KQED's Forum

A Washington Post review of news stories since the 2016 election found more than 300 incidents of school children being harassed by students or teachers using Trump's inflammatory rhetoric. In Tennessee middle school students linked arms to imitate the president's border wall and refused to let nonwhite students pass. In Utah, two kindergartners told a Latino boy that Trump would send him back to Mexico. At least three quarters of the attacks were aimed at black, Hispanic or Muslim kids. Trump supporters were also harassed. Forum talks with one of the Post reporters about their findings.

"If there is one tool people can cull from my poems, it’s that shame is one of the best unburdenings you can do," says poet Danez Smith. A black, queer, nonbinary author and performer, Smith first captured the public's attention in 2014 with the viral video of their poem "Dear White America" while part of the Oakland-based youth performance ensemble Young Gifted and Black. Smith's newest work, "Homie," tackles themes of friendship, queerness and blackness with fierce vulnerability. We'll talk to Smith, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, about their poetry, their time in the Bay Area and freeing themselves of shame.

When telling the history of labor organizing in California, we typically mention Cesar Chavez or Dolores Huerta. Less often do we talk about Larry Itliong, who led Filipinos in the Great Delano Grape Strike for minimum wage from 1965 to 1970. Itliong helped foster solidarity between Filipinos and Mexicans and later co-founded the United Farm Workers union with Chavez and Huerta. We'll talk to author Gayle Romasanta about her children's book, "Journey For Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong" and about shedding light on the often overlooked stories of Filipinos in California history.

Prop 13, the only statewide measure on the March 3rd ballot, would invest $15 Billion into rebuilding California schools. That includes updating facilities and developing new construction projects for k-12. Those who support Prop 13 point to the deteriorating state of our public schools and the need to invest in education. Others argue that the ballot measure will raise taxes and question the decision to double the limit on what a school district can borrow. We’ll take your questions and breakdown what we should make of Prop 13.

Attorney General William Barr is set to testify before House Judiciary Committee on March 31st about the Justice Department's controversial intervention in the case of President Trump's friend and advisor Roger Stone. The DOJ recommended a more lenient sentence for Stone after Trump tweeted that the original sentencing request was "disgraceful." Four prosecutors quit the the case after they were overruled by the Justice Department. We’ll talk with with former federal prosecutor Rory Little and New York Times reporter Katie Benner about threats to the DOJ's independence in the Trump era.

Hundreds of Berkeley High School students walked out of their classes on Monday and Tuesday this week to call for changes to how the district handles incidents of sexual assault. Students marched to the Berkeley Unified School District's central office Tuesday and demanded changes including better training for staff in handling reports of sexual violence and adding a dedicated Tile IX coordinator to handle incidents. Forum gets an update on the protests and how the district is responding.

After last week's caucus blunder in Iowa, all eyes were on Tuesday's New Hampshire primary to gauge the pulse of the Democratic presidential race. Meanwhile, late entry Michael Bloomberg skipped New Hampshire, but drew ire after a racism-tinged speech surfaced this week. We discuss which candidates seem the most viable and what experts are watching for next.

Beyond voting, what does it mean to participate in a democracy? For some, it means volunteering with the PTA, going to city council meetings or attending demonstrations. As part of Forum's Activating Democracy series we opened the phone lines to ask our listeners: what steps have you taken to become a more engaged citizen?

Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing a three year suspension of mandatory school fitness exams while the state studies whether it should modify the test or scrap it altogether. Newsom is responding to concerns that the tests, required for students in 5th, 7th and 9th grade, can subject kids to bullying, body shaming and gender identity discrimination. Forum discusses the pros and cons of the state fitness test.

As part of Forum's 2020 election coverage, we'll break down the Democratic presidential candidates’ plans and records on climate change.