Veteran Leader Tells His Story as Defender of the Colorado River – Decades before the Standing Rock struggle to protect the Missouri River from oil contamination, the Chemehuevi Tribe launched a lesser known battle to protect the Colorado River from toxic waste dumping. At the helm of that epic battle was the veteran local activist Alfredo Figueroa. Recalling his struggles to combat toxic waste, Figueroa says that his passion to protect the river is linked to his roots as a community activist and his mission as a guardian of the sacred sites of the first peoples of the Colorado River Basin. Our reporter, Valeria Fernández, spoke with Figueroa, and today we present this report for National Native American Heritage Month.
Mega-Mural for Brotherhood Painted on Border Wall – For the last year, the Mexican artist Enrique Chiú has been painting a mural using the border wall that separates Tijuana from San Diego as a canvass. His plan is to create a mural large enough to compete for a Guinness World Record. Hundreds of volunteers from several countries have participated in this project, which aims to challenge policies of hate and promote unity and brotherhood through art. As the mural is painted, the United States is studying preliminary designs for the dividing mega-wall, as Manuel Ocaño reports from the border. This report is part of the series, “Speaking of Race.”
