DREAMers Moms Tijuana – Yolanda Varona
In 2011, Yolanda Varona was unexpectedly separated from her children at the end of a trip across the border. She was deported to Mexico.
As Varona found ways to connect with her children and worked toward being with them again, she helped other deported mothers to find services and resources. Varona became the Founder and Director of DREAMers Moms in Tijuana, Mexico, as many of the women, Varona worked with were mothers of children with US citizenship or qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), otherwise known as DREAMers.
In 2019, Mari McMenamin, Dana Schuerholz and I traveled to San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico to cover border stories and listened to Varona’s story of deportation and efforts to connect with her daughter.
Producers: Mari McMenamin, Laura Florez. Special thanks to Magdaleno Rose-Avila of Building Bridges for inspiring us to pick up this story and for connecting us to the speakers.
Photos: Dana Schuerholz, Mari McMenamin
Deported Veterans Support House – Hector Barajas
Hector Barajas grew up in the Los Angeles as a lawful permanent resident noncitizen in the United States. In 1995, Barajas enlisted in the Army. During his service he won numerous awards including the Army Commendation Medal and Humanitarian Service Medal. He was honorably discharged in 2001.
In 2010, Barajas who was still a noncitizen was deported to Mexico after he had served a sentence for a crime in 2002. In Mexico, Barajas established the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana to offer help to other veterans who’ve been deported.
With significant effort, Barajas was able to gain United States citizenship from Mexico. Today, Barajas still runs the Deported Veterans Support House while he works in the United States. Barajas is also featured in a documentary, Ready for War, which highlights the struggles of deported veterans. Barajas also heavily advocated for deported veterans, leading to the launch for the Biden administration’s Immigrant Military Members and Veterans Initiative in 2021. The program works to make Veterans Administration benefits more accessible for non-US citizen veterans, and to help more deported veterans return to the US if they were deported. The program also works to lessen the number of deported veterans
KBCS’s Mari McMenamin, Dana Schuerholz and Yuko Kodama interviewed Hector Barajas at the Deported Veterans support house in Tijuana, Mexico in 2019.
Producers: Mari McMenamin, Dana Schuerholz, Jesse Callahan and Yuko Kodama. Special thanks to Magdaleno Rose-Avila for inspiring us to take on this story.
Photos: Dana Schuerholz
Deported Veterans Support House and Dreamers Moms Offices
Deported Veterans Support House kitchen
Hector Barajas with photo of his grandfather
Border wall portion painted with names of deported veterans
Ijeoma Oluo – Be A Revolution
Writer, Speaker and Internet Yeller, Ijeoma Oluo spoke with ACLU Washington Executive Director, Michele Storms at Town Hall Seattle on February 9th, 2024.
This event is a Town Hall Seattle Production. KBCS thanks Town Hall Seattle, Ijeoma Oluo and Michele Storms for permission to broadcast and post this event.
Producer: Town Hall Seattle
Bebe Moore Campbell
KBCS Producer Kevin Henry brings you a reflection on the work of Author, Journalist and Educator, Bebe Moore Campbell.
Producer: Kevin Henry
Photo: – Original publication: 2004 Immediate source: http://aalbc.com/authors/bebe.htm
Deported DREAMer Mom – Tania Mendoza
Tania Mendoza was born in Mexico. She was brought to the U.S by her family when she was 3 years old. Mendoza grew up in the U.S, had a daughter and a stable job. Tania Mendoza was deported from California to Tijuana When Mendoza’s daughter was 5 years old,.
KBCS reporters Mari McMenamin, Dana Schuerholz and Yuko Kodama interviewed Tania Mendoza at the border wall in Tijuana’s Friendship park in November, 2019.
At the time of the interview, Mendoza’s daughter was 14 years old.
Producers: Mari McMenamin, Laura Florez, Jesse Callahan, Yuko Kodama Special Thanks to Magdaleno Rose-Avila for inspiring KBCS to take on this story.
Photo: Dana Schuerholz
Magdaleno Rose-Avila standing in front of the border wall at Friendship Park. An image of Tania Mendoza is featured as part of the mural
mural on the Border Wall at Friendship Park in Tijuana, Mexico
Seattle’s Gang of Four – An Interracial Coalition
The ‘Gang of Four’ or ‘Four Amigos’ is a group of four Seattle activists from Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Latinx communities. They organized and advocated for the needs of people of color from the late 60s and 70’s onward.
Councilmember Larry Gossett is the last surviving member of the Gang of Four. Councilmember Gossett is a former Seattle Chapter Black Panther Party member, Co-founder of the University of Washington, Seattle Black Student Union, the former Executive Director of the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP), and Co-Founder of the Third World Coalition He also founded the Minority Executive Directors Coalition (MEDC) alongside the Gang of Four. He celebrated his 79th birthday this month. In this interview with Councilmember Gossett from December, 2021, he reflects on the powerful and lasting work of the interracial coalition.
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Photo: Gang of Four Book Cover “Gang of Four,” by Bob Santos and Gary Iwamoto
Restorative Practices
Excerpt of an interview with Michelle Strange on working through a restorative case, accountability, and …how Audre Lorde’s words of wisdom fit into restorative practice
What do you do when you feel harmed by power dynamics at work, school or even at home? Michelle Strange is the Director of Bellevue College Restorative Practices, a program that proactively builds community and responds to incidents of harm on campus. Restorative Practices has trained twenty, on-site restorative facilitators to date, and is working to bring in twenty more people trained in responsive facilitation. (to manage circles in response to harm) KBCS interviewed Strange about how restorative practices are implemented at Bellevue College and offers tips on how to respond when harm was caused and experienced.
Restorative Practices Resources:
Restorative Responses to Harms You’ve Caused
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Photo: Bellevue College
Unmute the Commute: My Family and My Bus
Street Conversation with Joel Rogers
KBCS’s Gol Holghooghi was in Rainier Beach and recorded this conversation with Joel Rogers who was picking up trash in the neighborhood.
Producer: Gol Holghooghi and Yuko Kodama
Photos: Gol Holghooghi
Mamie Clark
KBCS Producer Kevin Henry brings you a short reflection on the work of American Psychological Researcher, Mamie Phipps Clark.
Producer: Kevin Henry
Photo: CUNY Academic Commons