Host Michel Martin speaks with Republican Congressman Allen West, who represents Florida's 22nd district. They discuss what voters in the Sunshine State are looking for in Tuesday's primary, and what he's doing to attract more African-Americans to vote Republican.
More than 4.2 million Latinos live in the Sunshine State, and that population is in the spotlight as Republican presidential candidates battle to win Florida's upcoming primary. Host Michel Martin discusses this crucial voting bloc with Gary Segura of Latino Decisions, and the Associated Press's Hispanic Affairs reporter Laura Wides-Munoz.
For years, the Latino community in East Haven, Conn., complained of systematic abuse and harassment at the hands of the town's police force. Tuesday, the federal government arrested four local cops and accused them of repeatedly violating the civil rights of Hispanic residents. The arrests have prompted dramatically different reactions from the Latino community and the mayor of East Haven.
The officers were arrested Tuesday by the FBI on charges that they assaulted Latino immigrants and created false reports to cover up abuses in a New Haven, Conn., suburb where a federal investigation found life was made miserable for Hispanics.
The American Library Association granted its 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award to Kadir Nelson for his children's book Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans. The award goes to authors who promote an appreciation of all cultures. Host Michel Martin speaks with Nelson, plus Chrystal Carr Jeter of the award committee.
Florida is arguably the only state where Latino Republican voters matter in presidential primaries, thanks to the fiercely party-loyal bloc of Cuban Americans in South Florida. And the candidate squarely in the crosshairs of Latino and pro-immigrant groups in the Sunshine State is Mitt Romney.
An opera supplies a prism through which African-Americans have viewed their history. George Lucas is out with a new action adventure movie about the real heroics of the African-American fighter pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen. They were charged with escorting bomber planes to their targets during World War II. Red Tails screenwriter John Ridley talks to Renee Montagne about the movie.
Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction recently put an end to Mexican American studies classes in Tucson, saying they violated state law. On Wednesday, host Michel Martin heard from Superintendent John Huppenthal. Today Martin speaks with Adelita Grijalva, the sole Tucson School Board member who voted to preserve the program.
“Red Tails” is a whiz-bang action film about the Tuskegee Airmen, African-American fighter pilots in World War II.