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Summer Of Racial Reckoning NPR Special: Part Three

Protesters in Raleigh pulled down statues from a Confederate monument on June 19 after marching in celebration of Juneteenth.
Protesters in Raleigh pulled down statues from a Confederate monument on June 19 after marching in celebration of Juneteenth.

Months into a global pandemic, a loud cry for racial justice erupted around the country and the world. Protesters took to the streets demanding an end to police brutality and systemic racism and repeatedly echoed the names of three recently-killed Black Americans: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. NPR's Ailsa Chang and Rachel Martin share part three of the 'Summer of Racial Reckoning' special series.

In a new three-part series, NPR Hosts Ailsa Chang and Rachel Martin look back at the past six months and report on how we got to where we are today. In episode one, they heard stories from people who knew and loved Floyd, Taylor and Arbery. In part two, they stepped back and looked at the system that protesters are pushing back against. And in part three they examine the way forward. In conversations with civil rights leaders, police and protesters, they raise questions about the various proposals for systemic change, from bringing down Confederate monuments to defunding the police.

Copyright 2020 North Carolina Public Radio

Ailsa Chang is an award-winning journalist who hosts All Things Considered along with Ari Shapiro, Audie Cornish, and Mary Louise Kelly. She landed in public radio after practicing law for a few years.
Rachel Martin is a host of Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First.