(upbeat guitar music)
- [Tom] This week on
Arizona Illustrated
gender and sexuality
at the border.
- The fear of being
detained or sent back
often outweigh
the need to share.
- [Tom] One woman's look
back at the Dunbar School.
- And I don't think we
realized that the only
books we had was used
books when other schools
were through with them
or that we were really
deprived, I think if
that's all you know
that's all you know.
- [Tom] Text, Talk, Act,
a new mental health app
for today's youth.
- That it is okay to
have mental health issues
and it's okay not to
know what they're about,
cause that's what this
is all about. (chuckles)
- [Tom] And, Far Afield
with Roman Barten-Sherman.
(upbeat guitar music)
Welcome to Arizona
Illustrated, I'm Tom McNamara.
Migrants around the world
face life-threatening
obstacles every day, on
the US, Mexico border
this continues to be true
and for border crossers
who identify as female
the risks are even higher.
Well during a recent
celebration and performance
in Nogales, Sonora and
Arizona artists, activists,
scholars, and migrants
gathered to acknowledge
the human toll being taken
at the southern border
through the lens of
gender and sexuality.
This is Binational Encuentro.
(intense music)
- The majority of the
people that are right now
displaced in the world
are women and children.
We are talking about
a different generation
that has been uprooted.
- If you really think
about the numbers
of deaths and rapes that occur
to female identified
persons at the border
we would all be astounded.
- In and out of her house.
I asked if she would
look at a picture.
She indicated that she did not--
- [Ana] We decide to
bring together artists,
activists, and scholars
that work on the topics
of migration from
the perspective of
gender and sexuality.
- We're ignoring the violence
that we're setting up.
- [Trayce] The nine-day event
was the Binational Encuentro
female migrations.
- Performance art
put together theater,
video art, and many
different types of arts
together so really it
speaks to an audience,
especially a young
audience, in a very
different way using means
that they have at their hands.
- The issues are
extremely complex and
there are multiple strands
of multiple problems
and they're intersecting
at this place.
- [Ana] The cultural
segregation that communities
on both sides of the
border experience
is larger because of the
lack of money and resources.
So for us it was very
important to bring art there
because we were talking
about the violence
of the migration
policia and the violence
of the wall, so you
cannot talk about it
and then not present it.
(serene music)
So of course the
performances, all of them,
acquired a very different
level of significance
when they are done at
the very same place
that they were
originated in concept.
- The numbers of women
who have been violated
and who have had to
deal with multiple kinds
of violence as they've
crossed is something
that really has not
been researched well.
The fear of being
detained or sent back
often outweigh the need
to share that information.
- We keep talking about
migration as you see
as this moment, this
instant, when people
will cross or not,
there are root causes
that are historical,
colonial histories
and how manifest destiny
is one of the origins,
so you have to talk
about white supremacy
and racial engendered
ideologies,
and economies and how
all of that interact
in the moment where
the global-south
and the global-north connect
and that border is just
a little manifestation
of all of these interrelations.
("Dejame Entrar" by Mana)
- I was so struck by the
way that Violeta Luna
both humanized that
border patrol agent
but also through that
interaction pushed him
to recognize her own humanity.
- It was perceived
by the border patrol
as an actress and
not as a migrant,
even though she is
herself, and what she
was digging and
she was hiding were
photographs of
disappeared people
each person was
reading that action
in a very different way.
So that's precisely the
power of performance art.
- This is a final performance
of a whole process
of this Encuentro
female migrations.
I'm from Mexico City
but my roots are
Zapotec roots from Oaxaca.
I started doing it
through activists
but when I was involved in that
and seeing what is going on
I wanted to just
show it to the world,
like this is what is happening
and I wanted to put
that in an art piece.
- We artists,
activists, scholars
who are interested in
creating a different
way of living have to
get out of our silos
and we have to
learn to understand
each other's languages
and to work together.
(bird cawing)
- [Nayla] My piece is
named Mujer Butterfly,
which is a metaphor
of a monarch butterfly
and migrant women
but it's also a way
of honoring all
the missing women
from Mexico and from here
that are missed in the border.
(somber music)
You can say whatever
you want to say
in a safe place through art.
My pain can be your pain too,
it's not something that is
separate we are the same people.
- It's complicated to
talk about the root causes
of migration but I
do believe that if we
don't talk about this
when we talk about
migration reform then
we are validating
the process that
right now is in place
that is deadly, it's
violent, kills people,
and allows for people
to be victimized,
criminalized, et
cetera, et cetera.
- When you're addressing
issues where there are
deeply-held values
people shut down
because they have
their position,
they have their beliefs, and
there's no way to engage,
and so what art does,
it creates this pathway
a different way in, so
that people are able
to potentially engage
in issue, and to maybe
learn something new,
and maybe feel something
differently related
to the subject matter.
- [Ana] What I want
people to get out of this
is the possibility of
talking to one another
to try to imagine a
different paradigm.
- School segregation
is a difficult chapter
of US history, while
it left painful wounds,
many African American
children were able
to persevere and thrive
through the adversity.
This is Barbara Lewis
in her own words
sharing her experience
at Tucson's Dunbar School
from 1942 to 1950.
(metal clanking)
(jazz music)
- My name is Barbara
Lewis and I attended
Dunbar Segregated School
from 1942 through 1950.
I remember this room
being my first grade room,
it's familiar and
I can remember it
but it's now a use for
storage at the moment.
My teacher was Ms.
Carter, I love that name,
and actually I
remember, now talk about
a soft and loving
teacher, she was.
I found a picture of me,
I think I must have been
six or seven, and
I think it was when
my mother had a
beauty shop downtown
and there was a studio
called Gabussy's
and I think he must
have just said,
"Come on in little one, let
me take a picture of you."
cause I've got an ice
cream cone I'm hiding here.
Look at that, those
pants are all big,
that belts all, and those shoes.
I never had friends until
I started attending school.
We were just kind
of isolated and
my folks didn't let us run
around and make many friends
so this was like my friends
and my little family
and I was so happy
to be with them.
There was Edwina, me,
Herman, Ed Sparks,
Burt Preston, Tina,
oh I could go on,
but yeah, I remember 'em all.
(jazz music)
We were very happy
children, I don't think
we realized that we
got the only books
we had was used books
when other schools
were through with them, or
that we were really deprived,
I think if that's all you
know, that's all you know.
And this is the
principal's office
but my goodness it's so much
smaller than I remember,
it used to look so big to me
because well I was
little I guess.
I talked all the time (laughs)
I talked constantly,
I think I came here
talking constantly,
and you know, okay
Barbara Hollins, go to
the principal's office.
This is the electrical room now
it used to be, we didn't
have a cafeteria as such,
but Ms. Warria would
cook on burners.
We were especially
happy on Thursdays
because that was
chili-bean Thursday
and we loved it,
we paid a nickel
for our little lunches and
find a place to eat 'em.
This arch is, I'd say
it's kind of like our
auditorium, our assembly hall,
because we didn't
have one to begin with
and we'd have all
kinds of celebrities,
African American ones,
that would come to town,
parents that had a
profession would come
to talk, and we'd line
up from under this arch
all the way down to
the end of the hallway,
would be kids coming out
of each one of these rooms.
We would have our
Christmas parties
for everybody here,
it really is nostalgic
when I stand here and look down
or when I come this
way and look up
because this was
our main space until
we got an auditorium
on the other side.
This was 1950, that's
me, and let's see,
this is my
best-girlfriend, this,
oh I had two boyfriends,
I'd interchange 'em
and they were best
friends, Ed Sparks
and Burt Preston,
yeah I'd alternate
you don't want to hear
that story. (laughs)
This is our teacher Mr.
Todd and he's 103 this year
and he's still, as far
as I know, clear-headed,
he was a wonderful
teacher, such a nice man.
I can say that they
did good because
the majority of each
one of those classes,
the kids are professionals,
a lot of doctors,
engineers, from
that Dunbar School,
which is amazing to me.
I don't know, I just
felt warm and wanted.
This is the only
school we could go to
in those early grades and
this is the only school
that black teachers
could teach, was here.
We were all in this together.
The funny thing was
as soon as we got
ninth grade,
graduated ninth grade,
we went to integrated
Tucson High.
If I had a magic wand I
would have it completed soon
I'd have enough money
where we could finish
our library, finish
our museum, shore up
some of the defects
that have happened
over the years with
the earth moving,
and we'd have a
lot of activities
because we do have
a lot of room.
I'd like for it
to be many things
but for the legacy to remain.
I do not want a
legacy of separatism
but just let it be
known what it was,
but we want to be
better than that.
I'll always love this building,
I mean no matter what happens,
but we're gonna see
to it that it stands
another hundred years.
(jazz music)
- [Announcer] Like what you
see on Arizona Illustrated?
Visit our webpage
at azpm.org to watch
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where we share photos
and links about the show
and what's happening
in our community.
- Young people
today are growing up
in the world of social
media, school shootings
are common, war and
terror continue,
public discourse has
devolved to a new low,
and teen suicide is soaring.
Now a new phone-based
app has been developed
to help today's youth deal
with the mental health
challenges they face, it's
called Text, Talk, Act.
- Good morning everyone.
How are you today?
That you're concerned
about your friend
what's the first
step that you can do?
Ask, and then what's
the second step?
Listen.
- [Narrator] It's a
Tuesday morning at
Pima Community
College and students
are gearing up
for a conversation
unlike any they've had before.
- My name's Raquel
Goodrich, I'm here with
an organization
called Text, Talk, Act
and today we're going
to do an interactive--
Text, Talk, Act is,
it's a conversation
it's an activity
that allows students
and participants to talk
about mental health.
- Casey, was that a no?
- [Raquel] It gets students
in small groups together
with a cellphone
through text messaging,
they receive a series
of text messages
that lead them through a
conversation on mental health.
- [Angelica] What percent of
youth with mental health issues
don't receive mental
health services?
So it's saying to
pick a percent.
- I would say 49 or 74 percent
because I think a lot of youth,
they think that their
parents will frown upon them
so they don't tell their parents
what the issues going
on so none of them
receive any services
because they don't
tell anyone about it.
- Three-fourths of all
mental health problems
present themselves
before the age of 24
so we knew that being
able to reach youth
in an innovative way was
going to be essential.
- I didn't realize
stress and anxiety
was a big mental health
thing until I was like,
"Hey, ADR, I have panic
attacks every two weeks,
"what's going on?".
- [Student] I think we
should definitely know what
people are going through
in the background,
we often just assume
that somebody's happy
when they could be going
through food insecurity,
or just they're depressed.
- We had an independent
evaluation done
back in 2015 and what we
found was that through
the 45 minute
conversation the students
walked away with a
greater understanding
of mental health, a
greater comfort level
in talking about mental health,
and they also had a
greater understanding
about how to help
a friend in need.
- [Angelica] What does is
mean to be mentally healthy?
I'm gonna let you go
first 'cause I'm not
that mentally healthy right now.
- I think it means to
be mentally healthy,
is to take care of yourself.
Taking time for yourself
and not saying yes to
everyone else around you.
- Now you're just targeting me.
- [Narrator] The Text,
Talk, Act conversation gave
Pima Community College
sophomores Jade Pena
and Angelica
Mejilla new insights
and a new lens through which
to see their experiences.
- It was a way for
all of us to talk
about things and
I think we spoke
on things for longer because
things kept coming up.
(students talking)
People don't have to feel
like they can't talk about it.
Luckily me, when
I was growing up
I was able to talk
to my mom about it
but if a lot more people
had that supportiveness
then they wouldn't
have to grow up
and take so long to get help.
- I feel like all
cultures hesitate
on some mental health
issues and if they
identify in LGBTQ then it's
definitely frowned upon.
I think it's important
because it's shunned,
from my own experiences
in my culture,
being in a Hispanic
culture it's not really
a thing at all, it's like,
"Oh, you'll be
okay, sleep on it,
"just don't think about it,
"next day will be better."
Most cases no.
Mental health is an
issue and it is valid
and that it is okay to
have mental health issues
and it's okay not to
know what they're about,
'cause that's what
this is all about.
- [Jade] See, like me,
spiritual is a big part
of who I am, so that's
when I get my crystals
and I meditate, and I like
to light incense and candles.
- I need to work on
that, where would I be..
- I think that really helps.
I think one other
thing is going outside.
- [Narrator] So far Text,
Talk, Act has reached
more than 125,000 students
across the country,
now the app is
returning to its roots,
first developed at the
University of Arizona's
National Institute
for Civil Discourse
it's bringing its
focus back to schools
in southern Arizona.
- We're really
looking at going into
all of the school districts
throughout the area
to bring Text, Talk,
Act into classrooms
and we'll typically
work from sixth grade
up through college, so
each of those grades
are appropriate for the
Text, Talk, Act conversation.
- Doing things out
of my comfort zone
and just trying new things.
- [Narrator] The goal
is to teach youth
about the power of being
willing to ask and to listen.
- Yeah, so this man
lives in Australia
he lives across the
road from a cliff
where people go when they're
contemplating suicide.
And I looked this guy
up, he every morning
goes out to his kitchen window
with his binoculars
to see if anyone's
standing on the
cliff and if they are
he's old so he runs, I
don't know how fast he runs,
but he'll run across
the road and he'll
walk up to them and he'll
do those three steps,
he'll ask, listen, act
and he will invite them
back to his house
for a cup of tea
and as a result of that, and
this was a few years ago,
as a result of that
he saved 160 people.
(people talking)
Mental health can be a
difficult conversation
for people to have, so
it's really important
for me to work with
our nation's youth
to give them the
tools that they need
to be able to not
only feel comfortable
talking about mental
health but to know
what to do if they had
a mental health issue
or if a friend had a
mental health issue.
I think we've come a long
way in the past few years
but I still see that
there's a lot more work
that we need to do.
- And now, from our
Far Afield series,
we bring you Roman
Barten-Sherman
performing I'm
Throwing Up My Hands.
("I'm Throwing Up My Hands"
by Roman Barten-Sherman)
♪ Said if I could holler ♪
♪ Mama like a mountain jay ♪
♪ If I could holler ♪
♪ Lord like a mountain jay ♪
♪ Go to the top of
this mountain mama ♪
♪ And call my baby back ♪
♪ Say one thing mama
and I will remember ♪
♪ Now one thing ♪
♪ Last night my babe packed
up and went for the streets ♪
♪ Said now mama
what a fix I'm in ♪
♪ Mama oh what a fix I'm in ♪
♪ I ain't got no money
and I sure as hell ♪
♪ Ain't got no friends ♪
♪ Said I'm going away ♪
♪ And worry you off my mind ♪
♪ Said I'm going mama to
worry you off my mind ♪
♪ Now there ain't no use ♪
♪ Throwing up your
hands and crying ♪
- Thank you for joining us here
on Arizona Illustrated,
here's a sneak peek
at a story we're working on.
- 3,000 people have
come into this office
for a post-mortem examination,
we've had a slow-motion
mass-disaster
played out over the
last 19, 20 years.
Not only is personal
loss a tragedy
this not knowing if
they're alive or dead,
and if they are dead
has the body been
found, or all they
still laying out there.
- I'm Tom McNamara,
see you then.
(calm music)
(fanfare music)
