For more than two decades, a shadow hung over Chicago’s South Side; a police commander named John Burge and his so-called “midnight crew.” Their legacy: more than 110 Black men tortured into confessions, decades stolen, and a city complicit in silence. In CNN's Tortured Justice: The Burge Legacy, anchor and reporter Omar Jimenez revisits the men, the pain, and the pursuit of justice that refuses to die. From basement interrogation rooms to courtrooms still haunted by the past, this is a story about what happens when power corrodes accountability—and whether America can ever truly reckon with its own cruelty. He joins us to talk about that and his journey to that story.

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We’re joined by Texas State Representative Gene Wu, Minority Leader and Chair of the Democratic Caucus. In his thirteenth year in the House, Wu is sounding the alarm on Texas Senate Bill 17, a new law he says revives “anti‑alien land” restrictions from a century ago. He argues it creates two classes of Americans—one with full rights and another with limited rights—and echoes the path that led to Japanese internment. In this urgent conversation, Wu explains why SB 17 terrifies immigrant communities, why silence is dangerous, and what must be done to fight back.

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In Part 2 of our special Colors: A Dialogue on Race in America series, Jayne Kennedy opens up about the most difficult chapter of her life — a season of heartbreak, isolation, and doubt that nearly silenced her. But what makes her story extraordinary is not the fall, it’s the rise. With courage, faith, and the determination to reinvent herself yet again, Jayne found a way out of the darkness and into the light.

Her new memoir, Plain Jayne, captures that journey with raw honesty — and tomorrow, September 6th, the District of Columbia will honor her with Jayne Kennedy Day. This episode is about triumph over adversity, the power of self-forgiveness, and the unstoppable spirit of a true cultural icon.

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Jayne Kennedy is more than a trailblazer—she’s a cultural force who has broken barriers in beauty, sports, television, and film. From Miss Ohio to Hollywood, from Bob Hope’s world tours to making history on The NFL Today, her journey has been one of courage, reinvention, and what she calls “strategic pivoting.” 

Now, with the release of her long-awaited memoir, Plain Jayne, and a special proclamation from Mayor Muriel Bowser declaring September 6th as Jayne Kennedy Day in Washington, D.C., we sit down with her for an unforgettable conversation. 

In this Colors: A Dialogue on Race in America two-part series, Jayne Kennedy opens up like never before — funny, raw, emotional, and inspiring. 

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On this episode of COLORS, we’re joined by John Echohawk—a citizen of the Pawnee Nation and the co-founder/longtime executive director of the Native American Rights Fund, the legal backbone behind hard-won advances in tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, voting rights, and natural resources for more than five decades. He’s often described as the “Thurgood Marshall of Indian law.”  We'll speak to him about the challenges the Native American community has faced in the new Trump Administration.

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He was adopted as a baby—his roots, a mystery. Years later, a search began… And what he found changed everything. Darren Brown’s journey into his Native American heritage is raw, real, and unforgettable. And he's back with part two of his story. This is Colors—where identity isn’t just explored, it’s reclaimed. 

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• Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com.

 In this compelling episode, we sit down with literary scholar and author Dana A. Williams to explore her new book, Toni at Random. Best known as a Nobel Prize-winning novelist, Toni Morrison also spent over a decade as a formidable editor at Random House—amplifying Black voices, shaping cultural memory, and changing the face of American publishing. Williams reveals how Morrison championed iconic figures like Angela Davis, Muhammad Ali, and Toni Cade Bambara, and how her behind-the-scenes work helped lay the foundation for a more inclusive literary canon. 

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In this episode we talk with newly inducted SPJ Hall of Fame journalist Richard Prince—a legendary voice in American media and a tireless advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. From his groundbreaking column “Journal-isms” to decades of work spotlighting issues of representation in the newsroom and beyond, Prince has shaped the conversation on race and media like few others. 

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• Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com.

 Colors: A Dialogue on Race in America is a fearless, deeply human podcast that cuts through noise and cliché to confront the raw realities of race, identity, and power in America. Hosted by veteran journalist JJ Green, Colors blends investigative depth with emotional resonance—featuring unfiltered conversations with voices often ignored or silenced. Each episode is a mosaic of lived experience, expert insight, and cultural truth, capturing the complex, sometimes painful, always urgent stories that shape our national identity. From the streets of Minneapolis to the halls of national security, Colors doesn’t just document America’s racial landscape—it amplifies it with clarity, compassion, and unflinching honesty. This is storytelling with purpose. Journalism with soul. A call to listen, to learn, and to do better. 

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"Five years ago, America was in anguish. The killing of George Floyd didn’t just break hearts—it broke something deeper. It shattered illusions. It exposed truths that were too often ignored, too easily silenced.

Out of that pain, Colors was born.

Two friends—one Black, one White—looked each other in the eye and said, We have to talk. Not later. Not when it’s convenient. Now.

We launched this podcast not as experts, but as witnesses—witnesses to injustice, to discomfort, and to the urgent need for a real, human dialogue on race in America.

Chris Core joins me to talk about where things stand five years after we started this podcast. 

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• Check out our partner program on international affairs, Global with JJ Green on Substack. Please subscribe.
• Email us at colors@the colorspodcast.com.