This June, thousands of grassroots activists converged on Detroit, Michigan to attend the 2010 United States Social Forum. We were there and on this edition of Making Contact, we'll bring you some of the local and international voices we found.

In a special collaboration with “Feet in 2 Worlds,” we hear the story of an immigrant family torn apart after an immigration raid in Phoenix, Arizona. And we report on a successful grassroots effort to change policies at “Hutto.”

It’s been decades since the U.S. has had a powerful labor movement and recent efforts to revive it have mostly fallen flat. But there is hope for a new labor movement that goes beyond the unions.

An interview with James Lawson, the chief architect of the 1960 lunch counter sit-ins, and confidant to Martin Luther King. Lawson touches on everything from Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez to the modern gay rights and environmental movements.

For many people in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, the struggle to legalize gay marriage across the U.S. remains the priority political battle. But others in the LGBT community disagree.

Art is everywhere...but why do we do it? On this edition we speak with young artists of diverse backgrounds who use their independent experiences and creative impulses to talk about race, identity, and politics...and along the way to self-reflect.

This June, the US Social Forum will be held in Detroit, Michigan. We look at how Domestic Workers got organized at the last US Social Forum and we ask, what can we learn from the fall and rise of one of America’s great industrial cities?

State budgets are strapped and deep cuts to public programs continue. On this edition, we look at the crisis in K through 12 education. While the Obama administration pushes states to “Race to the Top,” teachers, parents and students are resisting budget cuts from the bottom up.

We’ll hear part two of a documentary called Heavy Weather, produced by freelancer Barbara Bernstein. She’ll look at how climate change is creating new challenges in urban communities as they recognize the need to think and act sustainably.

On this edition, we hear from LGBTQ immigrants in the U.S. who not only have to hide their legal identity, but their sexuality too. Their stories demonstrate why living illegally in the U.S. is not only their refuge, but also their biggest fear.