“It’s tough to think about yourself in color terms, even though people of color have to think about it every day.”

Tyrone Beason is a staff writer for the “Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine.” On Jan. 26, the magazine published “Black Like Me: It’s time for a deeper conversation about race in America,” a personal essay written by Beason.

At a time when our country is divided racially and politically, he asks ‘Who are we, and what are we really made of? What are we not saying to each other?’

In conversation with KCTS 9’s Enrique Cerna, Beason talks about the essay, the influences of his personal experiences and the people he discovered who are taking on issues of race, gender and equity in unique ways.

http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/black-like-me-its-time-for-a-deeper-conversation-about-race-in-america/

“My job is to put an objective lens on it to get results.”

Chris Reykdal is the new superintendent of public instruction for the state of Washington. A former high school teacher and state legislator, Reykdal was elected state schools chief in November. He takes office as the Washington State Legislature is grappling with meeting a state Supreme Court order as part of the landmark McCleary decision to come up with a plan to adequately fund public education. In conversation with KCTS 9’s Enrique Cerna, Reykdal weighs in on the funding challenge and the various funding proposals. He also talks about school testing, the opportunity gap, graduation rates and his concern about the increasing number of homeless students in our schools.

Seattle and Vancouver B.C. have much in common. Both have wonderful scenery, a growing economy, an influx of newcomers and major traffic congestion that can make commuting a nightmare.

In Vancouver, traffic is so bad that the 2016 TomTom traffic index survey rated the city as the most congested in Canada followed by Toronto and Montreal.

It is not likely to ease anytime soon as more than 38,000 people are moving to the Metro Vancouver area annually. The traffic impact goes beyond the difficult daily commute — it affects the area’s economy, workforce, housing, affordability, livability and public health.

What can be done to address the traffic concerns now and in the future? The Canadian members of KCTS 9’s Community Advisory Board decided that it was important to take up that question and much more. In early November, they organized a community forum at Vancouver’s Roundhouse Arts and Recreation Center titled Our Transportation Challenge: The Good, the Bad and the Bike Lanes? It featured exhibits of electric cars, the latest examples of top-notch road bikes for commuting and information about Metro Vancouver bicycle organizations.

More importantly, the forum included a lively discussion with a panel of prominent Canadians actively involved in transportation issues in the Metro Vancouver area. The panel featured Mayor Greg Moore of the city of Port Coquitlam and the chair of Metro Vancouver, the regional governing body that serves more than 2 million residents; Erin O’Melinn, the executive director of HUB Cycling; Geoff Cross, vice president of planning and policy for Translink, the regional transportation network for Metro Vancouver that includes public transit, roads and bridges; and urban planner Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University.

More than 175 people showed up for the panel discussion and weighed in with a variety of questions, concerns and suggestions about how to improve Metro Vancouver’s traffic congestion and ultimately its highly valued quality of life.

On this edition of Conversations, host Enrique Cerna talks with author Michael Eric Dyson about his new book, a New York Times best-seller, “Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America.” Dyson, a scholar, ordained Baptist minister and the author of 19 books, delivers a hard-hitting sermon that calls on white people to take action and responsibility for closing the racial divide in America today.

President Trump signs an executive order to build a border wall and targets sanctuary cities like Seattle. But at the same time, he indicates that Dreamers, undocumented young people who are receiving protection under DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, are not the main target of his efforts to crack down on those who are here illegally. What is the reaction in our immigrant communities? Jorge Baron, executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project talks with KCTS 9’s Enrique Cerna about their fears and concerns and what his organization is doing to counsel those fearful of deportation.

2016 ended on a high note for King County Executive Dow Constantine as he received national recognition for his governing of the state’s largest county. But 2017 brings challenges, with President Donald Trump and questions about future federal funding for transportation, housing and human services. Constantine talks about those concerns and more on this edition of “Conversations with Enrique Cerna.”

What is “White Fragility” and why do white people struggle with it?

Dr. Robin DiAngelo coined the term to describe why many white people are unable to respond to racism without getting defensive. DiAngelo is the author of “What Does it Mean to be White? Developing White Racial Literacy.

In conversation with host Enrique Cerna, DiAngelo explains how race shapes the lives of white people and why they have difficulty addressing racial issues. From her research and years of diversity training experiences, DiAngelo shares her perspective on why racism is hard for white people to see and discusses racial patterns that present barriers to greater racial equity in America today.

In this special edition of Conversations, Washington State Senior Senator Patty Murray shares her concerns about President-elect Donald Trump and his nominees for cabinet posts. Murray won re-election in November and now ranks third in the Senate Democrat hierarchy. In conversation with KCTS 9’s Enrique Cerna and political analyst Joni Balter, she weighs in on Republican plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, reports of Russian hacking of U.S. elections, the President-elect’s call for a Muslim registry, and what Democrats must change to appeal to the American electorate.

On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown, an unarmed African American was shot and killed after the scuffle with Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. Wilson said he feared for his life and acted in self-defense. Brown’s shooting set off protests and riots in Ferguson and elsewhere throughout the country — especially after Wilson was cleared by a grand jury and a Department of Justice investigation. In her book, “Tell the Truth & Shame the Devil: The Life, Legacy and Love of My Son Michael Brown,” Lezley McSpadden speaks out about her son, the controversial shooting and her efforts to seek justice for her son and other families of young, black men shot and killed in controversial police shootings.

President-elect Donald Trump says will nominated Dr. Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and a former presidential candidate, to be the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). But as someone who has never worked in government or served at the head of a major bureaucracy, is Carson the right person for the job? KCTS 9’s Enrique Cerna and Political Analyst Joni Balter take up that question and explore the incoming Trump administration with Ron Sims, former King County Executive and the former Deputy Secretary of HUD in the Obama Administration in this Vote 2016 conversation.