GBH News Rooted

Supporters of criminal justice reform have fought against policies promoting harsh sentences and mass incarceration. In recent years there has been movement toward new policies on the federal and the state level. Other states are modeling their reforms based on the Massachusetts criminal justice reform bill, passed two years ago, which includes alternatives to prison and re-entry programs. Still, many who are caught up in the system are at risk for wrongful convictions, with people of color at greatest risk. Panelists: Rahsaan Hall, director of the racial justice program for the A-C-L-U of Massachusetts Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, Executive Director of The Lawyers for Civil Rights in Boston. Phillip Martin, Sr. Investigative Reporter, New England Center for Investigative Reporting, GBH News Sean Ellis. Ellis was wrongfully convicted of a 1993 murder of a Boston police detective. After having spent nearly 22 years incarcerated, his conviction was overturned in 2015.

A new decade and a new year. In 2020 America will experience a major demographic shift. Americans under 17 years old who are minorities will become the majority. What are the other indicators – economic, cultural, political — which may predict how this new decade will impact communities of color? Guest Panelists: Dr. Numa Perez, a surgical resident at mass general hospital and healthcare innovation research fellow at the health care transformation lab. Glynn Lloyd, Executive Director of The Foundation for Business Equity Renee Graham Associate Editor and Opinion Columnist at The Boston Globe Dr. Renee Richardson Gosline, senior lecturer at M-I-T. She is also a principal research scientist at M-I-T'S initiative on the digital economy.

Nearly half of Americans report living without meaningful social interaction—they are lonely. Experts have declared chronic loneliness an epidemic, and social isolation a public health issue. New research reveals that loneliness shortens life, leads to higher rates of diseases like high blood pressure, and is linked to suicide and other mental health issues. For people of color already grappling with racial and ethnic discrimination, loneliness hits even harder, creating greater anxiety and depression.

This week, Massachusetts state legislators approved a big boost in K-12 school funding. Now awaiting Governor Baker’s signature, the Student Opportunity Act would pump 1.5 billion dollars in schools which have been chronically underfunded. The history of education has been ripe with controversy…from the legacy of busing and issues around disparity to opportunities to attend exam schools and reports of re-segregation. How do educators build success for students and close the achievement gap? Callie Crossley hosts Phillip Martin, Sr. Investigative Reporter, NECIR and WGBH News Edith Bazile, President of BEAM - Black Educator’s Alliance of Massachusetts Milly Arbaje Thomas, C-E-O of Metropolitan Council for Education Opportunity Inc, or METCO Dr. Brenda Cassellius, Superintendent, Boston Public Schools.

Will the impeachment hearings make a difference in the mind of citizens and will it impact the upcoming election? Panelists: Phillip Martin, Sr. Investigative Reporter, WGBH News Marcus Walker, a humanities and history teacher at Fenway High school. He also teaches at Harvard University Prof. Paul Watanabe, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Asian American studies at UMass Boston Ivan (EVON) Espinoza- Madrigal, Executive Director of the Lawyers for Civil Rights Callie Crossley hosts

The courting of the Black Women's vote. Both Democrat and the President are looking for votes from women voters — in particular female voters of color. Will both parties take this important voting bloc serious of merely take them for granted? Parson Hicks. She was a 2016 elected At-Large Massachusetts Delegate to the R-N-C Convention and is currently a Registrar for the City of Manchester. Sharon Stout, Deputy Treasurer for the Mass. Dems. She is also the co-chair for the Newton Democrats and a board member of the Emerge Massachusetts chapter, an organization that helps women prepare and run for office Kim McLarin, Assoc. Prof. of Writing, Literature and Publishing, Emerson College Callie Crossley Moderates

The 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans to arrive to America and Harriet Tubman -- the most well-known conductor on the Underground Railroad, and her amazing story, now portrayed in a newly released film, "Harriet." Panelists: Marita Rivero, President and C-E-O of the Museum of African American History. She is also a former VP and General Manager of Radio and Television, here at WGBH Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson, Asst. Prof. of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. She is the author of, "Force & Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence" Renee Graham, Assoc. Editor and Opinion Columnist for The Boston Globe Kim McLarin, Assoc. Prof. of Writing, Literature and Publishing, Emerson College. She is also a columnist, for the Washington Post's "The Lily." Callie Crossley, hosts.

Recent films like "Get Out," "Us," "Ma" and the upcoming remake of "Candyman" Black horror genre is on the rise. Now, with the explosion of the genre has come new opportunities for actors of color and for Black filmmakers to express their visions and for audiences of all kinds to see new and complex reflections of Black life, all through the lens of horror. Guest Panelists: Actor, Naheem Garcia. He is also a Director & Educator Arjun Singh, Producer, WGBH, Boston Public Radio, 89.7 Lisa Simmons, Founder and artistic director of the Roxbury international Film Festival. She is also the President of the Color of Film Collaborative Filmmaker and Director, Vladimir Minuty Kim McLarin, hosts

Massachusetts, along with 11 other states, have legalized marijuana opening up business opportunities in product production and sales. Communities of color were dis-proportionately impacted by past drug policies, and have long argued that they should benefit from the fast growing trade. Who gets a seat at the table and will more entrepreneurs of color get into the growing industry? Chauncy Spencer, Founder of High Tech Farms. He is also an economic empowerment applicant Cynthia Mompoint, is an economic empowerment applicant and the co-founder of Danbala Group along with her husband Moor Stringer Tito Jackson, C-E-O of Verdant Medical, a vertically integrated-recreational marijuana organization that plans stores in Boston, Provincetown, and a store and cultivation facility in Rowley, Mass Richard Harding, Co-founder of Real Action for Cannabis Equity, or R-A-C-E, and President of the Green Soul Foundation Callie Crossley hosts

Golden State Warrior basketball player Steph Curry made a donation to Howard University to help revive their golf program. What is the history and legacy of the game? Who takes up the sport and what are the barriers to entry for both professional and novice players of color? Keith McDermott, 3 Point Foundation Sekou Morrison, co-producer of the Morrison Golf Classic, an annual African-American amateur golf tournament on Cape Cod Dr. Traci Parker, Asst. Prof. of Afro-American Studies, UMass Amherst Marcos Baugh Founder, Urban Golf Club Corp. Chris Collins hosts