Woman, Life, Freedom Uprising – One year later
Jina Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish, 22 year old woman, was killed in custody of Iran’s morality police on September 16th last year, sparking an uprising led by Iranian women, and supported by ethnic and minority groups.
As the anniversary of Amini’s death nears, Iranian American women in Washington state share their experiences in Iran before they moved here. They also share how the Woman, Life, Freedom Uprising has affected them.
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Photo: Feminists for Jina
Events in observance of one year anniversary of Jina Mahsa Amini’s death and beginning of Woman, Life Freedom uprising
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday
Peyvand and NPO is co-hosting a vigil and poetry event
Sunday, September 17th
University of Washington Campus Red Square – 6:30 to 8:00 pm
Cornel West in Seattle
Dr. Cornel West spoke at the Rainier Arts Center on May 28th as part of the Valley and Mountain fellowship sponsored Set Us Free from Fear series. You can listen to his address on The Prophetic Tradition in the Time of Neo Fascism.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal Town Hall
On March 14th, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal held a Town Hall at Town Hall Seattle.Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal was elected in in 2016, and is serving her fourth term in Congress representing Washington’s 7th District. The district includes most of Seattle, Shoreline, Vashon Island, Lake Forest Park, and parts of Burien and Normandy Park. She is the first South Asian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. You’ll listen to excerpts of Congresswoman Jayapal’s Town Hall Event from Tuesday, featuring updates from congress, and an opportunity for the Congresswoman to listen to constituents.
Remember and Resist 2023
February 19, 2023 was the 81st anniversary of Executive order 9066. It ordered the forced removal and incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese descent from throughout the west coast.
In commemoration, an event was held at the Washington State Fair Events Center in Puyallup, Washington. The organizers were Minidoka Pilgrimage, JACL Seattle Chapter, JACL Puyallup Valley Chapter, La Resistencia and Tsuru for Solidarity.
Over 7,000 people were incarcerated in make-shift shelters and animal stalls on the fairgrounds in 1942 for about five months until the incarceration sites were completed.
The event also included a gathering at Tacoma’s Northwest detention center to support the detainees inside and call for an end to immigrant detention and deportations.
Listen in on the voices and sounds from Remember and Resist 2023.
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Photos: Widder Sessions
Wintergrass 2023 and KBCS!
Wintergrass 2023 and KBCS 91.3FM over 30 years of celebrating Bluegrass, Folk and Americana, Roots and Acoustic music
KBCS is honored to share another year with the long running music festival, Wintergrass! This year Wintergrass marks 30 years celebrating and sharing Bluegrass, Folk, Acoustic, Americana and Roots music to the community. Tune into these upcoming shows for the sound of KBCS, the spirit and music of Wintergrass, and the curatorial music magic of KBCS DJs:
MONDAY – 7pm to 9pm – Soul Folks with Mike Biggins
TUESDAY – 7pm to 9pm – Folksounds with Jean Geiger and Eric Hardee
TUESDAY – 9pm to 11pm – Road Songs with Rus Thompson
SATURDAY – 9am to 12noon – Our Saturday Tradition with Ginger Hopper and Jim Page, (w/ occasional visits from Jean Geiger and longtime folk DJ, Larry Lewin.)
SUNDAY – 6am to 9am – Walkin’ the Floor with Iaan Hughes
SUNDAY – 9am to 12noon – Sunday Folks with Auntmama and Mike Biggins
SUNDAY – 12noon to 3pm – Bluegrass Ramble with Tom Keeney and Tom Voorhees
SUNDAY – 3pm to 6pm – Sunday’s Hornpipe with John Gibaut
SUNDAY – 6pm to 8pm – The Real Folk with Richard Gillman
MONDAY through FRIDAY – Iaan Hughes hosts Roots, Rock and Soul 12noon to 4pm and 4pm to 7pm
We are so thankful for all of their volunteer time and continued support to KBCS and the Wintergrass communities. KBCS is excited to share in this banner year for both KBCS’s own 50th milestone and Wintergrass’s 30th! Thank you for the support and dedication to keep these community organizations reaching so many for so many years.
DON’T MISS OUT!! – KBCS at Wintergrass 2023
Join KBCS at Wintergrass on Saturday Feb. 25th from 9am to 12noon. Check out the KBCS Stage at the North Grand Hallway for featured Wintergrass musicians: Joe Craven and Joe Troop, Anna Tivel, Cedric Watson and Dirk Powell, Tray Wellington Band, Never Come Down and The Deslondes!
For a full schedule of Wintergrass please review the entire Wintergrass Program Guide 2023

Northwest African American Museum
Children’s Film Festival Seattle

Organization for Prostitution Survivors
KBCS’s Kevin Henry interviews, Rebekah Fonden, Board President of the Organization for Prostitution Survivors (OPS).Fonden, a survivor herself, talks about how to support survivors of the sex trade and discusses available resources. She also shares her personal story.
Protest Tunes Looks Back
DJ General Strike looks back at the Top 40 (not that Top 40!) protest songs of 2022. These are Molotov hot tracks!
- Adeem the Artist – Heritage of Ignorance – White Trash Revelry- Four Quarters Records (folk/country)
- Dropkick Murphys – All You Fonies – This Machine Still Kills Fascists – Dummy Luck Music (folk/country)
- Ezra Furman Lilac and Black – All of Us Flames – Anti (folk/country)
- Miko Marks – Trouble – Trouble – Redtone Records (folk/country)
- Shaina Taub – Tikkun Olam – Songs of the Great Hill – Atlantic (folk/country)
- Coco Peila, Aima The Dreamer, Ryan Nicole – I Am Jane Roe – I Am Jane Roe – Miss Behave Records (hip-hop)
- David Strickland – Stand Up – Spirit of Hip Hop: Elements – MNRK Music Group (hip-hop)
- Gabriel Teodros – Coffee & Sage – Coffee & Sage – Gabriel Teodros & Third Eye Bling (hip-hop)
- Lecrae – Still in America – Church Clothes 4 – Reach Records (hip-hop)
- Linqua Franqa – Wurk – Bellringer – Ernest Jenning Record Co. (hip-hop)
- Nas – Don’t Shoot – King’s Disease III – Mass Appeal (hip-hop)
- Propaganda – Soil is Sacred – Terraform: The Soil – RMG (hip-hop)
- Robert Glasper – Black Superhero – Black Superhero [Feat. Killer Mike, BJ The Chicago Kid & Big R.I.T.] – Loma Vista (hip-hop)
- Architects Deep Fake – the classic symptoms of a broken spirit – Epitaph (Metal/Hardcore)
- Rise Against The Answer – Nowhere Generation II – Loma Vista (Metal/Hardcore)
- Stray from the Path III – Euthanasia – UNFD (Metal/Hardcore)
- Voice of Baceprot – Not] Public Property – [Not] Public Property – 12WIRED (Metal/Hardcore)
- Anne Beretta – The Real America – Rise – Bully Me Now Music (punk)
- Anti-Flag – Laugh. Cry. Smile. Die. – Laugh. Cry. Smile. Die. – Universal (Punk)
- Newtown Neurotics – Climate Emergency – Cognitive Dissidents – Cadiz Entertainment (Punk)
- Petrol Girls – Fight for Our Lives – Baby – Hassle Records (Punk)
- Rebelmatic – Walk on Water – Walk on Water – Coffee Grind Media (Punk)
- Special Interest – Concerning Peace – Endure – Rough Trade Records (Punk)
- Ben Harper – We Need to Talk About It – Bloodline Maintenance – Chrysalis Records (R&B/Funk/Soul)
- Bitch Polar Bear – Bitchcraft – Kill Rock Stars (R&B/Funk/Soul)
- Fantastic Negrito – They Go Low – White Jesus Black Problems – Storefront Records (R&B/Funk/Soul)
- Hurray for the Riff Raff – Precious Cargo – Life on Earth – Nonesuch Records (R&B/Funk/Soul)
- Taina Asili – Abolition – Abolition – Taina Asili (R&B/Funk/Soul)
- The Suffers – How Do We Heal – It Starts with Love – Missing Piece Records (R&B/Funk/Soul)
- Captain Ska – This Is A Warning – La Isla Del Brexit – Captain’s Records (Reggae/Ska)
- JER – Decolonize Yr Mind – Bothered/Unbothered – Bad Time Records (Reggae/Ska)
- Sizzla – Stop Destroying the Earth – Stop Destroying the Earth – Na Lef Ya Muzik – Reggae/Ska
- Soom T – Big Bad World – Good – Renegade Masters (Reggae/Ska)
- Danceland – Not Without a Fight – Pink Lem – Pinkfoot Music (Rock)
- Midnight Oil – We Resist – Resist – Sony Music Entertainment (Rock)
- MILCK, Autumn Rowe, BIANCO, Ani DiFranco – We Won’t Go Back – We Won’t Go Back – Tone Tree Music (Rock)
- Muse – Will of the People – Will of the People – Warner Music UK (Rock)
- P!nk – Irrelevant – Irrelevant – RCA (Rock)
- The Last Internationale – 1984 – 1984 – The Last Internationale (Rock)
- The Snuts – Zuckerpunch – Burn the Empire – Parlophone Records (Rock)
Bellevue College Global Leaders Music Picks
Du Dinh
Hi guys, my name is Du Dinh. I’m currently one of the Global Leaders at Bellevue College. This is my second year here and my major is computer science. I love playing sports, video games, listening to music and throwing Pokemon games on YouTube. Today I would like to share one of my favorite songs with you guys. The name of the song is called “Có Đâu Ai Ngờ.” It is a Vietnamese song by a Vietnamese artist, Cam. This song is about love and the melody and it’s really slow and cute. I hope you can enjoy it and have a nice day!
Jemima
One of my favorite songs is “Tout Seul” by Gally and Heritier Wata. It is one of my favorite songs because it is a mix of emotions. It is quiet and at the same time deep. It’s a song that I discovered when I went to Canada to see my brothers and sisters and I know it was one of the favorite songs of my brothers. So every time that I listen to it, I just remember summer there and a lot of memories. I feel just quiet, calm and happy. Even if it’s a sad song – I don’t know how, but I feel happy, because it also relates to a lot of stuff that has happened in my life before. I hope you enjoy it!
Julia
Hey guys, my name is Julia and I’m one of the Global Leaders at Bellevue College. I’m from Taiwan and I’m studying Business. I want to share this song called “If Only” by Ozi. He is a Taiwanese singer. This song is basically about rewinding time, and what he would do if he could talk to his grandma. I hope you like the song!
Kelan
Hi, my name is Kelan and I come from China. This is my third year in the U.S and my second quarter at Bellevue College. I’m studying Digital Media Arts. I’m also a singer and songwriter. The song I’m going to introduce is actually a song that I released six years ago. It’s called “Flower”. This was one of the few songs that I wrote when I just started songwriting on guitar. Writing songs to me is like writing journals. I like to document my thoughts with melodies, and this song is one of the examples. A flower is a metaphor for thoughts that come and go and never settle for anything. It doesn’t belong anywhere. A flower is free. It could go to any place, just like your thoughts. This song was awarded the top 20 singles by the Singapore Freshmusic Award in 2017. Please enjoy and I hope you like it!
Myo Han Tun Kyaw
Hello everyone, my name is Myo Han Tun Kyaw and I’m one of the Global Leaders from Burma. I’m currently a computer science student at Bellevue College. Today, I would like to share a song from my country called “Yone Kyi Yarg” by Lay Phyu . Although the song was very popular in 2010, it got popular during the protesting stage of the Spring Revolution, when we protested against the military government.
So the reason why this song holds so much meaning for Burmese people, is because it tells us that we have to believe in what we are doing. And although we might have regrets and losses we still need to keep going to reach the final goal. In this song, people are literally sacrificing their life for this thing called “belief”. It is relevant during the protests, because people are dying on the streets due to the military government.
Those people are fighting for freedom and we all are. So it helps us not to give up easily on our rights and freedom. The song is motivating and it’s not only for protesting, you can listen to it anytime to get you motivated. It’s a really good song. Enjoy!
Nada and Leda
Nada: Hi everybody my name is Nada.
Leda: Hi everybody my name is Leda.
Nada: And we are from Italy. I’m currently studying at Bellevue College for my bachelor’s degree in digital marketing. I love this song called “A Te” because it truly reminds me of the bond I have with my family.
Nada and Leda: In Italy, the family “La Famiglia” is really important.