How the Founder of California's First Black Church Fought Its Last Known Slavery Case
California launched the first-in-the-nation statewide task force to study reparations for Black people, with special consideration for descendants of those enslaved in the United States. Even though California entered the union as a slavery-free state in 1850, that didn’t mean slavery didn’t exist here. As gold rush prospectors flooded the state, enslaved Black people were sometimes imported to work in the mines. And even Black people who entered the state free from bondage didn't always stay free. In fact, California law allowed slave catchers to abduct free Black people and take them to slave states, and sanctioned the re-enslavement of Blacks freed by their enslavers. As we continue to cover the push for reparations, we’re diving back into the history of the very last case of the enslavement of Black people in California. Reporter Asal Ehsanipour brings us a story we first aired in early 2020.
'All My Rage' Tells a Story of Love, Loss and Forgiveness in the Mojave Desert
Author Sabaa Tahir based her new young adult novel “All My Rage” on her experiences growing up in her family's 18-room motel in the Mojave Desert. As the child of Pakistani immigrants, and one of the few South Asians in her rural town, Tahir faced racism, Islamophobia, and taunting from other kids. She's an award-winning young adult author, and her earlier series “An Ember in the Ashes” – which had a woman of color hero – hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list. Tahir joins host Sasha Khokha to talk about her new book.