On this week’s 51%, a Kurdish singer takes her message to the war zone.; we check in with a mother who started a foundation after her son was fatally shot by police; and a writer shares a story about racism.
Female Kurdish pop star HellyLuv wants to make an impact in one of the world's war zones. You were just listening to her song "Risk it All". For her new song "Revolution", she went to record a music video near Mosul in Iraq where Islamic State terrorists were clashing with Kurdish forces. She herself is threatened on a regular basis, but says the threats will not keep her from pushing for an independent Kurdish state. DW reporter Maria BakkaLApulo has the story.
Earlier in August marked the one-year anniversary of the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The August 9 anniversary was the site of what began as a peaceful protest and was then disrupted by gunfire. A suspect was wounded by police. Yet now we bring you a different kind of story. KALW CrosscurrentsReporter Rachel Wong tells us about a grassroots foundation that supports families after police violence.
In the Ferguson case, it was a black, unarmed resident who was shot and killed by a now former police officer, who is white. This incident, along with shootings, police and otherwise, in other parts of the country, have raised discussion of racism. And it's a topic about which Writer Dr. Jeri Burns shares a story.
Dr. Jeri Burns is a storyteller, writer, and educator living in New York's Hudson Valley.
And that's our show this week. Thanks to Katie Britton for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio.