America ReFramed

LenaKim Arctaedius and her sisters were adopted in a loving family in Sweden. Her parents were aware of what it meant to raise and protect Korean children in a country not familiar with people of Asian descent. How does this affect children's identity and sense of belonging?

Rebekah Henderson, the filmmaker of RUNNING WITH MY GIRLS, opens up about her life as a woman of mixed race and reveals her voter story - from lack of knowledge about local elections to voting based on political and racial identity. But the "good citizen" and Denver resident

Elizabeth and Jud Curry share their journey to family - both biological and adopted, including the adoption story of finding and falling in love with Hayden.

Is creating a bond between an adopting parent and adopted child as effortless as seen on TV? As a father of five adopted children (and seven biological), Jud Curry knows the true story of what adoption looks like for a family.

Ahead of election day, Rhode Island's election officials work within the system to prevent voter fraud; checking signatures on official forms is only one of many methods of prevention. They are also available to answer any questions to help reassure the public that votes are legitimate and that

Kathy Placencia, the Administrator of Elections in Providence, Rhode Island, inspects the line of residents waiting to vote in-person as well as the drop box for those voters who are using the mail-in ballot option. On election day, Placencia's responsibilities include setting up and overseeing the voting process

Rob Rock, the Director of Elections under the Secretary of State in Rhode Island, reviews the responses his office has received over mail-in ballots; these voters are upset over the option to vote by mail and believe the process is, for example, a hoax. Rock remains unfazed by the comments

As mail-in ballots are dropped off in official drop boxes for 2020 presidential election, Rhode Island's election officials like Terri Bucci, Maria Madonna and Nick Lima must combat disinformation being spread to the media and on social media, making their jobs tougher during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Elizabeth and Jud introduce adopted children Ting Ting and Yu Ting to the rest of the Curry family, the older siblings welcome them with open arms. But for the younger ones, it'll take a moment to realize what they're gaining, not losing.

Archer, the eldest child in the Curry family, speaks about the dynamics of a 12-sibling household, and why it works for them and their parents, Elizabeth and Jud.

How did adopted children from Korea find their forever family? Since the Korean War, the country's global adoption program has seen an estimated 200,000 adoptees like Estelle Cooke-Sampson move overseas. But what impact has this had on South Korea, its policies and society?

Once considered an affordable American city, Denver is losing the housing war - home ownership and renting - to gentrification. Districts of the Colorado capital are seeing a surge of development and rising prices and taxes, pushing out long-time residents and business owners for the more affluent especially in Black

LenaKim Arctaedius and her sisters, like many Korean adoptees, were adopted from Korea to Europe, Australia and North America to parents who are not of the same race. As children, and now as adults, they continue to struggle with identity and belonging.

Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina was both an American and Sikh experience for Sonny Singh and his brother. He had a childhood like his peers but he wore a turban - and that difference, among other things, led to bullying by fellow students. Singh also had to find out

Tania Mattos, an activist and organizer, speaks to other immigrants like herself who are undocumented in the United States. She shares her knowledge of the everyday necessities they all need to survive every day, including possessing a legal form of identification which would allow them to do things that Americans

Miman Jasarovski is German-born and lives in Germany but as a Romani person, he is without citizenship. And he, like others who are also known as Roma, suffer from prejudices even though they were born in the country. Miman, who is an activist, realizes that change can only come from

Akim Nguyen, a Berlin-based street artist born in Vietnam, immigrated to Germany alone and had to deal with a country, systems and households who did not understand him. Through his art like with graffiti, Akim has a voice, and an outlet to express his experience as a child of refugees

Tania Mattos, an undocumented activist living in Queens, NY, talks about her family, their roots in Bolivia, and the reason why they had to leave the country for the United States. She is like many others who have had no choice but to flee home for a new "home&

Tania Mattos is "Undocumented, Unafraid, Unapologetic." The Bolivian-born, Queens-based activist reveals her status as undocumented, and what it means to have cultural and social ties to America but not legal standing in the United States. Tania also talks about the day-to-day challenges she shares with the many DREAMers

In hindsight, Sol Guy sees how the death of his father, William, has shaped who he is as a father and as a man. It has also brought clarity; instead of running away after his stepfather's ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) diagnosis, Sol went to care for and love

LeAnna Saucier and her daughter Asia open up about being mixed race - both Black and Chinese - and the indelible experiences they had growing up surrounded by their extended Chinese family. Though they have many warm memories, LeAnna and Asia also share the times each felt unaccepted by their

As Sonny Singh walks through New York City, he sees and hears two sides of America - open and supportive, and closed and defensive. This is the country following the September 11th attacks and people who don't look "American" are not welcome and under physical and

Through her ancestry, the harm they created in slavery, and the privilege it has granted her, Lotte Lieb Dula found Briayna Cuffie in her work on reparations. The two work together to tell their own stories and teach Americans about what they can do to repair their history. What they

Beginning in the 1800s, the reparations movement started with Mrs. Callie House, who led the National Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty and Pension Association. Historian Mary Frances Berry tells of House's efforts to organize Black Americans to ask for compensation from the government and the backlash against her that

In 2019, Sarah Eisner discovered acres of land that her ancestor, George Adam Keller, granted to enslaved Zeke Quarterman in the 1800s. But the title of ownership was never legally given. Eisner connected with Quarterman's descendant, Randy, who at first doubted the proposition, and they are now working

Filmmaker Iyabo Kwayana talks with Maori Karmael Holmes, the founder of BlackStar, about who and what inspired her animated film BY WATER. Kwayana shares her own story to becoming a creator, and how the process of making this film has opened the doors between her and her brother in a

In a self-written poem, filmmaker Iyabo Kwayana's brother shares an intimate moment about himself through words, and gleans his own presence and future.

A voicemail from filmmaker Iyabo Kwayana's brother sparks inspiration for what would become BY WATER. The message walks us through the idea and the memories they share, and provides an understanding of her brother.

Why is America secretly obsessed with Native Americans? Author Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche), who is the curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, walks through an exhibit featuring American icons like Elvis, Cher and Barbie and other recognizable pieces of American culture that appropriates Native American

Whether it be a name or a monument, what harm can it bring? Jessica Young explains how the repeated experience of seeing something like "dead Indian" in Victor Anautoff's "Life in Washington" murals can traumatize while Pete Galindo shares how, even though he grew

For the 2020 presidential election, voters chose to vote by mail and in-person in the middle of the pandemic. One of the most well known civic duties and responsibilities in America, voting became a source of division due to mistrust and disinformation yet the turnout was the highest in the

Kathy Placencia, the Administrator of Elections of Providence, Rhode Island, opens the door to the unbalanced life and work of an election official. Placencia and her many colleagues are dealing with the 2020 presidential election during the pandemic and must work through challenges they have never faced before including disinformation

The San Francisco community in and around George Washington High School express their opinions about the Victor Arnautoff murals "Life of Washington" in front of the school board who are deciding their fate. The students and parents testify to the trauma of witnessing the works day in and

George Washington's legacy is based on his role as one of the Founding Fathers and the first president of the United States. But for the Iroquois and tribal nations, he is known as the Town Destroyer (Hanodaga:yas). At San Francisco's George Washington High School, the

Sara Terry talks about the motivation behind her film, A DECENT HOME, and what makes for a decent home for Americans today. The filmmaker and journalist reveals her thoughts on mobile homes and mobile home parks - the residents, the industry and stigma, the affordable housing crisis, and our complicated

For the GU 272 Descendants Association, the sale of each of their ancestors as slaves is personal. They gathered together to confront the ugly truth, including meeting with the Maryland Province Jesuits and Georgetown University, who were involved in this history, and explaining why they deserve representation in conversations like

Shayla Richard, a candidate for Denver's City Council District 11, talks about the important civic duty of voting and why citizens must go to the polls if they want to be heard. Richard says that "savvy" politicians target underserved communities, and make decisions for their own

Election campaigning is a dog eat dog world. But what happens when candidates, albeit in separate races, work together to uplift and support each other? Candi CdeBaca, Lisa Calderón, Shayla Richard, Veronica Barela and Shontel Lewis show the residents of Denver the power of a collective when it comes to

Nyvae, a boy waiting for his father's return from prison, writes down his hopes and dreams for their life together even after time lost. His aunt, Kristal Bush, has been caring for her nephew and supporting Nyvae's father and her brother, Jarvae, since his incarceration. There&

Jarvae Scott, who is working with horses in the city of Philadelphia, talks about the lure of returning to prison after having served many years. Jarvae recognizes the support given by his mother, Crystal, and his sister, Kristal, who is caring for his son Nyvae, and wants to stay on

Crystal Speaks and her daughter, Kristal Bush, are the women on the outside. As the mother of two incarcerated sons, Crystal does what she can for them including spending the money she makes, plus hours on the road, to visit them. The two women remain strong through the sentences of

Filmmakers Lisa Riordan Seville, Kiara C. Jones, Nailah Jefferson, Darcy McKinnon, Adamu Chan and Stevie Walker-Webb talk with America ReFramed host Natasha Del Toro about their four films that speak to the theme of Liberated Lives. The panel discusses why they focused on family and friends supporting incarcerated loves ones,