While the podcast episodes on NPR’s Code Switch cover a range of topics from immigration to politics, I focused specifically on those that spoke about race, as it related to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (2017). From the senseless killing of Khalil by a white officer to Starr juggling her identity at a predominantly white school, the idea of race as both a question of identity and as a problem comes to the forefront. In exploring this dilemma, there were two episodes from the Code Switch podcast that dove into race relations in America: What to Make of Philando Castile’s Death, One Year Later (2017) and Charlottesville (2017). The interviewees not only expressed their long-term grief after those tragedies, but also spoke about the impact of racism on American society.
Just as Starr tells her story, filled with emotions like fear and sadness, so do those who were interviewed for the podcast. In The Passing of a “Failing” School, students not only shared their dismay for the closure of their high school, but also called bullshit to the school board for making this decision. Some even attributed race to their disadvantage in keeping Wilkensburg High opened, acknowledging that if they were white, their school wouldn’t close down. Their statements note the consciousness of their blackness, their value to white America, and the struggles they may endure to make it. Like Starr’s story, everyone’s experience is different. While they may be subjective, their stories are their own and no one can discredit them for its uniqueness and perspective.
References
National Program Radio (2017, June 21). What to make of Philando Castile’s death, one year later. Code Switch Podcast. Podcast retrieved from https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch
National Program Radio (2017, August 16). Charlottesville. Code Switch Podcast. Podcast retrieved from https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch
National Program Radio (2017, October 11). The passing of a “failing” school. Code Switch Podcast. Podcast retrieved from https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch
Thomas, A. (2017). The Hate U Give. New York, NY: Balzer & Bray
Stacks, Imagination, Infinite Possibilties 