NPR: Keep On Keeping On

Keep On Keeping On

Hello everyone, its Cheryl Corley ... keeping the seat warm for Michel another day. She'll be back manana. In the meantime, we had a lot to talk about.

First the big changes at the NAACP. The civil rights group elected a new president over the weekend. 35 year old Ben Jealous - the head of a San Francisco Foundation and a former news executive - is the youngest to head the organization. We talked to former NAACP President Bruce Gordon and Princeton University Professor Melissa Harris Lacewell about what the change will mean and about the relevancy of the NAACP. There'll be more tomorrow when Ben Jealous, himself, joins Michel.

If you're a teenager and getting ready to look for a job this summer, it may be somewhat discouraging. A new study out today from the Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies in Boston expects the unemployment levels for youth to be especially brutal this summer - especially for black and Latino teenagers. Rallies are being held throughout the country in an effort to get lawmakers to pay attention to youth unemployment. We talked to Shay Richardson of Urban Alliance and Jack Wuest of the Alternative Schools Network.

How do you rebuild a country? Washington Post reporter Anthony Faiola joined us to tell us more about the incredible story of women in Rwanda who are making a new life for themselves and their villages by growing coffee crops. These new farmers inherited farms from their late husbands or fathers who were killed in Rwanda's bloody genocide. They are using new techniques and microloans to earn enough money to reconstruct their houses, help children go to school and birth hope.

We continued the discussion about women in non-traditional roles with an interview about guns, from Annie Oakley to Macho Mammas and beyond. Michel spoke with author Laura Browder about her book, "Her Best Shot: Women and Guns in America."

And lastly, we commemorated the birthday of one of the country's most famous civil rights leaders. Malcolm X would have been 83 today.

It was great hanging out with you. Keep on keeping on.

Cheryl

Michel Martin

2:53 PM ET | 05-19-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

I don't understand why there is such an issue with gun control and why women of all people want to get rid of them. Unless, all guns are thrown in some big pile and guarded, I want to keep my gun because I know there are plenty of people who have guns that don't seem to make good decisions with them. My husband leaves town often and I have already had my home broken into. I need to know that if someone threatens my children and I, I am able to have a fighting chance in protecting us. The important thing is honesty. Our children have seen it, heard it and know that under no circumstances can they touch it. It is not a toy and it is very dangerous. It does not solve problems it is only a means of protection from someone who has bad intentions, ie. a stranger who forces their self into your home without your consent. I don't want to ever have to kill or hurt anyone but I am responsible for the well being of my children. I can't control what happens and life but I need to know that I was able to exhaust all means of protecting them. Guns don't kill people, it's people who kill people. Bad people are going to get guns by any means necessary why take the right to have a gun away from law abiding citizens?

Sent by Arelis | 5:26 PM ET | 05-21-2008

Send a Comment

Comments are reviewed and edited by NPR prior to display. All comments will be read, but not all will be posted.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

E-mail this Page

Recipient's e-mail address:	» Up to twelve addresses, separated by commas.
Your e-mail address:
Your name:
Personal message (optional, 600 characters max):
Your NPR member station:	» List of local stations (PDF)
Are you a member of your local NPR station?	Yes No
Would you like to receive information from your local NPR member station? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No
May we contact you with information about NPR programming and services? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No

(Information collected by NPR will be used solely for internal NPR or NPR member station purposes and only if you selected 'yes' above. See NPR's privacy policy for more information.)

E-mail Updates from the Tell Me More Blog

Share Your Story

What would it take to get your vote? Share text, audio or video.

'Tell Me More' with Michel Martin

"Nothing is assumed." That's the unofficial motto of Tell Me More, the new Monday-Friday talk show with host Michel Martin. Grounded in lively interviewing and compelling storytelling, the program seeks to present diverse new voices, cross borders, challenge conventional wisdom and discover how other people think.