This Week On Urban Focus
John L Sampson
State Senator John L. Sampson, the leader of the Democratic Conference, discusses the outlook for 2010 with regard to working in a Republican-controlled body a new governor. Senator Sampson served has been responsible for the day-to-day operations and thelegislative agenda of the Democratic Caucus.
Previously On Urban Focus
Samson Tarpeh
In the last in a series of broadcasts coming from the West African nation of Liberia, Urban Focus looks specifically the world of the arts in Liberia.
The show includes an interview with Samson T. Tarpeh, the executive director of the Agape National Academy of Music in Monrovia. It is a two-year-old institution that aims to develop Liberian music as well as the next generations of Liberia’s musicians.
Previously On Urban Focus
Charles Brumskine
The West African nation of Liberia continues to be the subject of Urban Focus. This edition includes an interview with Charles Brumskine, a lawyer who is a candidate for president in the 2011 election. That race is already the subject of international attention. Mr. Brumskine is challenging the incumbent president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was elected in 2005.
Previously On Urban Focus
Peter Quaqua
As the West African nation of Liberia approaches its widely anticipated presidential election next year, Urban Focus looks at the media in the country and its role in covering the election. Liberia’s incumbent president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is running for reelection in a field that is turning out to be crowded.
Liberia is emerging from the horrors of 14 years of civil war and the country’s continued reemergence would be well served by peaceful presidential elections that include balanced and responsible media coverage.
The show includes an interview with Peter Quaqua, the president of the Press Union of Liberia, an organization that advocates for media concerns. His organization been at the forefront of not just important journalism training in Liberia, but also of journalism and government reform in the country.
Previously On Urban Focus
Adolfo Carrion Jr.
How should America develop and stimulate economic development and economic vitality in the nation’s urban areas? That is the topic of this broadcast of Urban Focus.
The program includes an interview with Adolfo Carrión Jr., the regional director of U.S. Department of Housing, covering New York and New Jersey. He previously served as President Obama’s director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs Policy. Before that, he served as the borough president of the Bronx.
Previously On Urban Focus
Carl Heastie
The recent midterm elections and their dramatic results are the centerpiece of this broadcast of Urban Focus with a look at national, state and local results and that they mean.
Assemblyman Carl Heastie, the Democratic Party chairman in the Bronx, discusses the election from a local and statewide perspective. Mr. Heastie is the first African-American chairman of the Bronx Democratic Party.
Previously On Urban Focus
Robert L. Johnson
Robert L. Johnson, the renowned businessman and founder of Black Entertainment Television, discusses the nation’s economy and the importance of closing the economic gap between white Americans and African Americans on this broadcast of Urban Focus. Mr. Johnson is currently the chairman of RLJ Development, a holding company he founded. He is the first African American to be included on any of Forbes magazine’s lists of the world’s richest people. A staunch advocate of African Americans investing in Liberia, Mr. Johnson also discusses why he has become so deeply involved in the West African nation.
Previously On Urban Focus
Ruben Diaz, Jr.
The development and resurgence of the Bronx is the focus of this broadcast of Urban Focus. The Bronx, particularly the South Bronx, has experienced impressive development and economic revitalization since the days that President Jimmy Carter walked along the desolation of Charlotte Street in 1977.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. discusses the issues facing the borough and offers his views on the best policies to foster the growth in economic activity, employment and gains in education.
Previously On Urban Focus
Benjamin Todd Jealous
The role of civil rights organizations in today’s world will be the subject of the next Urban Focus. The program will include an interview with Benjamin Todd Jealous, the president and chief executive of the N.A.A.C.P. Mr. Jealous leads the nation’s largest civil rights organization and he discusses the agenda of the historic group and a host of other issues, from the impact of the Tea Party to the controversy over Shirley Sherod, the Agriculture Department official whose dismissal triggered a national discussion over race.
Previously On Urban FocusThis broadcast of Urban Focus looks at the nation’s emerging green economy, specifically how it can spur job growth and economic opportunity in communities of color in urban areas.
Robert Kennedy Jr.
The show includes an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is one of the nation’s leading environmental advocates. Mr. Kennedy serves as president of Waterkeeper Alliance and chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper. He is also a professor and supervising attorney at Pace University School of Law’s Environmental Litigation Clinic and has served as co-host of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio.
This Week On Urban Focus
Adrian Fenty
The issues and challenges of leading cities in a troubling economy serve as the focal point of this edition of Urban Focus. Two mayor’s discuss their distinctive records of solving their cities’ problems and the toll those records have taken on them, politically.
Adrian M. Fenty, the mayor of Washington D.C. discusses his record on education, his recent Democratic primary defeat for a second term and his plans for the future. Four years ago, he carried every one of Washington D.C.’s wards in his first bid for mayor of that city. But Mr. Fenty lost in the recent Democratic primary to Vincent Gray, the chairman of Washington’s City Council.
Previously On Urban Focus
Eric T. Schneiderman
The race for New York State Attorney General has been widely viewed as the most competitive of the statewide contests in the upcoming general election. The current Urban Focus includes discussions with the two candidates.
First, there is an interview with State Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, the Democratic candidate. Senator Schneiderman who represents areas of Northern Manhattan, recently won a five-candidate Democratic primary.
This Week On Urban FocusThe proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque in lower Manhattan has been the source of a great deal of controversy, with no shortage of public policy implications. The center is the topic of this edition of Urban Focus.
Keith Eliison
The program includes an interview with United States Congressman Keith Ellison, a Democrat who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, anchored in Minneapolis. In 2006, Mr. Ellison became the first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress. Mr. Ellison, the first African American elected to the House from Minnesota, has been active on a national level in advocacy for Muslims in the United States.
Previously On Urban Focus
Al Sharpton
The September primary set the stage for a number of closely watched races in the critical 2010 election. On the first Urban Focus broadcast of the season, the Rev. Al Sharpton gives his take on the results of the Sept. 14 primary. Rev. Sharpton, the civil rights activist and head of the National Action Network, discussed the election results nationally and in New York State. … Continue Reading
DBC Fellow Discusses Harlem Politics on Kojo Nnamdi ShowDBC Senior Fellow Jonathan Hicks recently joined Herb Boyd, the activist and journalist, to discuss the politics of Harlem on the Kojo Nnamdi Show, the current affairs program broadcast from Washington on WAMU-FM. The discussion centered on Harlem’s powerful political landscape – forged by stalwarts such as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Charles B. Rangel and an exploration of Harlem’s shifting political and cultural scene.
The DuBois Bunche Center offers a regular series of podcasts, called Urban Focus, that features interviews with a wide range of elected officials, politicians, community advocates and leading academic figures. They discuss the topics of the day related to issues of concern to urban America.
