We drove down Interstate 70 and asked people about their American identity. Here were their responses

Do you feel like you belong in America? Do you feel overlooked in America? We drove down Interstate 70 and explored these questions.

Streaming Now: Soledad O’Brien Hosts “To Be an American: Identity, Race and Justice”

The “Matter of Fact Listening Tour,” hosted by Soledad O’Brien, continues its exploration of difficult issues surrounding race and equity in a new digital presentation, “To Be An American: Identity, Race And Justice.”

Watch the special in the player at the top of this page.

Throughout the 90-minute program, a diverse lineup of guests from academia, literature and entertainment will share personal stories, essays and insights to bring greater understanding to the complex topic of race, identity and belonging. “Matter of Fact” contributors Jessica Gomez and Joie Chen will provide reports and interviews from around the country, while veteran journalist Ray Suarez will chronicle the history of Chinese Americans who helped build U.S. railroads but were denied citizenship. Viewers will be challenged to address questions such as, “What unites the United States, and what is it that truly makes America exceptional?” The program will open with a citizenship pop quiz, which encourages viewers to think about what those not born in this country must learn in order to become Americans. 

Guests include: 

• Dr. Ray Block, Jr., Penn State Associate Professor of Political Science and African American Studies
• Gina Brillon, the Bronx-born comedian, winner of NBC’s Stand up for Diversity contest
• Lydia X. Z. Brown, disability justice advocate, organizer, educator, attorney, strategist, writer and White House honoree
• Raj Chetty, Harvard University William A. Ackman Professor of Public Economics and Director of Opportunity Insights, which uses data to identify barriers to economic opportunity
• Stefanie DeLuca, James Coleman Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of Coming of Age in the Other America
• Eric Foner, Columbia University DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History, specializing in the Civil War and reconstruction, slavery and 19th century America
• Annette Gordon-Reed, Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University and recipient of sixteen book prizes, including the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in History
• Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter and creator of the 1619 Project
• Shaka King, acclaimed filmmaker and director of the Warner Bros. motion picture Judas and the Black Messiah
• Karen Korematsu, Founder and Executive Director of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute
• Dr. Lilliana Mason, University of Maryland, College Park, Associate Professor of Government and Politics, author of Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity
• Nikki Pitre, Executive Director of the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute
• Ilyasah Shabazz, educator, activist, author and daughter of civil rights leader Malcolm X
• Jose Antonio Vargas, journalist, filmmaker, immigration rights activist and author
• Edgar Villanueva, Principal, Decolonizing Wealth Project and Liberated Capital; author of Decolonizing Wealth
• Bruce Western, Bryce Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Justice Lab at Columbia University
• Valerie Rawlston Wilson, Director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy

Perseverance leads to Pulitzer Prize for New York Times journalist

Ever wonder what holds America together? Or for that matter, what it means to be an American?

Explore those questions through the lens of race, identity and justice in a special livestreamed event Thursday evening — the Matter of Fact Listening Tour.

Guests like Nikole Hannah-Jones of the New York Times’ 1619 Project explain their struggle to tell stories about race and identity.

“My American story is working as a journalist, only wanting to become a journalist because I wanted to write about racism and Black folks. And 10 years ago, nearly being pushed out of the industry because I was told that I was biased, and that wanting to write about racism or racial inequality was a sign of my bias, and that our readers didn’t want to read those types of stories. Luckily, I didn’t listen to them and eventually wound up at The New York Times, where last year I was awarded the Pulitzer Prize on the same day as my shero Ida B. Wells — both of us for writing the stories about Black folks,” she said.

Join us Thursday evening for the Matter of Fact Listening Tour, “To Be An American: Identity, Race and Justice,” hosted by Soledad O’Brien.

The special program will stream beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on matteroffact.tv and other Hearst websites.

This presentation of the Listening Tour features a diverse lineup of guests from academia, literature and entertainment. They will share personal stories, essays and insights to bring greater understanding to the complex topic of race, identity and belonging. Matter of Fact contributors Jessica Gomez and Joie Chen will provide reports and interviews from around the country, while veteran journalist Ray Suarez will chronicle the history of Chinese Americans who helped build U.S. railroads but were denied citizenship. Viewers will be challenged to address questions such as, “What unites the United States, and what is it that truly makes America exceptional?” The program will open with a citizenship pop quiz, which encourages viewers to think about what those not born in this country must learn in order to become Americans.

Philanthropist Edgar Villanueva talks about being able to live in ‘multiple identities’

Ilyasah Shabazz shares what people expected from the daughter of Malcolm X

Ever wonder what holds America together? Or for that matter, what it means to be an American? Explore those questions through the lens of race, identity and justice in a special live-streamed event — The Matter of Fact Listening Tour.

Hosted by Soledad O’Brien — with guests who each have a unique American story. Guests like author and educator Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X.

“I went to summer camp as a child. Girls prep school for high school, and by the time I left for college, I was not who the campus thought I should be. As the daughter of Malcolm X, they expected something different than what I was. I was love. I was peace. I was joy. And what I understood is that they were misinformed on who Malcolm X was.”

Join us Thursday evening for the Matter of Fact Listening Tour, “To Be An American: Identity, Race and Justice,” hosted by Soledad O’Brien.

The special program will stream beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on matteroffact.tv and other Hearst websites.

This presentation of the Listening Tour features a diverse lineup of guests from academia, literature and entertainment. They will share personal stories, essays and insights to bring greater understanding to the complex topic of race, identity and belonging. Matter of Fact contributors Jessica Gomez and Joie Chen will provide reports and interviews from around the country, while veteran journalist Ray Suarez will chronicle the history of Chinese Americans who helped build U.S. railroads but were denied citizenship. Viewers will be challenged to address questions such as, ”What unites the United States, and what is it that truly makes America exceptional?” The program will open with a citizenship pop quiz, which encourages viewers to think about what those not born in this country must learn in order to become Americans.

Professor Lilliana Mason explains her ‘complicated’ American identity

Ever wonder what holds America together? Or for that matter, what it means to be an American?

Explore those questions through the lens of race, identity and justice in a special livestreamed event Thursday evening — the Matter of Fact Listening Tour.

Guests such as government and politics professor Lilliana Mason each explain their American Identity. For Mason, it’s a complex question as her ancestors came over on the Mayflower and many were in the Confederacy.

“There’s this family history that I’m not entirely proud of, but it’s so extremely American. And sort of slowly learning about the truth of American history has been a real journey for me. And my eyes are more open than now than they have been ever before in my life,” she said.

Join us Thursday evening for the Matter of Fact Listening Tour, “To Be An American: Identity, Race and Justice,” hosted by Soledad O’Brien.

The special program will stream beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on matteroffact.tv and other Hearst websites.

This presentation of the Listening Tour features a diverse lineup of guests from academia, literature and entertainment. They will share personal stories, essays and insights to bring greater understanding to the complex topic of race, identity and belonging. Matter of Fact contributors Jessica Gomez and Joie Chen will provide reports and interviews from around the country, while veteran journalist Ray Suarez will chronicle the history of Chinese Americans who helped build U.S. railroads but were denied citizenship. Viewers will be challenged to address questions such as, “What unites the United States, and what is it that truly makes America exceptional?” The program will open with a citizenship pop quiz, which encourages viewers to think about what those not born in this country must learn in order to become Americans.

‘You don’t exactly belong here’: Soledad O’Brien shares her thoughts on her American identity

As the Matter of Fact team puts together the second presentation of the Listening Tour, Soledad O’Brien reflects on what it means to her to be an American.

O’Brien’s parents were both foreign born, and she says conversations about being an American were complex and often exclusionary. “Really, conversations about being an American, for me, started with this idea that ‘You’re probably really not one. That you’re not quite one. You’re not really exactly one of us. You don’t exactly belong here,'” she said. “So I think for a lot of people of color, or people whose parents are from other countries, the conversation about being American is one of not quite enough and exclusion, and not really ever being able to be included no matter what you try to do.”

Join us Thursday evening for the Matter of Fact Listening Tour, “To Be An American: Identity, Race and Justice.” The special program will stream beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on matteroffact.tv and other Hearst websites.

This presentation of the Listening Tour features a diverse lineup of guests from academia, literature and entertainment. They will share personal stories, essays and insights to bring greater understanding to the complex topic of race, identity and belonging. Matter of Fact contributors Jessica Gomez and Joie Chen will provide reports and interviews from around the country, while veteran journalist Ray Suarez will chronicle the history of Chinese Americans who helped build U.S. railroads but were denied citizenship.

Viewers will be challenged to address questions such as, ”What unites the United States, and what is it that truly makes America exceptional?”

The program will open with a citizenship pop quiz, which encourages viewers to think about what those not born in this country must learn in order to become Americans.

Can you pass the U.S. Citizenship test? Take it now

For those born into U.S. citizenship, there are no tests, boundaries or barriers to your claim of American identity.

But those seeking citizenship through naturalization must navigate a complex system that includes the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services civics test — more commonly referred to as the citizenship test.

There are 128 possible questions on the 2020 version of the civics test. Those hoping to gain citizenship are asked 20 questions and must answer 12 correctly to pass.

The official test is an oral exam and is not multiple choice, but the government offers official multiple choice practice tests on its website. Take our 20-question practice test below to see if you can pass the citizenship test!

Join us Thursday evening for the Matter of Fact Listening Tour, “To Be An American: Identity, Race and Justice,” hosted by Soledad O’Brien.

The special program will stream beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on matteroffact.tv and other Hearst websites.

This presentation of the Listening Tour features a diverse lineup of guests from academia, literature and entertainment. They will share personal stories, essays and insights to bring greater understanding to the complex topic of race, identity and belonging. Matter of Fact contributors Jessica Gomez and Joie Chen will provide reports and interviews from around the country, while veteran journalist Ray Suarez will chronicle the history of Chinese Americans who helped build U.S. railroads but were denied citizenship. Viewers will be challenged to address questions such as, “What unites the United States, and what is it that truly makes America exceptional?” The program will open with a citizenship pop quiz, which encourages viewers to think about what those not born in this country must learn in order to become Americans.

March 13, 2021

This week on Matter of Fact, we look at how the water crisis in Flint, Michigan eroded trust in the community. Now, its overshadowing efforts to vaccinate the vulnerable. Plus, people living near California’s Salton Sea are facing high rates of both asthma and COVID-19. Why they’ve already been struggling to breathe for decades. And, what does it mean to be an American? Meet federal judge Nancy Joseph, a naturalized American, rolling out the welcome mat for our nation’s newest citizens.

Struggling to Breathe: A Community Hit Hard By Both Air Pollution and the Pandemic

The residents of Imperial County, California have struggled against poor air quality for decades. While living in one of the state’s hottest regions, they’re forced to breathe toxic chemicals, blown in from the Salton Sea. Now the coronavirus pandemic has hit the region hard, with at least one in seven people testing positive. Special Correspondent Joie Chen explains why California’s largest lake is leaving residents struggling to breathe.