A longtime civil rights organizer and resident of South Carolina, Kevin Alexander Gray has been involved in movements from the Rainbow Coalition to campaigns to organize class action suits against banks. Gray joined us in studio to talk about his new book, Waiting for Lightning to Strike: The Fundamentals of Black Politics, the myth of post-racial America, James Brown, and why he calls Obama's administration "the Novocaine presidency."

The Cine Institute provides Haitian youth with film education, work opportunities, and produces films with students and graduates. In addition, their annual "Festival Film Jakmèl" has shown hundreds of films to thousands of Haitians over the last three years. This video from Olivier Divers takes a look at the heartbreaking work Haitians are doing in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The Heritage Foundation didn't wait very long after the earthquake in Haiti to issue its recommendations for Shock Doctrine-style "reforms," and the IMF has already offered a conditional loan to help rebuild. Haiti has seen enough of this type of policy already, and is in need of a different type of thinking: one not imposed from without, but developed from within the country and its communities.

Recently on GRITtv we spoke with Hamid Dabashi on the movement in Iran. Dabashi called it a civil rights movement, and today as we celebrate the life and legacy of U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. we take a look back at another recent discussion of one of the biggest civil rights struggles of our time: the fight to liberate the Palestinian people.

Poet Remi Kanazi, editor of Poets For Palestine, performs "Israel/America: A Rambling Poem." For more on Remi's work, check out Poetic Injustice.

A report issued yesterday by a UN fact-finding mission led by South African judge Richard Goldstone condemns both Israeli and Palestinian war crimes during Israel’s recent invasion of the Gaza Strip. The report however reserves its harshest criticism for Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian civilian population. The total number of Palestinian casualties is said to be between 1,387 and 1,417.

Hasan Kwame Jeffries, a professor of history at Ohio State University and the author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama’s Black Belt, on the legacy of the African-American struggle for freedom. The roots of the civil rights movement are deep and Jeffries traces them back to the moment of emancipation.

International pressure is mounting on Israel to end the occupation. More than 1,000 filmmakers, actors, and writers recently called for a protest of the Toronto Film Festival’s spotlight on Tel-Aviv. You can read the Toronto Declaration here. Meanwhile an international boycott is growing. Neve Gordon, in a recent editorial, explains why it is time to boycott Israel.

Wendell Potter now serves as Senior Fellow on Health Care at the Center for Media and Democracy, and he joined Laura in studio today to give us a quick update on the health care reform process, explain the so-called "Cadillac tax" compromise, and remind us all that the battle isn't over yet--there's still time to fight.

It's time to talk about sexual abuse, says Trish Kinney. In her new book Silver Platter Girl, she candidly talks about her past abuse, where she felt like she was being served up on a silver platter, as well as her struggle with cancer. With the recent discussions of Mackenzie Phillips and Roman Polanski, Kinney argues for frank and honest conversations about what actually happens to people.