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June 2011 CARMEN ENGLAND On this edition of Initiative Radio, Angela McKenzie sits down with Carmen England, a former heroin addict who has been clean for over eight years due to her participation in CitiWide Harm Reduction programs. With the non-judgmental support of Social Workers and Case Managers, Carmen became sober in 2002 and she is now strong enough to be a CitiWide Peer who assists Participants with their healing through outreach, syringe exchange, advocacy and other harm reduction practices. England became a substance abuser shortly after the loss of her son, who was two days away from his 25th birthday when he perished after being shot five times in the back, on his way home from college classes. She describes herself as "a walking dead," after his death, who tried to use getting high as an escape from her grief. No justice was served in his case and no one was held accountable for his death because the weapon was not found. She tries to distinguish for the audience the difference between the stereotypical "career drug user" and people who are self-medicating as a means of coping with pain and suffering as she did for such a long time. Under the leadership of Robert Cordero, CitiWide Harm Reduction is committed to improving the health, social and economic status of active drug users who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in New York City. http://www.archive.org/details/Ir-10-44CarmenEnglandCitiwideHarmReduction
ANTHONY PAPA This week Initiative Radio with Angela McKenzie takes another look at how the complexities associated with Prohibition have resurfaced in twenty-first century America, in the form of Nelson Rockefeller's draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws. Angela visits the offices of the Drug Policy Alliance to speak with Anthony Papa - an artist, writer, noted advocate against the War on Drugs and Co-founder of the Mothers of the New York Disappeared. His opinion pieces about the Drug War have appeared in news sources across the country and he is a frequent lecturer on his art and criminal justice issues. As we heard on our previous broadcast which traced the history of Prohibition and the United States Constitution, multi-billionaire John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was a staunch supporter of the 18th Amendment, which forbade the sale, manufacture and transport of alcohol in the 1920s and 1930s. Fast forward to 1973, his son Nelson Rockefeller who was New York State Governor at the time, wanted to look tough on drug crime to benefit his presidential ambitions. He signed the Rockefeller Drug Laws into existence making the penalty for selling two ounces or more of Heroin, Morphine, Opium, Cocaine or Cannabis; or possessing four ounces of more of the same substances a crime with a minimum of fifteen years to life in prison and a maximum of twenty-five years to life. Instead of improving communities through prohibition of drugs, he ended up implementing drug laws that can be viewed as racist, because they subjected first-time, non-violent offenders from mostly impoverished, minority communities to lengthy or even lifetime prison sentences. The question becomes, does prohibition really work? And if not, why did Rockefeller act on the same views that his father came to regret when the 18th Amendment was repealed by the ratification of the 21st Amendment? Today Anthony Papa shares his personal experience of serving twelve years at Sing Sing Prison for breaking the Rockefeller Drug Laws and how discovering his artistic talent for painting while in lockup eventually led him to freedom and a life of great purpose. http://www.archive.org/details/IR-09-51
PROHIBITION AND THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION This week’s edition of Initiative Radio with Angela McKenzie focuses on the United States Constitution and the Prohibition era in which the sale, manufacture and transport of alcohol was banned. Implemented by the 18th Amendment in 1920 and later repealed with the ratification of the 21st Amendment in 1933, Prohibition went into effect via the Volstead Act and was promoted by “dry” supporters such as women, religious organizations, labor groups and Progressives nationwide. Although these groups had different agendas, an undisputed reason for the joint effort was the well-being of society and its citizens. But did it achieve what it was supposed to? Prohibition provided an underground financial basis for organized crime to flourish - from racketeering, police corruption and bootlegging, rather than curtailing crime. It also diminished social conditions when more potent alcohols were introduced and the black market economy rivaled America's formal economy. This episode focuses on many aspects of Prohibition, ranging from opposition to the Volstead Act, why drunkenness was considered undesirable, the connection to Chicago's most notorious gangster Al Capone and his rival Bugs Moran; government enforced poisoning of alcohol which led to the death of thousands; homemade alcohol like “Bathtub Gin,” the upswing of roaring 20's Jazz music in the Speakeasies and the Rockefeller legacy of supporting the control of intoxicants in society starting with John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and carried on into the 21st century per Nelson Rockefeller's Drug Laws. http://www.archive.org/details/Ir-10-42ProhibitionAndTheUsConstitution&reCache=1 ROCK 'N ROOTS OK, here's a question: what thread binds these musicians: The Ravens...Bette Midler...Willie "The Lion" Smith...Dr. John...Bobby "Blue" Bland. It's songs about "Friendship" and this edition of Rock 'n Roots finds friendly music from Robert Johnson all the way up to Joan Armatrading. Look at friendship from a lot of new and interesting perspectives on this classic edition of Rock 'n Roots. http://www.archive.org/details/Ir-10-41RockNRootsFriends
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