Race

Now 59, George Prendes works as a telemarketer in New York and struggles to make the rent on his small Bronx apartment.

National

Decades On, Stiff Drug Sentence Leaves A Life 'Dismantled'

1:11pm February 15, 2013

by Brian Mann

George Prendes was 23 when he was sentenced under New York's Rockefeller drug laws — tough mandatory sentencing guidelines for nonviolent drug crimes. The 15 years Prendes served for a drug transaction still reverberate for him and his family.

Queue Listen Now

'Klansville, U.S.A.' Chronicles The Rise And Fall Of The KKK

5:30pm February 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

Author and sociologist David Cunningham speaks with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the origins of cross burnings and white hoods, and why North Carolina had more Klan members during the height of the civil rights movement than all other Southern states combined.

Queue Listen Now

Sen. Rubio's Response Gives GOP A Chance To Woo Hispanics

8:44am February 12, 2013

by David Welna

The 41-year-old Florida senator will deliver the official Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night. It's a chance for a party that has fared badly with both young and Hispanic voters to showcase a new stance on immigration.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

A Barbados Family Tree With 'Sugar In The Blood'

1:44pm February 04, 2013

In her new book, Andrea Stuart explores the intersection of sugar, slavery, settlement, migration and survival in the Americas. Stuart's personal history was shaped by these forces — she is descended from a slave owner who had relations with an unknown slave.

Queue Listen Now

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla, is among a bipartisan group of eight senators who this week announced a plan to overhaul the nation's immigration laws.

What's Behind Rubio's 'Full Circle Back' On Immigration?

7:17pm February 01, 2013

by David Welna

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., appears to have reversed his views on an earned path to citizenship, which in a Tea Party-backed 2010 campaign he called "code for amnesty." Some critics say the young Cuban-American lawmaker seems to be looking ahead to 2016 and a possible White House bid.

Queue Listen Now

'Ebony' Editor Began Life Black In Nazi Germany

5:36pm January 26, 2013

by Scott Simon

Long before becoming managing editor of Ebony magazine, Hans Massaquoi yearned to be a Hitler Youth. His rare story came to an end when Massaquoi died this week at the age of 87.

Queue Listen Now

Remembering Seneca Falls, Selma And Stonewall

2:23pm January 22, 2013

In his second inaugural address, the president surprised many listeners by mentioning Stonewall in the same breath as Seneca Falls and Selma — giving the struggle for gay rights the historical weight of the fights for gender and racial equality.

Queue Listen Now

Civil Rights Highlighted On Inauguration Day

10:06am January 22, 2013

by Mara Liasson

Monday's inaugural ceremonies were smaller and a little more subdued than President Obama's historic celebration four years ago. The coincidence of the King holiday, in the year that marks the 150th anniversary of emancipation, made civil rights a theme throughout the day's events.

Queue Listen Now

Myrlie Evers-Williams To Deliver Inaugural Invocation

10:01am January 21, 2013

by Debbie Elliott

The widow of a slain Mississippi civil rights leader Medgar Evars will help open the inaugural ceremony Monday. President Obama has selected activist Myrlie Evers-Williams to deliver the invocation. She's the first woman and lay person to have the honor.

Queue Listen Now

Bernard Holyfield (right) shares a childhood story with his friend Charles Barlow, about growing up in a racially charged Alabama during the early 1960s.

National

The Moment Race Mattered: A Haunting Childhood Memory

9:11am January 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

Bernard Holyfield was 5 years old when he learned that skin color made a big difference. He recalls an incident in the early 1960s in Alabama in which a drunken white man approached him and his brother while they were playing on their front lawn.

Queue Listen Now