Podcast: Play in new window | Download (23.6MB) | Embed
Earlier this month, a woman named Rachel Dolezal occupied the media spotlight over allegations that she was pretending to be black. She stepped down from her position as president of the Spokane NAACP. In several interviews she said she identifies as black, although both of her parents are white. The controversy sparked many conversations about race and identity. What exactly makes us a specific race or ethnicity? Is it the biology passed down to us through our parents? Is it the color of our skin? Or is it the cultural practices and traditions we keep?
Guests:
Jonnie Taté Walker (Mniconjou Lakota) – freelance journalist and social justice and human rights activist.
Dr. Eva Garroutte (Cherokee Nation) – research associate professor of sociology at Boston College
Dr. Christopher Basaldú (Chicano) – assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma in the Native American Studies Program
Break Music: Narbona (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)
