Making Contact

Darnell Moore the author of No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America.  A story of beauty and hope-and an honest reckoning with family, with place and with what is it means to be free. His talk focuses on his memoir, No Ashes in the Fire.

On this edition of Making Contact we present, The Struggle Inside: The Murder of  George   Jackson , a program about the modern anti-prison movement.

When one or both parents are incarcerated the family is also incarcerated and are adversely affected in profound ways that exacerbate existing structural inequalities and struggles. Programs for inmates and families like FamilyWorks and the Storybook Program, encourage rebuilding and maintaining relationships despite being separated by prison.

On this edition of Making Contact, we speak with author Paul Kivel about his book,  Uprooting Racism : How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. This book  offers a framework for understanding institutional racism. It provides practical suggestions, tools, examples, and advice on how white people can intervene in interpersonal and organizational situations to work as allies for racial justice.

Whether you're a paid home care provider, or rely on personal assistance to meet your daily needs, or a family member caring for a loved one, the nature of the working relationship depends on mutual respect and dignity. During this week's anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we'll revisit the dynamic and complex relationship of care receiving and giving.

On this edition of Making Contact, after the  US Supreme Court's ruling on Trump's travel ban, we'll discuss how the new order impacts people from affected, Muslim-majority countries. We also talk about what's different about the new ban and how to fight it.  We begin with the story of a woman who was in flight to the US when President Trump signed his first travel ban.

This week is the five year anniversary of Black lives matter. Patrisse Khan-Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter shares her reflections on humanity, the end of policing and her new book, WHEN THEY CALL YOU A TERRORIST: A Black Lives Matter Memoir.

Afrofuturism is a growing genre-movement that spans literature, art, music, and film. It provides radical alternatives to dominant Western narratives by drawing on traditions from Africa and the diaspora.

We go back to the night in June 1969 at the New York City Stonewall Inn that sparked the LGBTQ rights movement. On this episode, we'll hear about the day that galvanized a generation and the continued fight for LGBTQ civil rights.

The stage is set for a battle between two world-views. Is housing a human right, or a commodity? And where on that continuum is California's common ground? This week, we look at the fight over rent control, and police policies that affect the homeless.

Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools is an examination of the experiences of black girls across the country whose intricate lives are misunderstood, highly judged "by teachers, administrators, and the justice system" and degraded by the very institutions charged with helping them flourish.

This week, Making Contact looks at The Cost of Deportations through the lens of one Central American nation that sends migrants north— Guatemala. Will Guatemala and the other countries these migrants left be prepared for an influx of returnees?

On this edition of Making Contact we go from Cape Town, South Africa to Los Angeles and Oakland, California— three cities grappling with evictions, displacement, and homelessness. 

On May 18, 1980, the people of Gwangju, South Korea rose up for reunification and an end to U.S.-backed military dictatorships. Their actions changed the course of Korean history. We hear from survivors of the Gwangju Uprising about how they took on the tasks of history and the lesson they carry.

For this edition of Making Contact, we'll present the documentary, " She's Beautiful When She's Angry ," a reflection on the rise of the women's liberation movement in the United States, between 1966 and 1971. She's Beautiful explores the emergence of political thought that challenged systems of patriarchy.  

For Mother's Day: we bring you a discussion by women of color writers and poets who contributed to the anthology,  Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines.  You'll also hear about a recent investigation into Black maternal and infant mortality.

Fresh water is one of our most precious natural resources. This week contributor Maria Doerr looks at what's being done to protect the watersheds of Mexico City-- natural water systems that provide water to one of the largest metropolises in the world.

On the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, hundreds imprisoned inside Michigan's Kinross Correctional Facility refused to report to work or lock down in their barracks. Instead, they joined the largest prisoner labor strike in U.S. history.

Daze of Justice is the story of trailblazing Cambodian-American women who break decades of silence, abandoning the security of their American homes on a journey back into Cambodia's killing fields, as witnesses determined to resurrect the memory of their loved ones before the UN Special Tribunal prosecuting the Khmer Rouge.

In 1948, Zionist militias expelled over 700,000 Palestinians from their villages and towns. The event, and the ongoing destruction and occupation of Palestine are referred to as the Nakba " the catastrophe. How did the events of 1948 shape Palestine and its diaspora? And generations later, how are Palestinians fighting to return home?

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 50 years ago, and is widely remembered for his speech, 'I Have a Dream.' Journalist Gary Younge analyzes the King's speech, highlighting the importance of remembering the entirety of King's message and evolution as a critical activist.

The Seekers, is the first in a two-part documentary series that examines the experiences of Central American migrants seeking asylum in the US. In this episode, we look at women fleeing violence from Guatemala.

Patrisse Khan-Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter reflections on humanity, the end of policing and her new book, WHEN THEY CALL YOU A TERRORIST: A Black Lives Matter Memoir.  

Fifty years ago, the Vietnamese Liberation Front inspired people of color around the world who were building movements for self-determination.     Today, we hear from people who were organizing in the Spirit of Viet Nam fifty years ago, and those who are building on that work today. 

Gloria Ushigua and Aura Tegria, two legendary indigenous heroines of the Amazon rainforest, tell us about their activism to keep big oil and other exploitative industries off their ancestral territories, and out of the Amazon.    They describe their struggles to guard and conserve their own cultures, which depend on the health and safety of the Amazon.