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In episode 82, we discuss how the question "How are you?" is part of documenting changing people and a changing globe. The answer reveals a lot about us. Are we good? We hear from a high school athlete who is worried about going back to a crowded campus, a woman who lost her mother to COVID-19, an anti-police brutality activist who sees focused protesters demanding positive local change, a community organizer whose family was torn apart after their activism, and an advocate who networks community groups to pay people to make masks. We know everyone out there is working hard in one way or another. So, how are you?
Sandia Prep junior Santiago Cooper talks about his apprehension when it comes to going back to school in the fall. Thought he wants to see his friends and get back to baseball, he says.
Mariaelena Lopez says she's OK after losing her mother to COVID-19. She is grieving and accepting the change in life, she tells us, and now she's more appreciative of the simple things, and the company of her friends and family.
Kawya Esperanza helped organize some of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Albuquerque. She says she's feeling inspired after the latest protest against police violence in front of APD's Downtown headquarters last night, where there was a recognizable focus on local police violence here in Albuquerque.
Selinda Guerrero is an activist and a founder of Albuquerque Mutual Aid. She talks what it's like to raise her family and continue her work even though her husband was sent back to prison for a parole violation after protesting police violence.
Executive Producer Marisa Demarco asks her sister, Monica Demarco, "How are you doing?" Monica talks about using creativity to help build a network of people to sew masks as part of Southwest Organizing Project.
And a local news update:
Here in New Mexico, the AP reports City Councilor Pat Davis is being called to resign by ProgressNow New Mexico — an advocacy group the Councilor founded – after new details emerged about his shooting of a Black man in 2004 while working as a police officer in Washington D.C., and what the group called, "a pattern of racist behavior targeting Black and Brown communities."
Gov. Lujan Grisham has granted clemency for 19 people convicted of crimes in New Mexico. According to the Governor's Office, most were pardoned for non-violent offenses. These are the first pardons in New Mexico since 2012 according to New Mexico In Depth.
Officials with the New Mexico State Fair announced the event has been canceled due to the coronavirus.
We're keeping a complete list of the resources and volunteer opportunities that we find for each episode at bit.ly/YNMGhub.
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Your New Mexico Government is a collaboration between KUNM, New Mexico PBS, and the Santa Fe Reporter. Funding for our coverage is provided, in part, by the Thornburg Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the New Mexico Local News Fund.
