The Oh, Hello and

welcome to Behind the News. My name is Doug Henwood.

Two guests today.

First, journalist Raven Rakea will report in the nationwide

prison strike that's been underway since August 21st.

And then Assad Heider will talk about his book Mistaken. strike that's been underway since August 21st.

And then Assad Heider will talk about his book,

Mistaken Identity, Race and Class in the Age of Trump,

published in May by Verso.

First, the Prison Strike.

The strike slated to run from August 21st through September 9th was called by a group of South

Carolina prisoners, jail-house lawyers speak, after a riot of the prison in that state in April,

which left seven inmates dead and 17 seriously injured.

No correctional officers were hurt.

There was a similar strike in 2016 in which 24,000 inmates at 20 prisons took part. September 9th, the day when the strike ends, is the 47th anniversary of the Attica prison

uprising in upstate New York, the most intense such rebellion in modern history, which saw

over 2,000 inmates take over the prison and hold staff and visitors

hostage.

Their demands included better legal representation, improved medical care and visiting conditions,

and end to the punishment of prisoners political activity,

the opportunity to work for decent wages, better educational options, better food,

and it end to brutal treatment. The uprising was violently suppressed with 10 prison

...