Fragility in Liberty

Fragility in Liberty

Many of us associate the Statue of Liberty with the poem mounted on her pedestal: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The monument has become a symbol of immigration. What fewer of us know is that Lady Liberty was originally conceived as a tribute to the abolition of slavery. In fact, what we find as we look into history is that our country's immigration policy is closely intertwined with the end of Reconstruction and rise of Jim Crow. In this episode, we tell the story of one undocumented immigrant—Carlos Aguirre-Venegas—and trace the origins of a little-known law that's now being used to prosecute tens of thousands of people who crossed the border, separate some from their children, and lock them away in federal prisons.

- Jim Elkin is a National Park Ranger at Statue of Liberty National Monument

- Eric Foner is author of The Second Founding

- Kelly Lytle Hernandez is a professor of History, African American Studies, and Urban Planning at UCLA and author of City of Inmates

Hosted by Kai Wright. Reported by Seth Freed Wessler, in partnership with Type Investigations. Produced and edited by Christopher Werth. For more on Seth's reporting about Carlos Aguirre-Venegas and the privately-run prisons used exclusively to incarcerate non-citizens convicted of crimes, see his 2016 investigation in The Nation.

Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Jaksot(424)

Are We Really Having a 'Migrant Crisis?' Depends Who You Ask.

Are We Really Having a 'Migrant Crisis?' Depends Who You Ask.

Both President Biden and Donald Trump took campaign trips to Texas to visit the U.S. border in recent days. These simultaneous visits happened shortly after several polls found that immigration remain...

4 Maalis 202449min

We Could End AIDS. So Why Are People Still Dying?

We Could End AIDS. So Why Are People Still Dying?

Host Kai Wright started his career covering the impact of HIV and AIDS on communities in America. A new project brings that experience full circle. Kai hosts the latest season of the Blindspot podcast...

1 Maalis 202449min

Leading with Love: Care and Compassion in the Early Days of AIDS

Leading with Love: Care and Compassion in the Early Days of AIDS

The latest season of the Blindspot podcast, “The Plague In The Shadows,” brings listeners the voices of people who were affected in the early years of the HIV and AIDS epidemics. It includes stories l...

25 Helmi 202452min

It's Giving ‘Hell No’ — Danielle Brooks On Becoming ‘The Color Purple’s’ Sofia

It's Giving ‘Hell No’ — Danielle Brooks On Becoming ‘The Color Purple’s’ Sofia

There’s something about Sofia. The iconic character was first born within the pages of Alice Walker’s canonical 1982 novel, “The Color Purple.” She is a fierce, principled Black woman — friend to the ...

23 Helmi 20249min

A Palestinian-American Victim of American Gun Violence Becomes A Reluctant Poster Child

A Palestinian-American Victim of American Gun Violence Becomes A Reluctant Poster Child

Hisham Awartani was visiting family in Vermont over Thanksgiving break in 2023 when he and two of his friends were shot. All three victims are of Palestinian descent and were wearing traditional Pales...

19 Helmi 202450min

Kai Wright Presents Blindspot Episode 3: ‘Women Don’t Get AIDS, They Just Die From It’

Kai Wright Presents Blindspot Episode 3: ‘Women Don’t Get AIDS, They Just Die From It’

From the very earliest days of the epidemic, women got infected with HIV and died from AIDS — just like men. But from the earliest days, this undeniable fact was largely ignored — by the public, the g...

16 Helmi 202446min

Intercultural Relationships Are More Common, But Are They Less Taboo?

Intercultural Relationships Are More Common, But Are They Less Taboo?

We’re living in polarized times – particularly, when it comes to questions of identity, such as race and culture and gender. At the same time, our growing cultural diversity is at this point baked int...

12 Helmi 202449min

Kai Wright Presents Blindspot Episode 2: If I Didn’t Have HIV, I Wouldn’t Have Met You

Kai Wright Presents Blindspot Episode 2: If I Didn’t Have HIV, I Wouldn’t Have Met You

It’s the 1980s — Harlem, USA — and the 17th floor of the area’s struggling public hospital is filling up with infants and children who arrive and then never leave. Some spend their whole lives on the ...

9 Helmi 202440min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-pinnalla
otetaan-yhdet
rss-podme-livebox
rss-asiastudio
the-ulkopolitist
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
aihe
linda-maria
rss-pallo-keskelle-2
rss-polikulaari-pitka-kiekko-ja-muut-ts-podcastit
rss-50100-podcast
rss-girls-finish-f1rst