Transcripts For CSPAN2 Maria Hinojosa Once I Was You 2024071

Hello, everybody. Im alison cuddy, the artistic director of the chicago humanities festival and delighted to be here welcoming you to todays program. Maria hannah joseph, trend i picked this program and many more are free and open to the public throughout our fall season. You can learn more about our Upcoming Events at checkout eumenides. Org and i encourage you to lend your support, make a donation or become a member. You can also learn more about our commitment to accessibility there thanks to support from our audiences come all of our Digital Events have close captioning which can be controlled through youtube. Thank you to our caption are today, and good news. This program are both spanish and english subtitles. In my previous life in public radio the voice of Maria Hinojosa was a constant presence come one that is compassionate, grounding and groundbreaking. Im delighted shes back at chf and with another such a voice, Jose Antonio Vargas. Together theyre two of the most compelling and urgent thinkers on civil rights in america come soon especially through the lens of the deep personal and is awardwinning journalist intellectual connections to immigration. So please him in giving a very warm digital welcome to Jose Antonio Vargas and Maria Hinojosa. Hello. Im the founder of the author of book called get america, notes of an undocumented citizen. I am thrilled for this conversation with one of my favorite human beings and what my favorite journalist, Maria Hinojosa. Were going to talk about her book, and this book, once i was you, is wonderful for many reasons but one of them is that the book like all great memoirs captures you, maria, as a complex multilayered human being, immigrant maria, the journalist maria, the activist maria, the innovative media entrepreneur media, the daughter sister friend maria, the mother wife maria all those identifiers make you, make maria the whole person that she is. I have no maria for a while now, actually the first time we met, the first a metawas in 20,082,008 at a Journalism Convention in chicago. But i felt reading this book i felt because getting to know you so much more intimately. In the chapter called embracing a new identity, maria leaving chicago to go to in york city for college she writes i had looked up the definition of the word radical. Admit going to the root of things. Thats how i saw myself. This book to me, this book gets at the roots. Like maria, it is radical. Now i i would want to bring in Maria Hinojosa. Oh the lesson we did was opposite, right . I know. I made you cry but you just made me cry because to pol pot out, jose, hole that outcome me looking up, wait a second what does the word radical really mean . For me it changed everything but i was like yes, i am a radical but thats because im going to the root or want to go to the root. After reading the book i felt like it was an emotional root canal. I felt like you did get to the roots of this, right . Theres many ways this conversation can cope , given he are with each other. I cant was when michaels is to make her cry. We have been friends for a while now and we can indicate with each other. When i finished my documentary you with the first was my call and said the district when he finished the book i said i want to talk about the process of this book. Like come how was this book birthed works when did you realize okay, i have to do this . When did that happen . Actually he may even remember, jose, because it jut kind of happened. I was on prime time on msnbc with joy, a friend of ours. And at the time i was doing a lot more the time of the gentleman has expired msnbc, which was fun. Not so much this time around which is a separate conversation anyway, i had a moment, and steve cortez who is a trump support use the term illegal to refer to human beings, immigrants. I thought, theres no such thing any illegal human being. Illegal is not a noun. I just cant did what you and i do all the time. I was just speaking my truth. Well, that thing went viral and ended up fusion, ended up making a video that and that went viral, 10 Million People saw. A very close friend of mine said thats the book your director you have to write the book, illegal is not enough. Yes, i do. Jose, actually this book was going to be a little pocketbook. You know those little pocketbook you have . That was my idea, let me write this real fast. Its like a tenpoint guide of illegal is not a noun, like short simple people at airport to pick it up and said okay, why should never use the term illegal to refer to a human being. People are really interested in that book. When i i went ahead and decideo get an agent and decided to get back into the world of publishing because its very scary, its a scary world, a lot of work. Got to have very thick skin. You have to have people around you who really love you and believe in you. The really wasnt that much love for that idea of like a small book. Thats how this ended up becoming and there were many iterations. I thought it would be a love letter to my daughter who deserves a a book because my sn got my daughter is like wheres the book . Ultimately what ended up happening once the editor from simon schuster, once she got involved in the project and we talked about this not being just my story, which its interesting, its fine but is much more about all of those different parts of my life that you make it so beautifully and also talking about history and policy and politics and what it looks like. I was just thinking, jose, one of the communities i hope reads this book is the vietnamese community. Because for me the vietnamese experience, the refugee experience marks me as a human being come as a child and in that resolving that i becoming a journalist and giving kelly so my case a woman what ended up in Corpus Christi voice because so many vietnamese were just come there with the first televised refugee crisis and as you know they were reduced to terminology, horrific terminology that journalists used to refer to people as vote people. Even in the deconstructing of that, its a way which we can find ourselves in each other in this book hopefully. Actually was going to say is i love how much history is interwoven throughout the book. And kind of a lot of like zooming out and zooming back in and now it is so crocheted in your life. Part of what i was think about was when the writer in 1961, when your father arrived in 1961 was four years before the immigration and nationality act outlined in the book. I want to talk about that. Did you feel part of your role as a journalist, as a Mexican American journalist, is to correct a lot of history . Absolutely. Oh, absolutely, but doing it i felt like i won point like this was a love letter to my country, a a reckoning with this country, the United States where i was kind of thing but how could you do this and how could you do this . The sad truth, jose, that we realized white supremacist been in this country from the moment the pilgrims arrived and so we have as a country need to understand what that means. One the other things that happened was that finding connections with other communities, one of the more Beautiful Moments in the writing of this book was when come in the writing of the history part, the first people who were excluded law from the United States, excluded, were asian women, chinese women, before the chinese exclusion act was law they were saying women cant be here. I begin to think those women were my mom. Now i feel when i see asian women i am like, i am tied to you, you are tied to be and we dont even know these stories because so much of history doesnt talk about this, per se. For me that is most a jury. Let me read something for the book, i had to read and i had to stop and like realize what i just read it. This is from the book. They kept coming on until 1964 when the apparent exportation and labor violations inherent in the program became untenable. Especially during the Civil Rights Era when people were paying close attention to the kinds of injustices. Under the program 4. 6 million labor contracts were signed. They help keep the u. S. Economy afloat and address i culture productivity during those years. Yet there is almost no record or acknowledgment of their contribution today. Yes. After i read that i was like, what . And thats what i talk about, part of the work of this book i think is to crack that narrative. To constantly busy saying wait a second, and there were things i found out in the writing of this book i was like, over and over again, like oh, my god, oh, my god, how did this happen. Its important part of history because i think that both the democrats and republicans had their druthers they would be we happy to just have just bring it back. Just bring the laborers over, treat them however you want but as long as they got a little green card that mean still not be forcibly deported or put into ice detention facilities and sick, et cetera just bring them all in and after theyre done sinton back. What benefits . What retirement . What healthcare . They are just workers. Theres so many of them. Thats was so painful about our experience as immigrants in this country is that sure there are some people come to this country looked of interest in staying here. Okay fine. But then there are many of us who do and want to stay and only want to stay but feel and ownership of this place. The fact we would be reduced to you are just labor is visible, right . That was one of the themes. This is what i thought was really not only compelling but i was haunted by the fact the language around this, the fact that mexicans were only see this quoteunquote workers, right . And what you cant at them as people. All you think about is their labor, right . Part of that history as i was reading, he reminded me is the republicans roll in the modern immigration conversation and how president bush, the first president bush was really more immigrant friendly than what we remembered. How was that when youre researching that part of the book . That i i have to say that pt of the work has been revealing to me but also just basically the long stories come to make it should come is that both republicans and democrats have thrown, actively thrown immigrant under the bus. So people will read this book and it will just be like weight, george h. W. Bush was actually good on refugees . He was the only one in the recent 50 years to increase notably the number of refugees allowed. He was the one who signed temporary protected status for so many. This is george h. W. Bush and the Republican Party talked about immigrants in this kind of glowing way, whereas bill clinton was making at the immigrant ads and was busy building the beginning of the wall. This is important because we cannot have the illusion of again who controls the narratives. Who controls narrative and it was actually being have become whats been the policies. The thing about reagan who is the predecessor to george h. W. Bush is that ronald reagan, as you know, Community Immigration reform and control act which actually legalized, a lot about 3 million undocumented immigrants and aliens to become citizens. The prime was his actively, this is a big part of the book, actively bombing Central America sinking military come sending soldiers down there, participating in genocidal activities by soldiers that were trained by american military. Hasnt been but that was part of the book i really appreciated was again how you come you not only live history but your reporting history. For me by the way we are who we are talking to is the premier latino journalist and the United States of america, right . I keep remind myself that. This is like diane sawyer, barbara walters, like, right . As i was reading that i kept thinking to myself, the whole chapter on obama, i kind of the obama part of this, given since this is the chicago humanities festival, given that rahm emanuel was the first chief of staff to president obama. That was part of the book i was savoring, i have to say. Savoring as a journalist as an undocumented person who is yet to really see and read, have full reckoning that for me for the first time im seeing in writing. Can you talk to us about what that was like, that event that you are seeing in washington, d. C. , honoring soda sotomayor and then introducing president obama and knowing that feeling interests them, we do, how is is going to turn out. You to describe it like such a good journalist. You would write into the scene because the scene is that after george w. Bush where i didnt have much access, you know, in the white house come suddenly obama is elected, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is holding this big event, this big gala pictures of the at beacon and like im in the vip tent. How did this happen next time with Sonia Sotomayor soars to this beautiful moment like wow, things are really going to change and its right. I was on stage getting went to introduce barack obama who i had not met and i was very excited, of course, and when he comes out on stage after i introduced him, he actually takes me andy whispers in my ear. He says i miss hearing your show. And i said, you can listen to it any time, but its nice that we both high parkers. But you know where both high parkers picky said yes, we are coming so good to see and ottawa. He gave a speech and when i came back on stage to wrap up is when i said, wait a second. This is a moment in history. What just happened here . As journalists we have to hold politicians accountable. I dont care if i admin a gala and im all dressed up and i just introduced in and he gave me an amazing gift hug, it was beautiful. I have to hold them accountable. And so i said, remember president barack obama, theres no such thing as an illegal human being. We do not refer to these terms. We human beings. It was kind of a political moment. Not everybody started because there is a moment of answering back. It was a party. A huge party and im like, by the way, can we talk about this . Because i think youre right, jose. Part of what youre getting at that as journalists and in many ways this is a journalist book in a lot of ways, we are not going to drink the koolaid anywhere. What i will never forget and this is something ive never really should public before, but i will never forget is, i i was asked by the white house, i was asked to moderate a conversation on youtube about immigration by doctor daca was announced and those of the thing book is maria tell sister about of how daca , that it wasnt obama who made daca happen but its a work of activists, like of whom are my friends who pushed for that. Maria called me out of the blue, i dont even know how you heard about this event but, of course, she did. You said jose, he better not get used by this white house. Oh, my god. Do you remember that . You called me and said jose, you better not be used by this white house. I remember thinking to myself, its great because maria, my friend, but then theres maria vigil who has always put on a pedestal in my head. You better not be used by this white house. You are right that the book is anyways a memoir. I kept thinking about ben bradlee memoir. In that way because it covers so much ground in that way but i have to say though, i have asked you this question. President obama is in the process of writing his memoirs now. How do you think president obama is going to justify and talk about the deportation of 4 Million People, human beings under his watch, given that he would not have one president and get reelected without a latinx vote . How do you think hes going to talk about this . Heres the thing is that president barack obama, i was at parties where he was at because we both went, i was at barnard, he was at columbia university. He was in hyde park. My community. His gets went to school where i went to for high school. I know the neighborhood, the local spot, that 31 flavors flavors way but michelle obama, the first date, i was going to that 31 flavors when i was five years old. I feel a connection to barack obama so deeply, and to michelle as well. And yet there is this wound between us because i, like you, and a few other journalists, have wanted to hold him accountable because he is a constitutional scholar. So i have to understand. This is the question for him, is how is it he put together being a constitutional scholar but knowing that every single hour, every single minute people were being denied due process simple because they were not born in this country . And that is you, jose, and that his knee, right . Thats what it came down to. I know this is painful. Im back in therapy. I just put out a my twitter. Okay, im back in therapy. I saw that. It is painful to go back in and look at all these things that happened. I would just make an offer to barack, president barack obama to say, i have that conversation. Because we have gone beyond the point where it is like fast that what this is about this is about our heart and how we come he is my same age i mean, we are so equal in so many ways. We have to be able to look at each other in the eyes because i know he cares about me. I know, i know he listens to the work. I know he cares about you, and we need to have a coming together. Thats like a more public request, like we can do this and we have to do it. But how hes going to resolve that i think will require some actually some very deep, deep work. For me though what i keep thinking about is the difference between being a a writer and a politician. Barack obama is an incredible writer. Writers are here to tell the truth which is what youve done in this book. Politicians sometimes get a four to tell truth. How that works out i think will be really interesting. I hope he does and and i sas with the love, but i hope that he does some therapy around this. This. I sit with love because we have to process, and owning something, like i had to own my rate in the book. Its like you have to do a lot of work and its not fun and just to see your therapist and we wish that of barack with love, we do. Actually that was next part i was going to go to because i can i thought i knew you and i have known you for years and years and years now but there were many parts of his that just i didnt know. For me as your friend and as someone who is followed your career, you writing about that rape, right now, black lives matter move, the me too movement, and you at Depaul University teaching a class on Upcoming Events<\/a> at checkout eumenides. Org and i encourage you to lend your support, make a donation or become a member. You can also learn more about our commitment to accessibility there thanks to support from our audiences come all of our Digital Events<\/a> have close captioning which can be controlled through youtube. Thank you to our caption are today, and good news. This program are both spanish and english subtitles. In my previous life in public radio the voice of Maria Hinojosa<\/a> was a constant presence come one that is compassionate, grounding and groundbreaking. Im delighted shes back at chf and with another such a voice, Jose Antonio Vargas<\/a>. Together theyre two of the most compelling and urgent thinkers on civil rights in america come soon especially through the lens of the deep personal and is awardwinning journalist intellectual connections to immigration. So please him in giving a very warm digital welcome to Jose Antonio Vargas<\/a> and Maria Hinojosa<\/a>. Hello. Im the founder of the author of book called get america, notes of an undocumented citizen. I am thrilled for this conversation with one of my favorite human beings and what my favorite journalist, Maria Hinojosa<\/a>. Were going to talk about her book, and this book, once i was you, is wonderful for many reasons but one of them is that the book like all great memoirs captures you, maria, as a complex multilayered human being, immigrant maria, the journalist maria, the activist maria, the innovative media entrepreneur media, the daughter sister friend maria, the mother wife maria all those identifiers make you, make maria the whole person that she is. I have no maria for a while now, actually the first time we met, the first a metawas in 20,082,008 at a Journalism Convention<\/a> in chicago. But i felt reading this book i felt because getting to know you so much more intimately. In the chapter called embracing a new identity, maria leaving chicago to go to in york city for college she writes i had looked up the definition of the word radical. Admit going to the root of things. Thats how i saw myself. This book to me, this book gets at the roots. Like maria, it is radical. Now i i would want to bring in Maria Hinojosa<\/a>. Oh the lesson we did was opposite, right . I know. I made you cry but you just made me cry because to pol pot out, jose, hole that outcome me looking up, wait a second what does the word radical really mean . For me it changed everything but i was like yes, i am a radical but thats because im going to the root or want to go to the root. After reading the book i felt like it was an emotional root canal. I felt like you did get to the roots of this, right . Theres many ways this conversation can cope , given he are with each other. I cant was when michaels is to make her cry. We have been friends for a while now and we can indicate with each other. When i finished my documentary you with the first was my call and said the district when he finished the book i said i want to talk about the process of this book. Like come how was this book birthed works when did you realize okay, i have to do this . When did that happen . Actually he may even remember, jose, because it jut kind of happened. I was on prime time on msnbc with joy, a friend of ours. And at the time i was doing a lot more the time of the gentleman has expired msnbc, which was fun. Not so much this time around which is a separate conversation anyway, i had a moment, and steve cortez who is a trump support use the term illegal to refer to human beings, immigrants. I thought, theres no such thing any illegal human being. Illegal is not a noun. I just cant did what you and i do all the time. I was just speaking my truth. Well, that thing went viral and ended up fusion, ended up making a video that and that went viral, 10 Million People<\/a> saw. A very close friend of mine said thats the book your director you have to write the book, illegal is not enough. Yes, i do. Jose, actually this book was going to be a little pocketbook. You know those little pocketbook you have . That was my idea, let me write this real fast. Its like a tenpoint guide of illegal is not a noun, like short simple people at airport to pick it up and said okay, why should never use the term illegal to refer to a human being. People are really interested in that book. When i i went ahead and decideo get an agent and decided to get back into the world of publishing because its very scary, its a scary world, a lot of work. Got to have very thick skin. You have to have people around you who really love you and believe in you. The really wasnt that much love for that idea of like a small book. Thats how this ended up becoming and there were many iterations. I thought it would be a love letter to my daughter who deserves a a book because my sn got my daughter is like wheres the book . Ultimately what ended up happening once the editor from simon schuster, once she got involved in the project and we talked about this not being just my story, which its interesting, its fine but is much more about all of those different parts of my life that you make it so beautifully and also talking about history and policy and politics and what it looks like. I was just thinking, jose, one of the communities i hope reads this book is the vietnamese community. Because for me the vietnamese experience, the refugee experience marks me as a human being come as a child and in that resolving that i becoming a journalist and giving kelly so my case a woman what ended up in Corpus Christi<\/a> voice because so many vietnamese were just come there with the first televised refugee crisis and as you know they were reduced to terminology, horrific terminology that journalists used to refer to people as vote people. Even in the deconstructing of that, its a way which we can find ourselves in each other in this book hopefully. Actually was going to say is i love how much history is interwoven throughout the book. And kind of a lot of like zooming out and zooming back in and now it is so crocheted in your life. Part of what i was think about was when the writer in 1961, when your father arrived in 1961 was four years before the immigration and nationality act outlined in the book. I want to talk about that. Did you feel part of your role as a journalist, as a Mexican American<\/a> journalist, is to correct a lot of history . Absolutely. Oh, absolutely, but doing it i felt like i won point like this was a love letter to my country, a a reckoning with this country, the United States<\/a> where i was kind of thing but how could you do this and how could you do this . The sad truth, jose, that we realized white supremacist been in this country from the moment the pilgrims arrived and so we have as a country need to understand what that means. One the other things that happened was that finding connections with other communities, one of the more Beautiful Moments<\/a> in the writing of this book was when come in the writing of the history part, the first people who were excluded law from the United States<\/a>, excluded, were asian women, chinese women, before the chinese exclusion act was law they were saying women cant be here. I begin to think those women were my mom. Now i feel when i see asian women i am like, i am tied to you, you are tied to be and we dont even know these stories because so much of history doesnt talk about this, per se. For me that is most a jury. Let me read something for the book, i had to read and i had to stop and like realize what i just read it. This is from the book. They kept coming on until 1964 when the apparent exportation and labor violations inherent in the program became untenable. Especially during the Civil Rights Era<\/a> when people were paying close attention to the kinds of injustices. Under the program 4. 6 million labor contracts were signed. They help keep the u. S. Economy afloat and address i culture productivity during those years. Yet there is almost no record or acknowledgment of their contribution today. Yes. After i read that i was like, what . And thats what i talk about, part of the work of this book i think is to crack that narrative. To constantly busy saying wait a second, and there were things i found out in the writing of this book i was like, over and over again, like oh, my god, oh, my god, how did this happen. Its important part of history because i think that both the democrats and republicans had their druthers they would be we happy to just have just bring it back. Just bring the laborers over, treat them however you want but as long as they got a little green card that mean still not be forcibly deported or put into ice detention facilities and sick, et cetera just bring them all in and after theyre done sinton back. What benefits . What retirement . What healthcare . They are just workers. Theres so many of them. Thats was so painful about our experience as immigrants in this country is that sure there are some people come to this country looked of interest in staying here. Okay fine. But then there are many of us who do and want to stay and only want to stay but feel and ownership of this place. The fact we would be reduced to you are just labor is visible, right . That was one of the themes. This is what i thought was really not only compelling but i was haunted by the fact the language around this, the fact that mexicans were only see this quoteunquote workers, right . And what you cant at them as people. All you think about is their labor, right . Part of that history as i was reading, he reminded me is the republicans roll in the modern immigration conversation and how president bush, the first president bush was really more immigrant friendly than what we remembered. How was that when youre researching that part of the book . That i i have to say that pt of the work has been revealing to me but also just basically the long stories come to make it should come is that both republicans and democrats have thrown, actively thrown immigrant under the bus. So people will read this book and it will just be like weight, george h. W. Bush was actually good on refugees . He was the only one in the recent 50 years to increase notably the number of refugees allowed. He was the one who signed temporary protected status for so many. This is george h. W. Bush and the Republican Party<\/a> talked about immigrants in this kind of glowing way, whereas bill clinton was making at the immigrant ads and was busy building the beginning of the wall. This is important because we cannot have the illusion of again who controls the narratives. Who controls narrative and it was actually being have become whats been the policies. The thing about reagan who is the predecessor to george h. W. Bush is that ronald reagan, as you know, Community Immigration<\/a> reform and control act which actually legalized, a lot about 3 million undocumented immigrants and aliens to become citizens. The prime was his actively, this is a big part of the book, actively bombing Central America<\/a> sinking military come sending soldiers down there, participating in genocidal activities by soldiers that were trained by american military. Hasnt been but that was part of the book i really appreciated was again how you come you not only live history but your reporting history. For me by the way we are who we are talking to is the premier latino journalist and the United States<\/a> of america, right . I keep remind myself that. This is like diane sawyer, barbara walters, like, right . As i was reading that i kept thinking to myself, the whole chapter on obama, i kind of the obama part of this, given since this is the chicago humanities festival, given that rahm emanuel was the first chief of staff to president obama. That was part of the book i was savoring, i have to say. Savoring as a journalist as an undocumented person who is yet to really see and read, have full reckoning that for me for the first time im seeing in writing. Can you talk to us about what that was like, that event that you are seeing in washington, d. C. , honoring soda sotomayor and then introducing president obama and knowing that feeling interests them, we do, how is is going to turn out. You to describe it like such a good journalist. You would write into the scene because the scene is that after george w. Bush where i didnt have much access, you know, in the white house come suddenly obama is elected, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus<\/a> is holding this big event, this big gala pictures of the at beacon and like im in the vip tent. How did this happen next time with Sonia Sotomayor<\/a> soars to this beautiful moment like wow, things are really going to change and its right. I was on stage getting went to introduce barack obama who i had not met and i was very excited, of course, and when he comes out on stage after i introduced him, he actually takes me andy whispers in my ear. He says i miss hearing your show. And i said, you can listen to it any time, but its nice that we both high parkers. But you know where both high parkers picky said yes, we are coming so good to see and ottawa. He gave a speech and when i came back on stage to wrap up is when i said, wait a second. This is a moment in history. What just happened here . As journalists we have to hold politicians accountable. I dont care if i admin a gala and im all dressed up and i just introduced in and he gave me an amazing gift hug, it was beautiful. I have to hold them accountable. And so i said, remember president barack obama, theres no such thing as an illegal human being. We do not refer to these terms. We human beings. It was kind of a political moment. Not everybody started because there is a moment of answering back. It was a party. A huge party and im like, by the way, can we talk about this . Because i think youre right, jose. Part of what youre getting at that as journalists and in many ways this is a journalist book in a lot of ways, we are not going to drink the koolaid anywhere. What i will never forget and this is something ive never really should public before, but i will never forget is, i i was asked by the white house, i was asked to moderate a conversation on youtube about immigration by doctor daca was announced and those of the thing book is maria tell sister about of how daca , that it wasnt obama who made daca happen but its a work of activists, like of whom are my friends who pushed for that. Maria called me out of the blue, i dont even know how you heard about this event but, of course, she did. You said jose, he better not get used by this white house. Oh, my god. Do you remember that . You called me and said jose, you better not be used by this white house. I remember thinking to myself, its great because maria, my friend, but then theres maria vigil who has always put on a pedestal in my head. You better not be used by this white house. You are right that the book is anyways a memoir. I kept thinking about ben bradlee memoir. In that way because it covers so much ground in that way but i have to say though, i have asked you this question. President obama is in the process of writing his memoirs now. How do you think president obama is going to justify and talk about the deportation of 4 Million People<\/a>, human beings under his watch, given that he would not have one president and get reelected without a latinx vote . How do you think hes going to talk about this . Heres the thing is that president barack obama, i was at parties where he was at because we both went, i was at barnard, he was at columbia university. He was in hyde park. My community. His gets went to school where i went to for high school. I know the neighborhood, the local spot, that 31 flavors flavors way but michelle obama, the first date, i was going to that 31 flavors when i was five years old. I feel a connection to barack obama so deeply, and to michelle as well. And yet there is this wound between us because i, like you, and a few other journalists, have wanted to hold him accountable because he is a constitutional scholar. So i have to understand. This is the question for him, is how is it he put together being a constitutional scholar but knowing that every single hour, every single minute people were being denied due process simple because they were not born in this country . And that is you, jose, and that his knee, right . Thats what it came down to. I know this is painful. Im back in therapy. I just put out a my twitter. Okay, im back in therapy. I saw that. It is painful to go back in and look at all these things that happened. I would just make an offer to barack, president barack obama to say, i have that conversation. Because we have gone beyond the point where it is like fast that what this is about this is about our heart and how we come he is my same age i mean, we are so equal in so many ways. We have to be able to look at each other in the eyes because i know he cares about me. I know, i know he listens to the work. I know he cares about you, and we need to have a coming together. Thats like a more public request, like we can do this and we have to do it. But how hes going to resolve that i think will require some actually some very deep, deep work. For me though what i keep thinking about is the difference between being a a writer and a politician. Barack obama is an incredible writer. Writers are here to tell the truth which is what youve done in this book. Politicians sometimes get a four to tell truth. How that works out i think will be really interesting. I hope he does and and i sas with the love, but i hope that he does some therapy around this. This. I sit with love because we have to process, and owning something, like i had to own my rate in the book. Its like you have to do a lot of work and its not fun and just to see your therapist and we wish that of barack with love, we do. Actually that was next part i was going to go to because i can i thought i knew you and i have known you for years and years and years now but there were many parts of his that just i didnt know. For me as your friend and as someone who is followed your career, you writing about that rape, right now, black lives matter move, the me too movement, and you at Depaul University<\/a> teaching a class on Latinos Mental Health<\/a> and depression when you were what, your student said check out this Netflix Series<\/a> come 13 reasons why . Thats exactly what happened. I came in one morning. My class, 8 00 in the morning in chicago in the winter, but we had to battle it. I remember coming in and all the young women, mostly young women and a class, all young women, all latinas were talking and i said what you guys talking about . What is it . What is it . Is at a dance, song . Will talk about this documentary or this drama, 13 reasons why. I had a teenage daughter at the time was battling anxiety. When they talked about what it had to do with comp mental health, high schoolers, i said okay. They said you should watch it. Yeah, jose, that was not what i was expecting to have happened, watching 13 reasons why, be the thing everybody got it wrong. It is not, and only saw season one what it is not a show about suicide. It is a show about sex shaming, shaming, Sexual Assault<\/a> and teenage girls. It is the story of what we had to live through. Even in this country with the nomination of Supreme Court<\/a> justice kavanaugh. Yeah. So what happened is that i watched that show and do something that happens in the show which is that they really do capture rape and away you dont see it often and it really did just like triggered. Triggered, which ive not really, i mean, i do ptsd because of 9 11 triggered but id never expense something with this and thats when i decide i have to do the therapy. I would have to understand how this impacted me as a woman for decades. So i am better now, which is the cool part. I like about the factors also things are reveal about myself that although the unexpected that i enjoy erotica now because i can. Because i understand that i was come to use that term, i was a victim of rape. You are a survivor. Yes. When your therapist said that, right, you were survivor and dislike way to second, im a radical, all of these things which are not thought of yourself in that way. Ever pick and also as a journalist, like being a bohemian, okay, like an activist when i was in high school, but a survivor . No. And and i am, i have to acknowl, i am here i am a survivor. Let me just say, as a writer the way the restraint in the writing of all of that, and i thought it was unexpected but it after i read it i look back in previous chapters and a thinking, she was foreshadowing this. Sorry, structures are really important. The way this book is structured, its structured incredibly well. Youre right that in some ways it is a book, it is a book of a journalist. Lets talk about that. The theme of this year chicago humanities festival is vision. In some ways your career as a woman of color, as a latina, as a mexicanamerican, as an american, that shaped her journalism career. There are many parts in this book. I was really struck, for example, by that exchange at cbs news when one of your colleagues said you have an agenda. Can you talk a little bit about the . Right. The person who said that to me was from npr. That was an npr editor to actually said, he was my first like my first real editor as a new york reporter. He just said come on, Everybody Knows<\/a> about your agenda. Wait, what . What agenda . Whats the agenda . We all know about your latina agenda. I was like, what . I remember saying that means you must have a white male agenda because thats what you are. He said its not the same thing. What was that again . That wouldve been like 1993 maybe, 94 maybe . Ive really circled it when its reading the book and i thought about all those months when i was at the Washington Post<\/a> in summary said like i had an agenda. As someone, many journalists, journalists of color, especially young female journalists look at you like an icon and a role model, what do you say to them in terms of when an editor or a colleague, hey, you do you have an agenda . What should they say . Heres the most important thing. I dont want them to give up. I hope that is something that comes to the book, which is a lot of highs and lows, lot of highs and lows and were going, were all on a way for disputable thing called life and a very thankful to be a live honestly, as a survivor of covid. I mostly want them to not give up. They have to find the person, the elder, the group of friends who they can vent to to get this off the chest because we need them strong to be in those newsrooms. The cool thing is that what ends up happening is that in of creating my own newsroom. You create your own company. We create our own, i thought you liked a lot of these journalists there are spaces now that, like my company is run by women of color. Majority emigrate. We emphasize cultural competency and we actually have a corporate culture, if you will that is not actually transparency and conversation, deep editorial but were creating that. I dont want him to give up. I dont know, look, the truth is that i am a working woman. As about as i dont know why it is i didnt give up. I know why. Because im a working woman. Im not independently wealthy. This notion of like im just going to stop doing this into something else, its like this is my job. I get a paycheck. I pay the bills. I have to do this. Its not like im just going to no. The question wouldve been, jose, for me to leave and take a corporate job, just doing Corporate Communications<\/a> or pr. Which wouldve easily done. Which i could easily done and gotten paid a lot of money. Who knows, but money has never been what moves me and i learned that for my father, since admission in being a medical doctor the want to help meet the you implant. Money has never moved near what i say to these Young Journalist<\/a> is understand, and look, Jose Antonio Vargas<\/a> is our teacher of this. He is the embodiment of our frederick douglass. I know you dont like it when i say that but it is true because Jose Antonio Vargas<\/a> is showing us that no matter whatever restrictions you have or limitations, we have this thing as a journalists, that we have to do. We are journalists. Listen to voice inside you and hold onto that and dont give up. Up. We need you so desperately. One less thing. This is important. Besides we need my book and your book, please read juan gonzalez, the book is news for all the people. Its a history of journalists of color in the trinity its this big. Dont get afraid. Dont get afraid but wed segments of it so you can be cached understand we need to. When a a screening of the circuit about things but when did things like everybody mess up was the first latino at npr news them, there were so many firsts. Then i kept thinking to myself, you have broken this ground so that people like us, you know, not only hopefully it would be easier but we know somebody came before. But you keep a breaking to grant. I want to talk about your vision. In the book you tell us why he ended up starting at who you are now ten years into it and it is a tremendous success. Talk to us about what, you must be to me one of the few if not the only latina head of inducing Media Company<\/a> thats independent, correct . As far as i know i am the only latina that runs a nonprofit newsroom in the United States<\/a>. As far as i know. Hopefully maybe well find out more, but when i created this, that wasnt what i was thinking. The story of the croatian behind this, theres a great story in the book and it involves 60 minutes but we will not you should get it. Its very juicy, very great to see what happens at that moment. When i created the media group, somebody asked me recently and civil your vision . To make it to three years. That was most important can we just get this small amount of input to make it to three years . Whatever is that the threeyear mark for nonprofits is where they either die or they survive. Here we are well into our tenth year and we are growing. The reason i think were going is because it was not about making money. I i was not our intention. We are a nonprofit and i believe we were lucky enough to have well, i had decades of work under my belt, a reputation, credibility, authenticity. That thing that oftentimes cost me in moments of the Mainstream Media<\/a> where i would be told you are too close to the story, you care too much, you are to immigrant, too much women, all those things that those be the things that end up helping me to understand the journalism that needs to be produced right now. Why do you think the audience for futuro Media Properties<\/a> whether his latino rebels, latina usa come in the second why do you think theyre going . Its because we approach it. I know its crazy, Jose Antonio Vargas<\/a>, to hear journalist talking about love but we do approach with love. I always felt, i dont know if ever told you this, but if think one of the things that i love about you when we met because i already knew your work was i was like this guy is motivated by love. Yes, you truly an aggressive journalist and yes, he is ambitious in the sense he understands the power of social media, but Jose Antonio Vargas<\/a> loves this come loves this work and loves the power of his work. When you are motivated by love, the way i believe record douglas was, the way i believe idp wells was, the rapidly all my mentors, my journalistic mentors, that keeps us going. We cannot give up. Thats all think and we cant give up. And again what i found was astounding was the resilience, the resilience of like a she said will make it through your thick to your tenure. How do we make now im in charge someone paycheck. I was really struck by the vulnerability of sharing all those highs and lows, that i thought any professional, you dont have to be a journalist but any professional would understand what it means to basically make something of yourself. You created your own institution, Maria Hinojosa<\/a>. How incredible is that . This is one thing, i have so many more questions but were running out of time. The last thing im going to ask you is, going back to the place getting at the root of things, what did you end up knowing about yourself . Wow. Through the writing of this book, of Maria Hinojosa<\/a>. Naturally deep. The first thing they came to mind was my father because i feel like i made a lot of peace with my father. I feel like, you know, he died before he could see this book but if you like i meet a lot of peace within. I put you through so much but i was such a rebel, such a radical and you can add to bear the brunt of it and you never stop loving me. So theres that. I think it was my coming to terms with being a survivor of rape and what that meant as a young woman. I think that the journalist in me that had to make a lot of peace with i dont work in the Mainstream Media<\/a> anymore. I dont work in those companies, and it can be very lonely. And yet feeling a tremendous amount of love for the commitment i feel like theres a really important lesson i hope in terms of ego. You asked why do you reveal these things . Look, one of the things i tell my students, and you have met my students. Thank you, depaul, we love yo. I tell my students that need to walk around in the room like strutting their shoulders like i am all this and i am come this is how i need you to welcome like a huge ego. I need in the walk with the huge ego because we need to build up our egos. The thing is that also ripped understand our humility. My family is the one who is very clear, like my favorite thing daughter says, i dont need Maria Hinojosa<\/a> in my house. I need my mom. I need my mom so thats why i write about these things because i want people to understand that its not come people like youre famous, or you use that word icon, what does that even mean . Icon, i am just fivefoot woman here i am. To me it is about being able to see ourselves in each other, and thats why the last lastingly p with was the title. The last thing. It was scary. We could not come up with a title. But in the end it was like it is once i was you. Jose, you and i are, we couldnt be more different and yet i am you. I feel you. That something really bad hope we can take away from this book. The beginning chapter in the end, all of that kind of comes together which i love, i have to say. Let me say this since this is a chicago tremendous festival, the first unheard of the festival was because im obsessed with everything toni morrison. Toni morrison is the most amazing speeches is out of chicago humanas fso. When i was preparing for this i pulled up this speech and thinking of your book and this is what it said in the speech she gave it she said, quote, our list of priorities in the nation seldom include how to function, how to be alone, incompetent, in solitude, how to nurture friendship rather than how to network. How to approach and perceive beauty, not how to sell it how to inhabit the body, not how to decorate or simply meditated. How do discriminate among various troops and claims. How to narrate the self. How to articulate that informs ones own expense not have self pistol grip but without speakso its own existence without erasing anothers. Most importantly, how to think about the quality of the quality of life. You reading this book which you must purchase tells me about the quality of life that Maria Hinojosa<\/a> has led and continues to lead, and how i feel really privileged to be a part of it in the way that i am. So thank you so much for the work and thank you for always laying the ground and thank you for always keeping us honest. Love you, jose. Thank thank you so much. You made me cry again. Thats twice. Thank you to the chicago humanities festival. Its such an honor to be a part of this conversation. Oh, my god, Jose Antonio Vargas<\/a>, thank you so much for i cant wait to see. I cant wait to hug you. Congratulations on the book. You are watching booktv on cspan2 with top nonfiction books and authors of the weekend. 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