Original Air Date: October 6, 2021

With the exception of the unforgettable voice of Afro-Latina, Cubana and Salsera, Celia Cruz, how many other Afro-Latinos can you name? How many can your children name? This is why representation matters. It matters so people feel seen and heard. 

Many Afro-Latinos are taking up the call to make sure the next generation sees representations of themselves in one of the first places they experience images and stories, in children’s books.

The Takeaway talks with Sulma Arzu Brown, author of "Pelo Malo, No Existe" (Bad Hair Does Not Exist), Charles Esperanza, author of "Boogie Boogie, Y’all," and Yesenia Moises, author of "Stella’s Stellar Hair."

The Writers Guild of America, which has over 11-thousand members, is entering week its third week of a work stoppage.  This is the first strike in 15 years, and comes at a time when the TV and film industry has seen some major changes in recent years. Amongst their demands, writers are seeking higher wages, better residuals, and assurances on the use of AI.

First we hear from Monice Mitchell Simms, TV writer, screenwriter, author, producer and a member of the Writers Guild of America, who has been on the picket lines in Los Angeles.

Then we speak with Alex Press, labor reporter and staff writer at Jacobin Magazine

Under the covid era immigration policy, Title 42 had expelled and turned away 2.6 million people at the U.S. Southern border without question. But that has not stopped the tens of thousands of migrants from gathering along the Southern border, hoping to be allowed to remain in the United States while awaiting a court date. While the Biden administration has rejected comparisons to the Trump administration, now as Title 42 measures have been lifted new asylum rules have been put into place. Causing migrant advocate groups to point out that the Biden administration has only “doubled down.”

Joining us now is Faisal Al-Juburi, a spokesperson with RAICES a non-profit group defending the rights of immigrants and refugees, and Camilo Montoya-Galvez, immigration reporter at CBS News.

We’re checking in on Ukraine after fifteen months of the war instigated by Russia for one last time on The Takeaway. Christopher Miller, Ukraine correspondent for the Financial Times joins The Takeaway to talk about the overview on military strategizing, how local Ukrainians are living and what to expect in the coming months of the war. 

Original Air Date: May 18, 2022

The Buffalo shooting at TOPS Supermarket in Buffalo has had significant ramifications for a part of Buffalo’s East Side, a neighborhood which has historically struggled with food insecurity. TOPS is the lone supermarket in this part of Buffalo’s East Side, and following the attack it was closed for two months.  We look back at how the city’s legacy of institutionalized racism and segregation have been responsible for dividing Buffalo in what today remains as the sixth-most racially segregated city in America and explore what that has meant for food access and inequities in the communities affected.

We hear from Allison DeHonney, Founder and CEO of Buffalo Go Green, and Craig Willingham, Managing Director for CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute.

Original Air Date: May 15, 2022

The white supremacist shooter who killed 10 people in a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, NY in May was given a life sentence in February 2023.

We hear from Mark Talley, founder of Agents for Advocacy, a nonprofit serving the Buffalo community in memory of Geraldine Talley, Mark’s mother who was killed in the Tops supermarket shooting.

Then we explore how the importance of culturally competent mental healthcare and how to expand access to it, for communities of color, with Luis Zayas, Dean of the School of Social Work, Chair in Mental Health and Social Policy, and Professor of Psychiatry at The University of Texas at Austin.

Sunday marked one year since the racist mass shooting in Buffalo. Melissa Harris-Perry sits down with Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown to reflect on the tragedy and discuss how the city is coping right now. The tragic shooting is one of several disturbing massacres motivated by hate that have occurred in recent years. But the history of race based violence dates back to the beginning of what is now the United States, and some of the recent racially motivated attacks call to mind some of the racist violence that targeted Black communities in the early 20th century. We also speak with journalist and professor Jelani Cobb about this history.

Original Air Date: May 6, 2022

According to a 2020 study by The Williams Insitute, an LGBT think tank at UCLA Law School, 19% of transgender adults are parents. Many are parents to biological children. But for transgender people who choose to adopt or foster, the process can be particularly challenging. Laws vary by state, and while 28 states prohibit adoption discrimination on the basis of gender identity, 19 states do not.

Octavia Lewis is a transgender Health Coordinator at Montefiore Health System and she's navigated the foster and adoption systems in New York. The Takeaway spoke with her about her constantly evolving relationship with motherhood. 

Original Air Date: May 6, 2022

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, over half of the women who are in federal prisons and 80% of women in jails are mothers. The National Bail Out Collective is an organization fighting for pretrial reform to remove these mothers and caregivers from behind bars instead of allowing them to sit in jail cells while awaiting adjudication. The National Bail Out Collective also coordinates Mama’s Day Bailouts to bail out Black mothers and caregivers on Mother’s Day.

We speak with Rodreshia Russaw, Executive Director of The Ordinary People Society and Qiana Johnson, Founder of Life After Release about their work to support incarcerated women and mothers and their participation in Mama’s Day Bailout. 

We discuss what motherhood looks like when mothers and children are separated by borders, and how these families challenge Western stereotypes about what "good" motherhood is. We speak with Gabrielle Oliveira, associate professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education and the author of "Motherhood Across Borders: Immigrants and their Children in Mexico and in New York City."