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Women Rising Radio: Rescuing The Isolated and Displaced, Women of Doctors Without Borders
Most of the world simply has no health care. There are vast tracts of land and populations of people who don’t have doctors or must make great efforts to reach medical care. In addition, masses of displaced people and refugees – over 100,000,000 at last count – need to be rescued from their desperate situations. Doctors Without Borders, Medecins Sans Frontieres in French (MSF) is on the ground providing quality medical care to those in need across the world. Listen to four of these healers tell the stories of their work...
read moreStaying Rooted: Community Focused Economic Models, Cooperative Housing, and the New Economy Coalition
Collective housing, cultural co-ops, land trusts, community banks are community-rooted enterprises that empower those that have been excluded from traditional economic institutions. Solidarity economy models exercised throughout the country are becoming viable solutions towards sustainable and economically just living. Today we’re visiting community-rooted enterprises where people are rethinking power and participation in their lives. Collective housing and cultural co-ops, land trusts and community banks are providing fundamental...
read moreMirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible (Encore Edition)
Mirrors of Privilege is a remarkable and engaging film that explores stories from white men and women about their journeys in overcoming issues of unconscious bias and entitlement. From Shakti Butler, director of “Cracking the Codes: The System of Inequity” and “The Way Home: Women Talk About Race in America,” “Mirrors of Privilege” is a must-see for all people who are interested in justice, spiritual growth and community making. This film advances the argument that with transformative learning, a dialogue for learning, changing, healing,...
read moreAlicia Garza: On Historical Amnesia, and Fighting White Supremacy
As people respond in the wake of actions in Charlottesville,VA, perpetrated by white supremacists and Nazi’s emboldened by President Trump, we interview Alicia Garza, one of the founding leaders of Black Lives Matter. You’ll hear Garza’s specific definitions of power and white supremacy, as she contextualizes this moment, and you’ll learn about concrete actions that people, especially white people can take to move forward and organize. Special thanks to Kate Raphael & Women’s Magazine on KPFA. Like this...
read moreThe Struggle Inside: The Murder of George Jackson
On this edition of Making Contact we present, The Struggle Inside: The Murder of George Jackson, a program about the modern anti-prison movement. This year marks the 38th anniversary of Black August, first originated in the California prisons to honor fallen Freedom Fighters, George and Jonathan Jackson, Khatari Gaulden, James McClain, and William Christmas. Jonathan Jackson was gunned down outside the Marin County courthouse on August 7, 1970 as he attempted to take hostages in a plan to negotiate the release of his brother, George. This...
read moreWalk the Talk: Stories of Indigenous-led Resistance to Oil and Waste
On this edition of Making Contact, we’ll meet people challenging polluters in their own backyard. Not to push hazardous industries into another neighborhood. Instead they’re developing visionary solutions for a better life for all and for the future of the planet. From urban to rural communities, we’ll learn about indigenous-led efforts to protect public health and the environment for future generations. We’ll meet Community Storytelling Fellow, environmental and indigenous leader Isabella Zizi. In this piece, Zizi talks about how the...
read moreThe Aftermath of Ghost Ship and the San Pablo Fires
On this edition of Making Contact, we’ll explore the aftermath of the Ghost Ship fire and the battle to preserve live/work spaces, and then we look at the San Pablo fire in Oakland California that displaced at least a hundred residents…many of whom are now living on the streets in tent encampments. Special Thanks to KALW and Jeremy Dalmas. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Carmen Brito Jonah Strauss Traymaine “Trey” Baker Alex Perry Nicole...
read moreFinding Home: Displacement and Homelessness from Cape Town to California
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. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Needa Bee, Oakland-Based Housing Advocate Messiah Ali, Oakland Resident Tom Waldman, Director of Communications, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Flora Harris, C-3 Program Director, St. Joseph Center Chyheeb Joseph, Outreach Worker, Los Angeles...
read moreIsabella Zizi: Indigenous Environmental Justice
Earlier this year, I received multiple emails from some colleagues to apply for Making Contact’s Spring Community Storytelling Fellowship. I was very intrigued by the title of the fellowship: Indigenous Solutions and Climate Crisis. I finally said to myself “Let’s take a look at what this is all about.” At first I was hesitant to apply because I didn’t consider myself a storyteller. I felt that I didn’t have the background skills or wasn’t educated about radio and audio recordings. When I continued to read the overview, the application read...
read moreDr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor “From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation” (Encore Edition)
** Dr. Taylor recently received death threats after a speech she had made at the Hampshire College graduation. Fox ‘News’ obtained her speech, clipping from it and re-presenting it to their audiences. Soon after, Dr. Taylor received a barrage of threats on her life and her family, forcing her to cancel several speaking events. We think Dr. Taylor’s voice should be heard… again! Is whitelash enough of an explainer for the rise of president-elect Donald Trump? Is it rigorous enough to blame the people who...
read moreThe Draft, Duty, and Dissent: G.I. Resistance to War
It was the 1960s ” and throughout the United States, opposition to the War in Vietnam was growing. The Draft forced young men to make a choice about their own participation in the war. And many chose to resist. Over the course of the war, 2.6 million went to fight in Vietnam. More than 15 million were exempt or disqualified from military service. And over 200,000 officially defied the draft. Today, the US military is made up of those who enlist. What does it take “in the absence of an official draft” to build resistance to...
read moreDr. Ibram X. Kendi – Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Some Americans cling desperately to the myth that we are living in a post-racial society, that the election of the first Black president spelled the doom of racism. In fact, racist thought is alive and well in America – more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues in Stamped from the Beginning, if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society. In this deeply...
read moreSacrifice Zones Pt. 2
Since 2003 a rash of proposals have surfaced in communities throughout the Northwest to export vast amounts of fossil fuels to Asian markets via Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. If these plans go through the Northwest would become home to the largest oil terminal in North America, the largest coal export facility in North America, and the largest methanol refinery in the world. This week we present Part Two of Sacrifice Zones by Barbara Bernstein. It’s the final installment in a two-part series on the pressure to transform a region...
read moreSacrifice Zones Pt. 1
Since 2003 a rash of proposals have surfaced in communities throughout the Northwest to export vast amounts of fossil fuels to Asian markets via Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. If these plans go through the Northwest would become home to the largest oil terminal in North America, the largest coal export facility in North America, and the largest methanol refinery in the world. As the fossil fuel industry turns up its pressure to turn the Pacific Northwest into a fossil fuel export hub, a Thin Green Line stands in its way. This week...
read moreThe Fraught Process Towards Peace: Colombia and the Philippines
Two of the longest running armed rebellions on opposites sides of the world, the FARC in Colombia and the NDFP in the Philippines are vying for peace but several elements-government, paramilitary, and drugs, make it all but impossible. As members of the FARC, Colombia’s largest rebel group, embark on their ‘last march’ to demobilization camps after half a century of war and the government begins peace talks with ELN rebels, a series of assassinations has shaken the prospects for peace in Colombia. Human rights defenders, left-wing activists,...
read more(ENCORE) Brightness of Courage: The Fight for Transgender Access to Gender-Specific Spaces
On this ENCORE edition of Making Contact, we look at some of the struggles and victories in the fight for transgender access to gender-specific spaces and programs. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Gavin Grimm, high school senior whose case is scheduled to be heard by the US Supreme Court in 2017 Joshua Block, attorney representing Gavin Grimm, American Civil Liberties Union Stephanie Paige, US Army veteran Michelle Lael-Norsworthy, founder of Joan’s House, a...
read moreLiberation Theology: A March to Freedom
Liberation Theology: A March to Freedom explores the conceptual framework of “liberation theology” — a branch of Theology developed by Catholics and Christians looking to examine the church’s role in society, to address the socio-political and economic realities of the oppressed. We will examine why Liberation Theology, with its focus on political activism and resistance, is resonating with communities hungry for social justice during these trying times. Special thanks to Prison Radio, Rev. Sekou & the Holy Ghost – We...
read moreThe Long Ride Home: Get on the Bus, and Incarcerated Families ENCORE
The Get On The Bus program coordinated by the Center for Restorative Justice Works that offers support and free transportation services to families affected by the criminal justice system by bringing children and their guardians/caregivers from throughout California to visit their mothers and fathers in prison. These ride happen for several weekends, from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day, hundreds of families are reunited for the holidays. Special thanks to Center for Restorative Justice Works, Get on the Bus, Hezekiah Davis, and Elizabeth Lo...
read moreThe Poetic Address to the Nation
The Poetic Address to the Nation was an event that brought together poets to speak out and against the current administration. The event featured poets Cam Awkward, Guillermo Gomez Peña, Michelle ‘Mush’ Lee, Chinaka Hodge, and many others to share pieces from immigration, to trans violence, to activism. Making Contact is broadcasting an abridged version of the event produced by the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture. The 2017 Poetic Address to the Nation was organized by Yerba Buena Center for the...
read moreCommunity Storytelling Fellow for Indigenous Climate Leadership: Isabella Zizi
This week as people prepare for the Climate Marches, we’re welcoming Making Contact’s new Community Storytelling Fellow for Indigenous Climate Leadership: Isabella Zizi! Isabella is a member of the Northern Cheyenne, Arikara, and Muskogee Creek tribes and the founder of Earth Guardians Bay Area. At 22 years old, she is the youngest member of Idle No More SF Bay. In Isabella’s words: “I’ve been active in the native community for a few years now educating those about indigenous sovereignty, sacred sites, and...
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