Inclusion on Purpose
George Floyd’s murder sparked increased attention toward Black liberation and by extension, racial discrimination. Institutions raced to check boxes for workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, but how do we know whether real work has been done? In this episode, two thought leaders around race and belonging, Ruchika Tulshyan and Ijeoma Oluo, discuss the finer points of how to create equity in the workplace. This conversation takes...
Mexicans Confronting Racism: Aztec myths to modern stereotypes
There’s an idea in Mexico that racism doesn’t exist, that all Mexicans are “mestizo” – a homogenous blend of Spanish and indigenous. But cultural worker José Antonio Aguilar says racism is lived by Black and brown Mexicans in many ways. He founded Racismo MX, an organization which seeks to dismantle racism, after coming to terms with his own racial reality as a “prieto” – a brown man. We also hear from anthropologist...
The Pseudo-Science of Whiteness: Biology as a Social Weapon ENCORE
This week, filmmaker Stephanie Welch explores the role that racist, unscientific propaganda has played in promoting white supremacy in the U.S. She traces the history of the Pioneer Fund, the primary funding source for research that claims to demonstrate that people of color are genetically and intellectually inferior. The Fund used such research to lobby for eugenic policies like forced sterilization and the restrictive 1924...
Unequal Justice: the Criminalization of Black Youth
Nearly two thirds of all children in the U.S. juvenile justice system are kids of color. That’s according to a recent report by the Children’s Defense Fund. In this episode of Making Contact, we’ll hear from Dr. Kris Henning on the disparities faced by Black youth in the juvenile justice system. Dr. Henning is the Blume Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown University Law Center. And...
Activism and The Fight for Black Trans Lives (Encore)
Making Contact · Activism and The Fight for Black Trans Lives (Encore) On this episode of Making Contact, we will look at transgender activism and the call for inclusion and intersectionality in the movement for Black lives. We’ll also meet Trans activists in Louisiana who have been organizing against a state law that has been used to unfairly target trans women for decades. Like this program? Please click here and...
The Pseudo-Science of Whiteness: Biology as a Social Weapon
Making Contact · The Pseudo-Science of Whiteness: Biology as a Social Weapon This week, filmmaker Stephanie Welch explores the role that racist, unscientific propaganda has played in promoting white supremacy in the U.S. She traces the history of the Pioneer Fund, the primary funding source for research that claims to demonstrate that people of color are genetically and intellectually inferior. The Fund used such research to...
Activism and The Fight for Black Trans Lives
Making Contact · Activism and The Fight for Black Trans Lives On this episode of Making Contact, we will look at transgender activism and the call for inclusion and intersectionality in the movement for Black lives. We’ll also meet Trans activists in Louisiana who have been organizing against a state law that has been used to unfairly target trans women for decades. TRANSCRIPT BELOW Like this program? Please...
Say Their Names: George Floyd and the Movement to Uplift Black Lives
Making Contact · Say Their Names: George Floyd and the Movement to Uplift Black Lives On May 25, 2020, the nation ignited after a bystander posted a horrific video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes. Now the movement to uplift Black lives, and to defund and dismantle police departments where officers disproportionately kill and brutalize African American men...
Spies of Mississippi: The Campaign to Stop Freedom Summer’s Civil Rights Movement of 1964
Spies of Mississippi Spies of Mississippi is a journey into the world of informants, infiltrators, and agent provocateurs in the heart of Dixie. The film tells the story of a secret spy agency formed by the state of Mississippi to preserve segregation and maintain “the Mississippi way of life,” white supremacy, during the 1950s and ‘60s. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (MSSC) evolved from a predominantly public relations...
The Far Right and Antifa (Encore)
Greek Raps Anti-Fascism In this episode of Making Contact, we explore the past and present of the far right and anti-fascism. We begin with a story from Athens on the murder and investigation of Greek rapper, Pavlos Fyssas. In the second half of the show, historian and author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, Mark Bray, describes anti-fascist responses to Hitler and Mussolini in the 1920’s and 30’s. Image Credit: seven_resist on...
