Community & Social Justice Episodes

Southern California may be the land of dreams but like other parts of the country, the region has its share of law enforcement misconduct, including autopsy reports that hide the truth about people who die in police custody. In his book The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence, UCLA Professor Terence Keel investigates how coroners and medical examiners omit key information about police actions — often attributing the death to a preexisting health condition o...

Southern California is famous for sunshine, beaches, and opportunity but it's also known for a harsh reality. For far too many people, housing here feels out of reach. In this episode of SoCal Voices, host Angela Ross sits down with Emily Ramirez of the Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing. Ramirez breaks down why it's so expensive to build affordable housing in SoCal, where well-intended policy goes wrong, and what has to change so that Southern California is a place where peopl...

The Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” included funding cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP. These cuts mean Southern Californians dealing with food insecurity may need to turn to local food banks in increasing numbers to put food on the table. In this episode of SoCal Voices, Rachel Bonilla of Feeding America Riverside-San Bernardino, explains how her organization is preparing for the potential increased demand, and how Southern Californians can come...

Laura C. Chávez-Moreno is an assistant professor at UCLA and author of How Schools Make Race. Her research digs deep into the ways schools don’t just reflect race—they actually produce it. In this episode of SoCal Voices, Dr. Chávez-Moreno talks about what that means in practice, and why teaching about race matters as much as teaching about math. She also shares her thoughts on the policy, community, and personal actions necessary to help classrooms become spaces for building a more equitable fu...

Dr. Lauren Guerra is a dedicated lecturer in Chicana/Chicano & Central American Studies at UCLA and the heart behind Gold Hoops & God, a podcast that uplifts and empowers Millennial Latinas to embrace their purpose with confidence and faith. On this episode of SoCal Voices, host Angela Ross speaks with Dr. G about her upbringing in Los Angeles and how it shaped both her academic mission and her spiritual calling. She also shares powerful thoughts on the recent protests against ICE raids and offe...

The rich legacy of Negro League Baseball was front and center at Moreno Valley's Woodland Park on May 31 during the Community Softball Game organized by James Harris, founder of the African American History presentation series, UnVeiled: History in Focus . SoCal Voices was on hand to cheer for the players, meet members of the community, and give away a Negro League Baseball Bomber Jacket. In this inspiring episode, SoCal Voices host Angela Ross sits down with Moreno Valley Mayor Ulises Cabrer...

As a teenager, Kim Valentine found herself without a home. Today, she’s the founder and president of Operation Helping Hands SoCal, a nonprofit dedicated to helping the unhoused rebuild their lives. In this episode of SoCal Voices, Valentine opens up about her journey from surviving the streets to creating change—and calls on all of us to replace our judgement of homeless people with empathy and action. Her story reminds us that when compassion meets commitment, healing is possible and lives can...

For many Southern Californians, the January wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena are like distant memories, but for those directly impacted, the devastation remains a daily reality. Recovery can be difficult and painfully slow. Los Angeles filmmaker, writer, and photographer Shiloh Strong lost his home in a 2009 wildfire and struggled to get his life back on track. He rediscovered his sense of purpose when he picked up a camera again. Today, he’s working to help fellow creatives impact...

A community softball game commemorating the iconic legacy of Negro League Baseball is happening Saturday, May 31, 1pm - 4pm, at Woodland Park in Moreno Valley. The game is being organized by returning SoCal Voices Podcast guest James Harris, known to many in the Inland Empire as author of the children’s book Corey’s Courtroom, emcee for a number of major local events, and presenter of the African American History series, Unveiled. In this episode of SoCal Voices, Harris talks about what inspires...

In January, the Palisades and Eaton fires killed at least 29 people and destroyed or damaged 18,000 structures valued at nearly $300 billion dollars. In the weeks since the fires, people who lost homes have been navigating displacement, insurance, government agencies and predatory developers, all while trying to decide whether to stay and rebuild or sell and leave. Southern California Journalist Michelle Zacarias has been speaking with people affected by the Eaton fire that tore through Altadena...

Is SoCal’s Inland Empire the land of the local news mirage? While news outlets cover the region, media observers say some elements of the IE’s local news coverage are a mirage, giving residents the illusion of vigorous local journalism when in fact, that coverage is absent. Thomas Corrigan is a communications professor at Cal State University San Bernardino and coordinator of the university’s Local Journalism Partnership Initiative. In this episode of SoCal Voices, Corrigan talks about his work ...

Southern California’s vibrance and abundance bely the fact that a number of our neighbors don’t have enough food to eat. Led by CEO Carolyn Fajardo, Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino, the region’s largest food bank, works daily to meet the food needs of the community. In this episode of SoCal Voices, Fajardo talks about the work Feeding America is doing to ensure Inland Empire residents without enough food receive the help they need during the holidays and beyond. Resources: Help sup...

Alarming statistics reveal that Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. In this episode of SoCal Voices, Dana Sherrod, co-founder and executive director of the California Coalition for Black Birth Justice, helps us understand why this is happening, and what can be done to address these disparities and improve birth outcomes for more Black families. Resources: California Coalition for Black Birth Justice Like the episode? Sh...

Community development is essential to how all the elements of where we live fit together and impact how we experience our communities. Eric Nelson is a 20-year community development expert who has impacted the lives of thousands of Southern Californians through his work in residential and commercial developments. He is Vice Chair of the Planning Commission at the City of Dana Point, a past President of the Orange County Chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California and Vice...

Do you have the pink “donor dot” on your driver’s license? Do you know why you should? April is Donate Life Month and there’s an organization in southern California that’s dedicated to saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation. That organization, OneLegacy, serves more than 200 hospitals, 10 transplant centers, a diverse population of 20 million donors and families across SoCal and waiting recipients across the country. In this episode of SoCal Voices, One Legacy’s Public Education and...

The killing of George Floyd at the hands of police focused the world’s attention on the problem of police abuse and misconduct in ways that few other cases have. In the US, the murder of Floyd renewed calls for police reform and led to calls to abolish policing as we know it. Maintain the status quo, some said, and policing will continue to cause more harm than good. Others worry that dismantling the police will lead to anarchy. What can be done in the realm of “public safety” so that everyone i...

In a marked change from the racial reckoning that occurred in 2020, some have declared that DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) is dead. Is it? Where exactly are we with DEI initiatives? In this episode of SoCal Voices, Jonathan Dumas, an organizational psychologist, leadership and career coach, and host of the podcast Highly Visible & A Little Misunderstood, pushes back on the notion that DEI is finished, and shares his insights about his own experience helping companies and individuals do th...

Susan Partovi’s colleagues call her “The Skid Row Doctor.” She’s a leading expert on street medicine who has treated hundreds of the most underserved patients in Los Angeles — substance users, and people experiencing homelessness and severe mental illness. On this episode of SoCal Voices, Dr. Partovi opens up about her unique approach to providing healthcare to some of southern California’s most vulnerable people. Hear Dr. Partovi describe why she pursued medicine as a career, the circumstances ...

In her book, The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement, Hajar Yazdiha, an assistant professor of sociology at USC, outlines how decades-long efforts to sanitize the civil rights movement perpetuate injustice and threaten America’s multicultural democracy. In this episode of SoCal Voices, Professor Yazdiha discusses her book, and the life experiences that fuel her passion to help bring about positive changes in society.

Twillea Evans-Carthen has a servant’s heart. She is University Ombuds Officer at Cal State San Bernardino, an active member of a number of community organizations, and serves on the board for the Inland Ivy Foundation and League of Women Voters San Bernardino. She is a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and much more. Well-known in SoCal’s Inland Empire for lifting people up and getting things done, Twillea is living her best life through service. In this edition of SoCal Voices, she sha...

Bibi Pirayesh is an educational therapist based in Los Angeles. For 15 years her work has focused on helping children, families, and schools better understand the unique needs of kids with learning disabilities. More recently, her work has shifted toward the fight for the learning rights of kids in LA, where children's educational experiences are directly linked to their socio-economic status. On this edition of SoCal Voices, Bibi shares her views on learning disability as a social justice is...

As part of Earth Month activities this April, cities across the nation can show how water-wise they are by participating in the Wyland Foundation’s National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. In this edition of SoCal Voices, Wyland Foundation President Steve Creech provides details about the Mayor’s Challenge and how water conservation efforts are key to keeping the environment clean and safe.

From its broadcast center on March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, the American Forces Network (AFN) ensures that “a touch of home” reaches US military personnel stationed overseas. The service provides radio and television news, entertainment and sports programming as well as critical worldwide, regional and local command information to US service members across the globe. In this special “On the Road” edition of SoCal Voices, host Angela Ross speaks with AFN sports programming specialist Jason ...

In this edition of SoCal Voices, host Angela Ross chats with Clinton Galloway, author of Anatomy of a Hustle: Cable Comes to South Central LA and What Did you Think was Going to Happen? — books that detail his experiences trying to establish the first Black-owned cable franchise in the country and the government corruption that he says stopped it.