The Agony and the Ecstasy: Race and the Future of the Love Story Part 1
In 2019 a well known romance writer began tweeting about other writers in her community and concerns about racism. It led to a huge reckoning within an organization called the Romance Writers of America, which is still unfolding. And although the online debate seemed to be isolated to a specific community of romance writers and their fans, it was really a microcosm of what’s been happening all over the US. In this episode we...
Angelic Troublemaker: Bayard Rustin (ENCORE)
On today’s program we honor Bayard Rustin, one of the most central figures in the African American struggle for Civil Rights and Freedom. Rustin was a pacifist, homosexual and practitioner of nonviolence who dedicated his life to racial equality, economic justice and ending warfare. Known as the lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and trusted advisor to labor leader A. Phillip Randolph and Dr. Martin Luther...
Angelic Troublemaker: Bayard Rustin
Making Contact · Angelic Troublemaker: Bayard Rustin On today’s program we honor Bayard Rustin, one of the most central figures in the African American struggle for Civil Rights and Freedom. Rustin was a pacifist, homosexual and practitioner of nonviolence who dedicated his life to racial equality, economic justice and ending warfare. Known as the lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and trusted advisor to labor leader...
Canada’s Slavery Secret
Making Contact · Canada’s Slavery Secret Today we’ll take a look at Canada and its history of Black enslavement. Canada, our northern neighbor, is rarely mentioned when we talk about the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In fact, we often equate Canada with being the safe space where Blacks escaped US slavery – the final stop on the underground railroad, so to speak. But Canada indeed has its own history of slavery...
The Pandemic, Loss and Racial Inequity
Making Contact · The Pandemic, Loss and Racial Inequity According to the CDC, Blacks and Latinos are 3 times as likely to die from COVID as their white counterparts. This disproportionate harm has sparked a response from community organizers and researchers alike. We turn our attention to those Americans who are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus fallout. You will hear from folks on the front lines to data experts looking to use...
Fighting for the Ballot: Race and Voter Suppression in the 2020 Election
Making Contact · Fighting for the Ballot: Race and Voter Suppression in the 2020 November’s upcoming election has already become one of the most contested elections in US history, with the president questioning the validity of mail-in ballots, “unofficial” ballot drop off boxes popping up in California, and the threat of armed militias patrolling the polls. But, voter suppression and its target’s aren’t new phenomena. People of...
The Bombing of MOVE, 35 Years Later (Updated)
Making Contact · The Bombing of MOVE, 35 Years Later (Updated) Our radio adaptation of the film, Let the Fire Burn explores the controversial, 1985 clash between police in Philadelphia and MOVE, a radical, non-violent, back-to-nature group. After a standoff with the group MOVE, Philadelphia Police dropped a bomb on the roof of MOVE’s home, killing 11 people including five children, and destroying approximately 61 homes....
The End of Policing, Alex Vitale
Making Contact · The End of Policing, Alex Vitale (Encore) Alex Vitale is Professor of Sociology and coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College. Vitale’s book The End of Policing, is an accessible study of police history as an imperial tool for social control that continues to exacerbate class and racial tensions. Vitale also goes deep into the shortcomings of reform and in contrast,...
Michael Eric Dyson on Trump Truth and Race
Michael Eric Dyson America’s unwillingness to assess the ugly truth about systemic inequality has created a perpetual sinkhole of denial. A reality that existed long before Trump’s presidency. It’s AMERICA’s Legacy. On this edition, we hear from Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, one of the nation’s most prominent public intellectuals, a frequent contributor to the New York Times, and an editor of...
Unofficial Channels: Dialogue for Middle East Peace
Unofficial Channels: Dialogue for Middle East Peace Here’s a show from our archives 1998 –still apt today. Displaced from their land after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Palestinian people have been struggling for autonomy. Some are calling for an independent state. Disputes over land and resource allocations, and periodic flare-ups of violence, however, have complicated negotiations involving Palestinians and Israelis....
