We have two special guests today to discuss the need for inclusivity in science realm. Dr. Danielle Lee, The Urban Scientist, is a biologist and expert in animal behavior, mammalogy, and ecology. Dr. Chris Emdin is an Associate Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. Both join the Sex Politics And Religion hour to talk about the fact that there’s much work being done to make science more inclusive.
From code-switching to becoming an economy of entrepreneurs, science is at the heart of what we do, but we’re unfortunately missing the story that much of what’s happening.
Melissa Fabello, editor of “Everyday Feminism” and a sexuality educator, makes her debut on SPAR with Jamila.
The two look at the gubernatorial race in Virginia and the Mayoral race in New York City, assessing what women and those voting for women’s interests may wish to consider as the country sees its population change. The rise of the youth and the female vote as major segments capable of swaying major elections is not unexpected, but still needs some time to coalesce in a manner that can bring more political power to those voters.
Fabello says there is much to be happy about, but there’s still some work to be done in terms of making a more politically active and aware voting public.
For the first time since starting to cover the issue of school vouchers in Louisiana, the show will not be arguing about science standards!
Dr. Kevin Welner, the Director of the National Education Policy Center joins me to talk about Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal’s fight against the US Department of Justice.
Over the past several months, there has been a well-orchestrated political outcry against the DOJ for filing a legal motion in a long-standing desegregation case. The motion asks the court to require Louisiana to collect and report relevant data about the impact of that state’s voucher policy on racial segregation.
Louisiana’s new voucher law may undermine established desegregation orders issued as a result of unconstitutional discrimination by the state of Louisiana as well as many of its school districts.
However, Welner stresses that the DOJ motion is not designed to stop the implementation of the state’s voucher program. Instead, the motion seeks to bring the program within the scope of existing law and to avoid further segregation in the state.
Seun Sommers and Idris Brewster were admitted to the prestigious Dalton School in New York City as five year-olds.
Brewster’s parents, Joe Brewster and Michelle Stephenson, are filmmakers, and for thirteen years they chronicled their son and his friend’s lives in and out of Dalton.
The resulting film, “American Promise” tells stories about how race and gender can conspire to derail the education of black boys.
American Promise opens in DC this Friday at the E Street Cinema at 7PM, with the filmmakers present for a Q&A session after the screening.
#BlackTwitter strikes again! When a trio posted on social media a photo of themselves dressed up as “Robbin’ da Hood,” “George Zimmerman” with fingers pointed as if a gun toward, a bloody-hoodied, black-faced “Trayvon Martin,” folks inundated the workplaces of at least two of the posers with e-mails, phone calls and social media messages.
Joining me to talk about the power, and the responsibility of online activists is Mikki Kendall. She’s a blogger, a writer, and the brains behind “Hood Feminism”. We also bring up Julianne Hough and her unfortunate blackface Halloween costume as well.
The reality in America is that abortion is neither rare nor concentrated among any singular segment of society.
One in three women in the US will have an abortion in her lifetime. This week kicks off a week of activists giving people the opportunity to speak up about their own abortions. College campuses around the country are hosting events, and the “1 in 3 Campaign” is hosting many of the stories shared by individuals who often spoke about their abortion for the first time. Carly Manes, a junior at the University of Michigan, and Julia Reticker-Flynn, the Youth Activist Network Manager at Advocates for Youth, are my guests.
The DC District Court heard arguments today over an appeal by Guantanamo inmates charging that the force-feeding of hunger striking detainees is cruel and inhumane.
To emphasize this, protestors gathered outside the court after the proceedings and held a vigil that included a volunteer undergoing a real force-feeding himself to demonstrate just how painful it is. More than 160 detainees remain in detention at the base in Cuba, with 15 still on hunger-strike and being force-fed.
Voice of Russia talked to Todd Pierce, a retired U.S. Army Reserve officer with 20 years of active duty during which he served as defense counsel in the office of military commissions. He currently represents a Guantanamo detainee.
Voice of Russia also talked to Tighe Barry, CodePink activist trained as an EMT who participated in a rally against the force-feeding of Guantanamo detainees.
Video of Andres Thomas Conteris (of http://www.closegitmo.net/) being force-fed in front of the Federal Court of Appeals in Washington DC on Friday. He is on his 103rd day of a hunger strike in solidarity of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Filmed by Liudmila Chernova & edited by Sean Nevins.
Slide show of the Rally held outside the Federal Court of Appeals, Washington DC. Photos by Liudmila Chernova.
The government continues its shutdown, but that hasn’t stopped the political right from their Voters’ Summit.
It’s that time of year where religious voters come to Washington to commune and advance their causes. This year we learned from Dr. Ben Carson that there is no “War on Women,” the Affordable Care Act is equivalent to slavery, and that the Christian god is in charge of the world. Host of “Due Diligence,” Carmen Russell-Sluchansky joins me to talk about what they’re talking about this year.
Journalist and co-author of Crow After Roe: How “Separate But Equal” Has Become the New Standard In Women’s Health And How We Can Change That, Robin Marty joins the Sex Politics And Religion Hour to explain the tactics and political game plan of the factions that want to eliminate health care parity for women and eliminate the right of women to bodily and reproductive autonomy.
Dr. Brittney Cooper is assistant professor of Women’s Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University. Mychal Denzel Smith is a blogger at TheNation.com and a Knobler Fellow at the Nation Institute.
We talk about the writers’ recent pieces on Miriam Carey, the woman killed by police as she hit barriers at the Capitol and tried to exit her vehicle. We consider the assertion of these thinkers that this shooting speaks to a larger climate of expendable black women and turns a blind eye to violence toward them.
Follow our panelists on Twitter @mychalsmith @ProfessorCrunk.
For the first time in SPAR with Jamila history, a foodstuff has risen to a level of newsworthiness and tastiness to hold Jamila’s attention!
Jamie Glover’s pepper sauce is an all-natural, locally produced product that really should be the next condiment on everyone’s table. It’s not a hot sauce, and it’s not sweet, but it absolutely goes with every food one can think of!
Glover and his wife make hand-crafted batches at DC’s Union Kitchen and the bottles are sold locally after aging for a full month.
Glover’s will be in attendance at the Taste of DC, and they’ll be hosting a Pepper Party on October 18th at Union Kitchen.
Dr. Gloria Browne-Marshall, the first African-American woman to be credentialed to cover the US Supreme Court, joins Jamila to talk about the current crop of cases before the Justices.
From government-sanctioned prayer and campaign finance rules to abortion, the Court is sure to have some contentious issues to contend with.
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