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)

Impeachment: Catharsis and Impunity

Impeachment: Catharsis and Impunity

The Senate’s trial and acquittal of Donald Trump left many with mixed emotions. But did it move us any closer to a reckoning with the worst of America’s political culture?  Pulitzer Prize-winning hist...

15 Helmi 202149min

The ‘Beautiful Experiments’ Left Out of Black History

The ‘Beautiful Experiments’ Left Out of Black History

Cultural historian Saidiya Hartman introduces Kai to the young women whose radical lives were obscured by respectability politics, in the second installment of our Future of Black History series.  The...

8 Helmi 202149min

The Origin Story of Black History Month

The Origin Story of Black History Month

We’ve got complicated relationships with this annual celebration -- from joy to frustration. So to launch our Future of Black History series, we ask how it began and what it can be. Producer Veralyn W...

1 Helmi 202148min

New Hopes, Old Fears

New Hopes, Old Fears

Kai checks in with poet Jericho Brown, historian Kidada Williams, and listeners as we all try to transition out of the Trump presidency.  Jericho Brown, recipient of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for poetry...

25 Tammi 202149min

Life After Fascism: A Brief History

Life After Fascism: A Brief History

Historian Timothy Snyder offers lessons on what could happen if those who enabled the attack on our democracy don’t face consequences.  President Biden was just inaugurated and many Americans are eage...

21 Tammi 202115min

How Martin Luther King, Jr., Changed American Christianity

How Martin Luther King, Jr., Changed American Christianity

And what MLK’s uniquely Black theology can teach us about the relationship between faith and politics in 2021. Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce, dean of the Howard University School of Divinity and author of t...

18 Tammi 202150min

The American Story, in a Single Day

The American Story, in a Single Day

January 6, 2021, offered a hyper-condensed version of our country’s entire political history--with all of its complexity, inspiration, and terror. In a special national radio broadcast of our show, we...

11 Tammi 202150min

The (Un)Making of a ‘Model Minority’

The (Un)Making of a ‘Model Minority’

An odd racial pecking order puts Indian Americans in a curious place -- outside of whiteness, but distinct from other people of color. How’d that come to be? And is it changing? We explore these quest...

4 Tammi 202151min

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