The Juxtaposition of Sonya Massey's Killing and Kamala Harris' Presidential Run

Continuing our Black History Month series, ballet sensation Misty Copeland shares her journey to believing she was special. As the first African American woman to be a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater in 2015, Misty Copeland made history. Now, she continues to shape the future by inspiring young dancers and sharing not just her story, but also her inspiration in her memoir “The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor, Raven Wilkinson.” Copeland joins host Kai Wright to talk about her upbringing, mentorship that shaped her and the future she envisions for Black ballerinas. Companion listening for this episode: Billy Porter on Bringing Blackness, Queerness and Fullness to Art (12/19/2022) What does a next-level victory look like for an Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner? For actor Billy Porter - it’s an authentic sense of self. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org. 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.

23 Feb 202322min

Black studies is not about inclusion. It’s about disruption – which is why some fear it.  Black studies is under partisan attack, not only in Florida but around the country. With the effort to eliminate the field of study comes the erasure of scholarship and activism. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, African American studies professor at Northwestern University and author of the book “Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership,” has faced this firsthand. Taylor has been removed from the College Board’s A.P. African American studies course, and continues to be threatened. She joins host Kai Wright to discuss the real ideas behind Black studies and her new magazine Hammer & Hope, which centers Black politics and culture. Companion listening for this episode: American Political Myths Have Consequences For Us All (2/9/2023) From the “Southern Strategy” to the civil rights movement, we’re surfacing what is true about our nation’s past, and what is propaganda masquerading as history.  “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org. 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.

21 Feb 202332min

Down in the Mississippi Delta, the Lester Family made a space for themselves and claimed their land–and they didn’t need “40 Acres and a mule” to do it.  In February 2023, Pearline Lester passed away peacefully. We’re revisiting this story about her family’s legacy in her honor. Her husband, Elbert Lester has lived his full life in Quitman County, Mississippi, on land their family owns. That’s exceptional for Black people in this area today, but at one time, Black farmers owned the majority of this land. What happened to change that? Host Kai Wright goes on a search for the truth. With help from historians John Willis and Eric Foner, he uncovers a story about an old and fundamental question in American politics – Who are the rightful owners of this country’s staggering wealth? This episode was originally published as ‘40 Acres in Mississippi’ on January 30, 2020. Listen to more episodes here.  Companion listening from our archives: A Secret Meeting in South Bend (2/27/2020)Who Owns the Deed to the American Dream (9/29/2016) “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org. 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.

16 Feb 202342min

Boy meets girl, boy’s an immigrant, they go on a first date. The date does not go well. 17 years later, the boy discovers that being an immigrant played a role, on both sides. What happened? Senior Digital Producer Kousha Navidar guest hosts a conversation about coming of age as an immigrant in the U.S. He shares the story of his failed first date, a rare second chance and what the experience revealed about what it means to be an immigrant. Then, Sabaa Tahir, author of the National Book Award-winning novel "All My Rage," joins to talk about her immigrant experience and the role it plays in her writing, and callers share how the significance of being an immigrant can change over time for themselves. Companion listening for this episode: YA Literature Chose Jason Reynolds (12/26/2022) For author Jason Reynolds, the key to writing compelling young adult literature is reconnecting with the formative childhood experiences that made him. He has become a rockstar among kids and young adults for books like As Brave As You and Ghost that tell honest stories about Black childhood. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org. 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.

13 Feb 202348min

From the “Southern Strategy” to the civil rights movement, we’re surfacing what is true about our nation’s past, and what is propaganda masquerading as history. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made headlines again after striking down the College Board’s Advance Placement course on African American Studies in the state. Simultaneously, the College Board was making changes to the curriculum that some critics claim, omits key details from the history. Schools are common sites of cultural provocation and a key component of the ongoing history wars. To help explain the myths of our nation’s past and who is telling them, host Kai Wright speaks with Kevin M. Kruse, professor of history at Princeton University and co-author of the book "Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past." They discuss how political misunderstandings both old and new, influence American democracy. The True Story of Critical Race Theory (10/11/2021) Is racism a permanent fixture of society? Host Kai Wright is joined by Jelani Cobb, staff writer for The New Yorker, to unravel the history of Derrick Bell’s quest to answer that question and how it led to our present debate over critical race theory.  “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org. 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.

9 Feb 202324min

In the spirit of the Grammys, Emil Wilbekin, a founding editor of VIBE, offers a first-person history of Black popular music, from Soul Train to Beyoncé. On Notes from America we focus on Black history regularly, but to celebrate this year’s Black History Month, we’re thinking about it in the present tense. In our series Black History Is Now, we’ll bring you conversations with people who consider their work to be a continuum of Black history, all month. Emil Wilbekin, culture journalist and a founding editor of VIBE Magazine, is one of those people. While at VIBE, Wilbekin chronicled some of Black music’s biggest moments. In time for commercial music’s biggest awards night, he joins host Kai Wright to discuss his musical inspirations, major moments in Black music history and his community organization Native Son.  Companion listening for this episode: Billy Porter on Bringing Blackness, Queerness and Fullness to Art (12/19/2022) What does a next-level victory look like for an Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner? For actor Billy Porter - it’s an authentic sense of self. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org. 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.

6 Feb 202326min

When it comes to police reform, a retired NYPD detective argues that policing as a profession must evolve or go away completely.  The problem of police violence, and the excessive use of force in Black and Brown communities in particular, has spanned centuries and retired NYPD detective Marq Claxton says that the force’s stubborn, insular culture was built to last. Claxton, co-founder of the organization 100 Blacks In Law Enforcement Who Care and member of the Black Law Enforcement Alliance, joins host Kai Wright to offer insights on police culture from his two decades in the field. They speak about the psyche of police officers and Claxton’s experience as a Black person in law enforcement. This episode was originally published as ‘Why Cops Don’t Change’ on April 19, 2021. Listen to more episodes here.  Companion listening for this episode: David Dinkins vs. the NYPD (6/14/2021) How NYC’s first Black mayor tried to balance concerns about public safety with demands for a more accountable police force -- and the violent resistance he faced from the police union.  “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org. 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.

2 Feb 202317min

The release of brutal footage of the killing of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols by police officers in Memphis furthers an all-too-familiar conversation about accountability and police violence. The Black community in Memphis and nationwide is processing the details of Tyre Nichols’ killing at the hands of law enforcement - from the race of the police officers to the footage of the beating and why this is a persistent problem in America. To help unpack the story, host Kai Wright speaks with Karanja Ajanaku, Executive Editor of The New Tri-State Defender, a news organization that serves the greater Memphis African-American community. They discuss how a traffic stop turned deadly for Nichols, and how officers’ egregious use of force and media coverage of the incident is shaping civic life in Memphis. Companion listening for this episode: Crime, Panic and The Case Of The Exonerated Five (12/5/2022) It’s been twenty years since five men who were convicted as kids in the “Central Park jogger case” were exonerated. Their story has resonance in today’s crime-panicked United States. “Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Instagram and Twitter @noteswithkai or email us at notes@wnyc.org. 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.

30 Jan 202332min