Patricia Kullberg hosts this episode of the Old Mole, which includes the following segments:
Palestinian Film Fest: As Israel's genocidal war on Gaza continues, so too does global resistance to the war and to Israeli occupation of Palestine. Jan Haaken talks with Shams Mahmoud, President of Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER) at Portland State University, about the upcoming Palestine Film Festival on the PSU campus and the importance of bringing the rich culture of Palestinian film and filmmaking into organizing spaces. They discuss the controversy around the rallying cry, "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," and why this registers a democratic vision of Palestine liberation. In turning to the Palestine Film Festival, they discuss two highly recognized films that will be screening: FIVE BROKEN CAMERAS and THE TIME THAT REMAINS. The films are quite different in style but each brings a distinctive eye to living under conditions of occupation, including various forms of resistance. The films are free and open to the public and will be screened at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Portland, Friday evening through Sunday, March 1-3rd.
Love Song: In recognition of Black History Month, Larry Bowlden reviews Tia William’s historical novel, A Love Song For Ricki Wilde. Ricki Wilde comes from a wealthy southern family, the wealth due to her father’s owning a string of mortuaries. Her sisters, Rashida, Regina, and Rae, are doing as expected, each running one or more of the mortuaries. But Ricky is a rebel who wants instead to move to Harlem and open a flower shop. It’s a lovely story about Harlem in its heyday during the Harlem Renaissance and William knows her history. The novel takes on a fantastical element that can be off-putting for some readers, but the author pulls it off.
Black Workers Organize at Tesla: Black Tesla workers recently sued their employer for an extremely well documented pattern of racial discrimination. Whereas lawsuits seldom even reimburse successful plaintiffs for their injuries, this suit could be the prelude to the United Auto Workers union and Bay Area left organizing Tesla, defeating the notoriously anti-union Elon Musk. How can this battle be fought to advance the needed transformation of U.S. industry? Bill Resnick interviews Malik Miah, a Black aviation worker and prolific writer. Miah’s recent article “Black Workers Sue Tesla Over Systemic Racism” can be found online in the journal International Viewpoint at: https://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article7619
- KBOO