The legendary singer Diana Ross was honored at Sunday's Grammys. This was Ross' first Grammy win in spite scoring a dozen nominations throughout her singing career. Host Michel Martin offers a tribute to her remarkable life and work.
The Vatican recently announced that the 17th-century Mohawk woman, Kateri Tekakwitha, will be canonized as a Catholic saint. Many Native Americans say this is an honor, but others feel it legitimizes the abuses of colonialism. Host Michel Martin speaks with reporter Brian Bull, chair of the group, Native American Public Telecommunications.
A group of African American humanists is running an ad campaign during February. It features historical figures, including Frederick Douglass and Langston Hughes, who they believe shared humanist values. Alix Jules is part of the campaign and he speaks with host Michel Martin about his experience as a black atheist.
I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Now it's time for our weekly to the Barbershop where the guys talk about what's in the news and what's on their minds.
And now it's time for BackTalk. That's where we lift the curtain on what's happening in the TELL ME MORE blogosphere. Editor Ammad Omar is here with us once again.
Ammad, what do you have for us today?
AMMAD OMAR, BYLINE: All right, Michel. We're going to start with a women's health topic that's been in the news and we covered in our political chat on Wednesday. We talked about that decision by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to strip funding from Planned Parenthood and why they eventually reversed that decision.
It's been nearly one year since Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, and the country is still experiencing the growing pains of transition. Last year, host Michel Martin spoke with a young protester minutes after Mubarak's resignation. Now, Martin catches up with her again to see if she's still optimistic about changes in her country.
During this Sunday's GRAMMY Awards, genres such as Native American, Hawaiian and Cajun music are merged into one category. The decision has caused some backlash with charges of racism and exclusion. Host Michel Martin discusses the decision with Felix Contreras, a reporter for NPR's Arts Desk and co-host of NPR Music's Alt.Latino podcast.
Fierce and fashion-forward entertainer RuPaul has been famous for his drag persona for 20 years. He recently spoke to host Michel Martin about the new season of "RuPaul's Drag Race," a modeling competition for drag queens. As part of Tell Me More's series,
A new show on TV One puts a spotlight on missing people of color. The network, which caters to an African-American audience, hopes Find Our Missing "will put names and faces to people of color — young and old — who have disappeared without a trace," according to the website.
What's implicit in this description is that reports on missing people of color are hard to find in mainstream media, which often highlight the cases of young white women who have disappeared.
In his new book, writer and comedian Baratunde Thurston writes about straddling two worlds: the troubled Washington, D.C. neighborhood where he grew up, and the elite halls of Harvard, the college he attended. As part of Tell Me More's occasional series, "In Your Year," Thurston talks about the songs that move and inspire him.
