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Let's reflect on what it means to be an American.


Happy Fourth of July from The Takeaway. As the United States celebrates its independence, we’re reflecting on what it means to be American. In this special episode, we’re bringing you tough conversations from our “<a href="http://www.wnyc.org/series/truths/">Uncomfortable Truths”</a> series, which is all about confronting racism in America. Here’s what you’ll find in today’s show:
<ul><li>In many ways, to be proud and free, the nation must address the sins of our past. <a href="https://twitter.com/rnz1">Reniqua Allen</a>, author of the upcoming book “It Was All A Dream? Black Millennials, Mobility, and Migration in the 21st Century,” and a producer with WNYC's <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/shows/anxiety">United States of Anxiety</a> podcast, reflects on the changing black experience in America.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Jessica Shryack in Minneapolis emailed The Takeaway and said she wanted to participate in our series. She offered to highlight a discussion her good friend, Tiffany Wilson-Worsley. Tiffany is black, and Jessica is white. Today, they explain how their friendship developed by confronting preconceived ideas about race.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Talking to your mom about identity may not seem like a conversation most people would classify as "uncomfortable," but Julia Fornes largely kept the story of her upbringing from her daughter, Alison Fornes. As Alison got older, she started to wonder why she didn't know more about her mother's childhood traditions back in the Caribbean. So she sat down to ask Julia about why she felt compelled to hide her Puerto Rican identity.</li>
</ul><ul><li>Views of race vary throughout the community in Anchorage, Alaska, even though the state’s most populous city is incredibly diverse, with more than 90 languages spoken in public schools, and 55 percent of students identifying as people of color. <a href="http://www.alaskapublic.org/">Alaska Public Media</a>'s "<a href="http://www.alaskapublic.org/category/programs/ciu/">Community in Unity</a>" monthly dialogue series, moderated by <a href="https://twitter.com/hillman_anne?lang=en">Anne Hillman</a>, the urban affairs reporter for the station, aims to take on a range of topics, from everything from the civil rights movement, to Native issues in The Last Frontier.</li>
</ul><ul><li>A decades-long case of mistaken identity led two women named Lisa S. Davis on an unlikely journey. Lisa Savoy Davis is African-American and a personal trainer. <a href="https://twitter.com/LisaSelinDavis">Lisa Selin Davis</a> is white and a <a href="http://www.lisaselindavis.com/">writer and author</a>. The two describe their unusual first meeting, and the friendship that grew out of it.  </li>
</ul>

The Takeaway

Iranian American census

Culture

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Race

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Environment

Big tobacco is forced to pay for cigarette butt pollution in Spain, but smokers may soon be on the hook

Conflict & Justice

Court orders Canada to take back its citizens from camps in Syria

Peru protests reveal ethnic and regional divides

A security personnel speaks to people from inside the main gate of Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi, India

Free speech

Blocking BBC documentary on Gujarat riots goes against India's democratic values, journalist says

LGBTQ

LGBTQ Russians are fleeing to Central Asia

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Food

Pork paradigm shift: This high-end São Paulo restaurant features pig ears and tails

A general view of Mes Aynak valley is seen some 25 miles southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, March 2, 2022. Buildings on top are offices of Chinese mining company MCC that won the contract to exploit the world's second-largest copper mine.

Afghanistan

A Chinese company strikes a deal with the Taliban to extract oil from Afghanistan

Security officials and rescue workers gather at the site of suicide bombing, in Peshawar, Pakistan

Violence

Suicide bomber kills 34, wounds 150 at mosque in NW Pakistan

In this June 19, 2017, file photo, a person types on a laptop keyboard in North Andover, Massachusetts. 

Cybersecurity

'Ransomware Diaries:' Going undercover with the leader of LockBit

Books

A survey of who works in the book industry gives us a clue about why it's not diverse

Iranian-American comic's new book is called How To Make White People Laugh

This Iranian American comic is facing down some of her toughest critics: Fellow Muslims

ethnicity

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