Democracy Now! April 30, 2012

April 30, 2012 from Democracy Now! via Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND

Bahrain has granted appeals for 21 people accused of trying to overthrow the US-backed monarchy after the Arab Spring protests began last last year, including human rights leader Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who is on the 82nd day of his hunger strike. We interview the producers of "Booker's Place," a new documentary that tells the story of a black Mississippi waiter who lost of life by speaking out. And ahead of the Occupy Movement's May Day protests, leading social theorist David Harvey details urban uprisings from Occupy Wall Street to the Paris Commune. Plus headlines, and more.

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In This Video

Bahrain Uprising

The Bahraini uprising is a series of demonstrations, amounting to a sustained campaign of civil resistance, in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain. As part of the revolutionary wave of protests in the Middle East and North Africa following the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazi... Explore this topic

Abdulhadi Alkhawaja

Abdulhadi Abdulla Hubail al-Khawaja is one of the most prominent Bahraini-Danish human rights activists. He is currently in prison in Bahrain following the repression on pro-democracy protests in the Bahraini uprising. He is former president and co-founder of the Bahrain Centr... Explore this topic

Hunger strike

A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will tak... Explore this topic

Bahrain

Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain is a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km long by 18 km wide. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahra... Explore this topic

Booker Wright

Booker Wright was working as a waiter in Greenwood, Mississippi when he agreed to speak on camera to NBC filmmaker Frank De Felitta in 1965, during the height of the civil rights movement. An African-American, Booker dared to openly and honestly share the realities he faced li... Explore this topic

May Day

May Day on May 1 is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Explore this topic

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi. Mississippi is ... Explore this topic

Occupy movement

The "Occupy" protests are an ongoing series of international protests which began in mid-September 2011 and are primarily against social and economic inequality, corporate greed and influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government. The protests take their name from the... Explore this topic

Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street was the name given to a protest movement that began on September 17, 2011, in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district. The Canadian group and magazine Adbusters initiated the call for protest with assistance from the Manhatta... Explore this topic

Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story

Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story is a 2012 documentary film about Booker Wright, an African-American waiter who worked in a restaurant for whites only. In 1965, Wright appeared in Mississippi: A Self Portrait, a short NBC television documentary about racism in the American ... Explore this topic

Also See

Occupy movement

Bahrain Uprising

Occupy Wall Street

Watch Next

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Prominent Bahraini activist Zainab Alkhawaja released on bail [BBC Arabic, UK]

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