Six mentors from Bridges to Change focused their discussion on released prisoners who had been addicted to alcohol and/or drugs and now had to meet the challenge of fitting back into society. They all had been incarcerated at one time or another, and recovered from addiction. Several had families—they all wanted a better life and to help others avoid recidivisim.

Born into grinding poverty in a segregated South, Angola 3
member Robert Hillary King survived his childhood to spend
29 years in solitary confinement in the Louisiana State prison
in Angola. A member of the Black Panther Party framed and
convicted of murder he did not commit Robert is the only one
of the Angola 3 yet to be released.  Join me Linda Olson–Osterlund
and my guest Robert Hillary King, a man of remarkable strength,
courage and grace as we discuss his new book, From the Bottom

Jennifer Kemp interviews Jerome Gold, author of "Paranoia and Heartbreak, Fifteen Years in a Juvenile Facility".

August 8th, 1978, The MOVER 9 were arrested for a murder they did not commit, and have been in prison ever since.  In a telephone interview, Consuelo Africa described the event.  After serving 30 years, the MOVE 9 became eligible for parole, however, their parole has been denied.  Consuelo urged us to exert public pressure to release these political prisoners.  She urged us to contact Pennslyvania Governor Edward Rendell, Philadelphia's Mayor and others to support these folks.  For more information you can visit Move's website and/or email on

Last month, President Obama sat down over beers with a Cambridge cop and a Harvard professor to talk about an ugly incident that brought home how deep racial tensions still run in our nation. The president saw the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. by Sgt. James Crowly as a "teachable moment" that could help Americans in their struggle to understand race and its impacts. But can talking about race make a difference?