We look at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the racial justice movement on artists and performers in communities of color. We talk with writer and author Reagan Jackson, Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna plus singer and “The Voice” alum Stephanie Anne Johnson. Each bring a unique perspective on how this year of pandemic and social change have affected them personally and professionally.

The movement for change rolls on. On this episode, we look at the creation of Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest. After recent protests, some peaceful, some not, #CHOP took root as Seattle police abandoned its East Precinct. We also talk with Elmer Dixon, co-founder of Seattle’s Black Panther in the late 60's, another time of major civil unrest in Seattle and the nation. He shares his thoughts on the similarities of that time and the present. And we meet educator and artist Aileen Granstrom, one of 200 artists who have contributed their time and skills to create murals with message in the Seattle Chinatown International District.

In this special edition of Life on the Margins, we probe deeply into the case of Manuel Ellis, a Black Tacoma man who died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody on March 3rd, 2020. The investigation into his death was seemingly dormant until it roared into the public spotlight this week after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee demanded a full investigation into the 33-year-old’s death. Since then, video footage of his fateful encounter with police, along with an audio recording of him saying the words “I can’t breathe,” have led the mayor of Tacoma to call for the firing of the four officers involved in the case.

We discuss the case and hear directly from the Ellis family, about their hard-fought battle for the truth. We also discuss how it relates to the national unrest currently raging around police accountability.

#LifeOnTheMargins #SeattleProtest #TacomaProtest #JusticeForManny #JusticeForManuelEllis

The May 25 killing of George Floyd, a black man, by Minneapolis police sparked outrage and protests across the nation that sees no signs of abating. If anything, the demonstrations have intensified the longstanding desire for America to address chronic and systemic racial disparities.

Also needing to be addressed, is law enforcement’s accountability to

communities of color. Those are issues we continue to have in our own

backyard, as the family of a Tacoma man who died in police custody

continues to search for answers. 

In this special edition, an emotional conversation Dr. Ben Danielson, pediatrician, and medical director at Odessa Brown Clinic in Seattle’s Central District, about racism as a public health threat. We also hear from the family of Manuel Ellis, who are still searching for answers three months after his death in police custody. And Matt Chan has commentary on the relationship between the Asian and Black communities.

As the coronavirus spread from China to become a global pandemic, threats of violence and racial slurs aimed at persons of Asian descent continue to rise in the United States. In episode 4 of Life on the Margins, Kert Lin recounts his encounter and the emotional impact on him after becoming the target of a racist incident at a south Seattle Home Depot. He is still upset with the driver of a pick-up truck who cut him off in the parking lot, yelled an anti-Asian racial slur and told him to “go back to China”. Even more disturbing for Lin was the lack of response to the incident when he reported it to Home Depot management and Seattle Police. We also hear from Matt Chan; Seattle media producer, creator of the reality show Hoarders, and a Chinatown-International District community activist, who delivers his opinion about the Kert Lin incident and its aftermath.

A public health study reveals that King County has significant racial disparities in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. Among Latinos, the study shows the virus death rate is two and half times higher than white people. The study mirrors what is happening nationally as communities of color are being hit hard by the coronavirus. In episode 3 we break down the data in King County with Matias Valenzuela, equity officer for Seattle-King County Public Health, and we also meet registered nurse Jessica Esparza; an ICU nurse at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, who is risking her life to save others amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Amid the death and turmoil of the Coronavirus pandemic, people are stepping up to aid their community with humanity and compassion. We introduce you to coffee shop owner Luis Rodriguez and volunteer Maria Lamarca Anderson who show us why giving is so important in these difficult times. Plus, we begin a new segment “For Real Though” that examines society’s absurdities, ridiculousness, and injustices that are leaving us in a state of disbelief, and making us ask “but, for real though?”

In exploring how to grapple with the bias and stigma being unleashed during this crisis, we spoke with two people who have had to deal with it head on. We talk with former Washington State Gov. Gary Locke who woke up last week to an inadvertent cameo in a Trump Campaign ad as well as New York Times best selling author Ijeoma Oluo about efforts to aid Seattle area artists and how we might curb the rise of racial bias during this trying time.