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Kimberlé Crenshaw: Intersectionality
Jun24

Kimberlé Crenshaw: Intersectionality

Making Contact · Kimberle Crenshaw: Intersectionality Law Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw defined the concept of intersectionality 30 years ago. She developed that framework to understand how identities such as race, gender and class intersect in overlapping systems of oppression and discrimination — resulting in compounded damage. Now, amidst COVID-19’s disparate impact, police murders and brutality against of...

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From Juneteenth to Reparations: The Freedom Promise of Unfinished Resolve
Jun17

From Juneteenth to Reparations: The Freedom Promise of Unfinished Resolve

 Making Contact · From Juneteenth to Reparations: The Freedom Promise of Unfinished Resolve (ENCORE) Juneteenth also known as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th Major Gen. Gordon Granger came to Galveston, Texas, to inform a reluctant community that President Abraham Lincoln, two years earlier, had...

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Say Their Names: George Floyd and the Movement to Uplift Black Lives
Jun10

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...

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No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America. Darnell Moore
Aug28

No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America. Darnell Moore

When Darnell Moore was fourteen, three boys from his neighborhood tried to set him on fire. They cornered him while he was walking home from school, harassed him because they thought he was gay, and poured a jug of gasoline on him. He escaped, but just barely. It wasn’t the last time he would face death. Three decades later, Moore is an award-winning writer, a leading Black Lives Matter activist, and an advocate for justice and...

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Listen to our extended interview with Stanley Nelson on “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”
Feb26

Listen to our extended interview with Stanley Nelson on “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”

Stanley Nelson’s “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” has sparked a renewed interest in the famed revolutionary organization. In November journalist Eric Arnold interviews Nelson for our show. Now listen to the full unedited...

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We Are the Bomb: Boots Riley and Dave Zirin Talk Activism and Politics
Feb10

We Are the Bomb: Boots Riley and Dave Zirin Talk Activism and Politics

Rapper and grassroots organizer Boots Riley’s recent book is titled “Tell Homeland Security: We Are the Bomb”. Riley appeared at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington DC, where he was interviewed by author and Edge of Sports blogger Dave Zirin. Special thanks to Politics and Prose Bookstore & Coffeehouse Featuring: Boots Riley, “Tell Homeland Security: We Are the Bomb” author Dave Zirin, “Edge of Sports” blogger More...

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A Dream Remembered?: Martin Luther King Jr and the Grassroots Civil Rights Movement
Jan13

A Dream Remembered?: Martin Luther King Jr and the Grassroots Civil Rights Movement

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of the most famous speeches of all time. But it nearly didn’t happen. On this special edition of Making Contact for MLK Day, Gary Younge, author of “The Speech” talks about Martin Luther King Junior’s “Dream” and the story behind it.   Producer: George Lavender Special thanks to the New School for use of their recording....

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The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Nov04

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

2016 marks 50 years since the founding of the Black Panther Party-a group that’s took the world by the storm, but is still widely misunderstood.   There’s a new documentary film that’s trying to set the record straight. On this edition of Making Contact, journalist Eric Arnold talks with Stanley Nelson, director of The Black Panthers, Vanguard of the Revolution. Featuring: Stanley Nelson, Director of Black Panthers: vanguard of the...

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#BlackLivesMatter: Alicia Garza on the Origins of a Movement
Sep15

#BlackLivesMatter: Alicia Garza on the Origins of a Movement

Black Lives Matter. This simple phrase has become the motto of a growing movement calling for true justice and equalty for black people. Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, first typed out those three words back in 2013. In March of 2015, Alicia Garza visited the University of Southern Maine to tell the story of how Black Lives Matter came to be, and express her hopes for where it’s headed. We hear her speech. Featuring:...

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Not Throw Away Women: Black and Indigenous Women Disrupt Violence
Sep09

Not Throw Away Women: Black and Indigenous Women Disrupt Violence

On this week’s show we’re exploring how some women have been dehumanized to the point of indifference. We’ll learn how one community is undoing the silence around the violence women of color face. We’ll also hear about how serial killers were able to hunt down mostly Black women for three decades in South Los Angeles. Then we’ll take you to the Yucatan where pregnant indigenous women struggle under a health care system failing...

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