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Fighting for Reparations in Palm Springs; Uncovering Women Miners' Forgotten Legacy

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A woman wearing a hat, glasses and a green shirt holds a picture while standing in a forest.
Archelogist Laile Di Silvestro holding a photo of Rhoda Kansas Meadows McGinnis (1856–1909), one of Mineral King’s mining women, in front of what Meadows' former mine claim in Mineral King.  (Sasha Khokha/KQED)

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Burned, Displaced and Fighting Back: A Battle for Reparations in Palm Springs

You might think of Palm Springs as a wealthy city filled with luxury hotels and swimming pools. But it’s also a place shaped by brutal racismPeople who lived in Section 14, once a predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood, were pushed off their land. Their homes were bulldozed and burned down. The California Report’s Madi Bolanos talked to some of the former residents who are now fighting for reparations.

Uncovering Women Miners’ Forgotten Legacy in the ‘Swiss Alps’ of Sequoia National Park 

We’re continuing our Hidden Gems series with a visit to Mineral King. It’s located in the southern part of Sequoia National Park. Mineral King’s remote location means it gets fewer visitors than other parts of the park. But the campers and backpackers that make the trek are rewarded with a spectacular mountain range with rushing waterfalls. There are only a handful of buildings here, including some historic wooden cabins that belong to a few families who’ve been here long before this was a national park. One of those cabins belongs to Laile Di Silvestro’s family.  Her connection to Mineral King goes back to the 1870s. Today, she’s an archeologist, and she’s looking for the stories she didn’t hear growing up. Host Sasha Khokha hiked Mineral King with Di Silvestro to learn about some surprising trail blazers in the California gold rush, and the discrimination some people faced during those boom times.

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