Race

Starting Over: The Malek Family, Part 2

Altaf and Shaheen Malek immigrated to the United States in 2007 from Gujarat, India. They came at the insistence of Altaf’s sister, who sponsored their immigration. Altaf, then the owner of a well-established electronics shop, and Shaheen, a pharmacist, did not jump at the opportunity to leave their well-established life. After discussing it heavily, and seeking feedback from others in their community, they decided to leave everything behind and start over in the United States for the sake of their children.

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Getting rid of the vestiges of racism – in health care

Missouri’s medical schools on Friday kicked off a collaborative effort to encourage minorities to enter the health care professions. Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, who served under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, helped launch the project, delivering a lecture Friday at the University of Missouri-Kansas City on the state of diversity in the health care workforce since 1965.

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The Malek Family: Confident in This Country

Altaf and Shaheen Malek immigrated to the United States in 2007 from Gujarat, India. They came at the insistence of Altaf’s sister, who sponsored their immigration. Altaf, then the owner of a well-established electronics shop, and Shaheen, a pharmacist, did not jump at the opportunity to leave their well-established life. After discussing it heavily and seeking feedback from others in their community, they decided to leave everything behind and start over in the United States for the sake of their children.

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Talking Diversity

Kansas City Mayor Sly James joined KCPT producers Christopher Cook and Nathaniel Bozarth, a panel of four community advocates and about 200 Kansas Citians who came out to the Gem Theater to discuss ways to bridge racial and cultural divides in our communities. That issue is also the topic of a series of digital videos that KCPT and Flatland are producing in partnership with Cook and Bozarth. The discussion was moderated by KCPT executive producer Nick Haines.

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Diversity is the topic for event hosted by KC Mayor Sly James and KCPT

Join the producers of Your Fellow Americans and Mayor Sly James for a free panel discussion on race, immigration, & the American Dream.

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Who goes with you on your journey to the American Dream?

Three generations of the Caudillo family discuss was is truly important to them: education and service. This week’s video spends time with three generations of the Caudillo family – grandparents Velia and Mac Salazar, parents Irene and Ryan Caudillo, and grandchildren Julian, Sophia and Olivia.

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Better or worse, for Latinos: The Caudillo Family, Part 3

Continue the conversation about race, immigration and the American Dream with the Caudillo family around the dinner table of Mac and Velia Salazar. Grandchildren Julian, Sophia, and Olivia all identify as Mexican-American, even though they don’t speak Spanish and don’t have firm roots to the Latino culture.

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‘First of all, I’m an American’

Ryan and Irene Caudillo have three children – Julian, Sophia, and Olivia – all of whom identify as Mexican-American, even though they don’t speak Spanish and don’t have firm roots to the Latino culture. While the children understand that Ryan and Irene focused on teaching them English in order to provide them the best opportunities possible, they wish that they had stronger ties to their Mexican-American heritage. The family talks with KCPT’s Your Fellow Americans team about the importance of maintaining their Latino culture, the impact that learning Spanish has on maintaining that cultural identity, and the fact that the kids don’t feel as connected to the Latino culture as they would like.

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Immigration is tough. Got a question?

In December of 2014, the Your Fellow Americans team talked with a Mexican-American family in the Kansas City area about their thoughts on race, immigration, and the American Dream. We joined the family around the dinner table of Mac and Velia Salazar, a husband and wife who were both born in Kansas on February 28th, 1925. Irene, one of their nine children, is married to Ryan Caudillo, a third-generation Mexican-American who was also raised in the Kansas City metro area.

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Producer’s perspective: A Persian-American family balances assimilation with success

On Sunday, February 9th, 2014, the Your Fellow Americans (YFA) team had their first interview with a Persian-American family in the KC metro. Members of the family were asked to talk about their identity and the American Dream. To talk about issues of race and immigration. And boy … did they talk. We got about halfway into our tagline, “race, immigration, and th…” before Kian Shafé broke in with his experience as an immigrant.

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