May is known as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The annual celebration began in 1978 as a way to recognize the contributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders. But the term is overly broad, creating a monolithic identity for several diverse cultures. Lydia X. Z. Brown is a disability justice advocate, organizer, educator, attorney and writer. She explains what it’s like to be multiply marginalized.
See more from our recent Matter of Fact Listening Tour, “To Be An American: Identity, Race And Justice.”
In the summer of 1919, a wave of white supremacist attacks swept across the U.S. During the so-called “Red Summer,” white mobs laid siege to Black communities across dozens of U.S. cities. Then, just before the 1920 Presidential Election, the Ku Klux Klan marched through Orlando and Ocoee, Florida. It was meant as a warning to Black citizens about what could happen if they tried to vote. Special Correspondent Joie Chen shows us the generational trauma left by the most violent election day in U.S. history.
This month marks 100 years since one of the most horrific events in our nation’s history. On May 31st, 1921, a horde of white residents attacked the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They destroyed 35 blocks of the district that was known as Black Wall Street and the surrounding neighborhood, home to an affluent African American community. Historians estimate anywhere from 75 to 300 people were killed. Thousands more were injured. Yet, it’s still one of the least well-known major historical events in U.S. history. The Tulsa Race Massacre was intentionally covered up and today, it’s still not taught in many of our schools.
Last December, Correspondent Jessica Gomez introduced us to a Honduran mom staying in the Mexican border city of Juarez. She hadn’t seen her sons since 2017, when they were separated, and she was deported. See how their family was finally reunited.
A young two-spirit couple in Nevada is redefining cultural norms in their Native American community. Adrian Stevens and Sean Snyder are competitive sweetheart dancers, taking part in a celebration previously reserved for heterosexual couples at Native pow-wows. They share their story of radical self-acceptance.
See more from our recent Matter of Fact Listening Tour, “To Be An American: Identity, Race And Justice.”
More and more COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted and consumers are returning to businesses. But many of the unemployed aren’t heading back to work. Some are blaming supplemental unemployment benefits for the worker shortage, but experts say that’s not the only reason. Heidi Shierholz, Director of Policy at the Economic Policy Institute, gives her perspective on the future of our economy.
Business owners across the U.S. say they can’t find enough workers. Right now, the U.S. unemployment rate stands at about 6 percent and millions of people are actively looking for a job. But some have suggested $300 per week in supplemental unemployment benefits is keeping low-income workers from returning to work. For many people, that’s more than they made while on the clock and it has become a lifeline. To help frame the debate, we ask labor economist Valerie Wilson to unpack what the numbers really tell us, and provide context for what the future of work looks like in high contact industries.
Customers are returning to businesses across the U.S. as pandemic regulations continue to roll back. But businesses say they’re struggling to hire workers, and some owners are blaming that on the $300 per week supplemental unemployment benefit. Greg Stellatos owns six small grocery stores in Chicago. He shares his experience as he tries to rebuild his business.
Studies suggest that about 6 percent of people in prisons are wrongfully convicted. Jason Flom is a founding board member of The Innocence Project and host of the podcast, “Wrongful Conviction.” Soledad O’Brien talks with him about his mission to free innocent prisoners.
This week, we’re taking a look at a first-of-its kind high school in Alabama looking to lead students to success with a radical idea. Correspondent Jessica Gomez heads to Birmingham’s Build UP High School to show us how it all works. Plus, during World War II, 23-year-old Californian Fred Korematsu was thrown in jail for refusing to go to a Japanese internment camp. His daughter Karen shares his story. Then, America is in the middle of a monumental shift as the younger generation redefines pop culture. It’s not the first time. Journalist and CNN analyst Ron Brownstein chronicles the nation’s shift after the 1960’s in his book, “Rock Me on the Water.”