billionaire-backed organizations, and the Democratic Party, which he belongs to.

We thank all of Pacifica’s sister stations and affiliates who contribute to the production of this show. Today’s program was produced by the Capitalism, Race & Democracy collective, with contributions from Steve Zeltzer, Thomas O’Rourke, and Polina Vasiliev.

You can find this and all previous episodes at our website “capitalism race and democracy dot ORG”. Make sure you click the subscribe button. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @PacificaCRD.
Music:

Dropkick Murphys “Who’ll Stand With Us?” Music Video

Harry Bridges Ballad – BY ILWU Local 94 Foremen’s Union

Babylone, “Zina”