91.3 KBCS Rising Up with Sonali: A Platform for Justice and Diverse Voices
In today’s media, women and marginalized communities are frequently overlooked. However, 91.3 KBCS Rising Up with Sonali Kolhatkar ensures these voices are heard. This all-women-run program not only covers important news but also brings a fresh, justice-centered perspective. Each episode offers sharp analysis and meaningful commentary on issues ranging from racial justice to economic equality.
By tuning in to 91.3 KBCS Rising Up, you’re not just staying informed. You’re actively supporting a platform that prioritizes gender and racial justice. Additionally, the show highlights topics like climate change, labor rights, and global activism—issues that are often missing from mainstream media. For example, recent episodes have focused on how grassroots movements can create real change.
Moreover, at 91.3 KBCS, we take pride in offering programs like Rising Up with Sonali that challenge the status quo. Each episode fosters critical thinking and encourages our listeners to engage with the world around them. Furthermore, this program creates a space where women and marginalized voices can share their stories and shape conversations about pressing issues.
To continue this vital work, we rely on support from our listeners. By donating to 91.3 KBCS, you help sustain independent, community-driven radio. Your contribution directly funds content that amplifies diverse perspectives and brings critical issues to the forefront.
In conclusion, by supporting 91.3 KBCS, you’re ensuring that programs like Rising Up with Sonali continue to thrive. Together, we can bring more justice, equality, and representation to the airwaves.
Asylum Seekers in Washington State
Border Angels Water Drop
Back in 2019 (like today) immigration was one of the most pressing issues in the United States. There was an often-proclaimed humanitarian crisis at the southern border. And, while the Trump administration was implementing a remain in Mexico policy, those who crossed the border faced life threatening heat and long walks. Border Patrol recognized that 283 people died attempting to cross into the US through the desert in 2018. In the calendar year ending in October of 2021, US Customs and Border Protection recorded 568 deaths, over twice as many.
Mari McMenamin Dana Schuerholz Yuko Kodama met the then Executive Director of the immigration non-profit, Border Angels back in November of 2019. The organization supports mobile schools and shelters at the border for migrants waiting for their asylum claims to be processed. They also lead water drops, trips through the desert where volunteers leave jugs of water to help people survive on their journey through the desert. Here’s their story from a water drop in the Sonoran desert.
Producers: Hans Anderson, Mari McMenamin, Yuko Kodama
Photos: Dana Schuerholz and Mari McMenamin
Update from the Southern US Border
On the Ground in Poland to help Ukrainians Fleeing War
What’s happening on the ground in Poland where Ukrainians are fleeing to by the thousands? A local Sammamish resident and his brother are there to help.
Here is information on their project, Suitcases for Ukraine.
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Photo Credit: Lance and Thury Foster
KBCS Border Stories – Living Undocumented
How does being undocumented impact your life? Does it impact where you go shopping for groceries, where you rent your apartment, whether you drive or buy a car or have access to a cell phone? Dulce Garcia, Executive Director of Border Angels, speaks to how being undocumented shaped who she is today.
Courthouse ICE Arrests
The New York Times has published a number of articles on the trend of ICE arresting undocumented immigrants at courthouses. Monserrat Padilla, Co-Director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) describes the increase of ICE arrests at public courthouses here in Washington state.
You can call the WAISN 24 hour hotline at 1-844-724-3737 for help, information and resources.
The Northwest Detention Center and The City of Tacoma
Demonstrators demanding the shut down of the Northwest Detention Center disrupted a Tacoma City Council hearing on Tuesday. It was organized by La Resistencia and supported by more than a dozen other local organizations. KBCS’s Samuel Britt was there to give us a snapshot of why the protestors were there that afternoon.
Border Crossing
The border town of Arivaca, Arizona, is no stranger to migrants crossing through the desert and mountains in hopes for a better life in the U.S. The documentary film Undeterred, shows how militarizing the border can result in migrants dying in the desert and in the neighborhoods of towns on the border. The film was featured at the 2018 Social Justice Film Festival in Seattle. KBCS’s Ruth Bly recorded the panel discussion following the screening.
Pramila Jayapal Visits Texas Border
Immigrants at the southern US border are facing unprecedented obstacles and are being separated from their children. On July 20, 2018, Jayapal co-led a group of eight U.S. Congress members to the U.S. border in Texas, where they watched a mass criminal prosecution of immigrants in a federal court and witnessed immigrant parents being reunited with their children. Jayapal shares what she saw in Texas with KBCS’s Yuko Kodama.