Once i was you. This program and many more are free and open to the public. You can learn more about her Upcoming Events at chicago humanities. Org. 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 audiences, all of our Digital Events have closed captioning which can be controlled to youtube. Thank you to our caption are today. And good news, this program will have both spanish and english subtitles. So in my previous life in public radio the voice of maria was a constant presence, one that is compassionate grounding and groundbreaking. I am delighted she is back in conversation with another essential voice, jose vargas. Thereto the most compelling and urgent anchors on civil rights in america through the deep lens of their personal and awardwinning journalist, intellectual connection and so please give me a warm digital welcome to Jose Antonio Vargas and maria hinojosa. Li, im the founder the author of a book called dear america notes of an undocumented citizen. I am thrilled for this conversation. But one of my favorite human beings is one of my favorite journey journalists maria hinojosa. Print talk about her book. Once i was you is wonderful for many reasons. One of them is that the book like all great memoirs captures the complex both highly aired human being the immigrant maria, the journalist maria, the innovative groundbreaking entrepreneur maria. The daughter, sister, friend maria. The wife maria, all those identifiers make maria the whole person that she is. When i have known maria for a while now. After the first time we met the person i met her was in 2008 Journalism Convention in chicag chicago. One is reading this book i felt like i was getting to know you so much more intimately. When in a chapter called embracing a new identity, maria left chicago to go to nearest city for college. Maria writes i had looked up the word for the definition of radical pertinent going to the root of things. That is how i saw myself. This book to me, this book its at the roots. Like maria it is radical. So. [laughter] the victims are the last time we did this was the opposite right . Guest and i made you cry. But you just made me cry. To pull that out, jose, that very specific detail of me actually looking up, wait a second what does the word radical really mean . And for me it changed everything. It was gap i am a radical. That is because im going to the root or want to go to the root. Sue hunt but after reading the book i felt like it was an emotional root canal. [laughter] so you didnt get to the root of it right . I and there are many ways the conversation could go which is how we are with each other but ive accomplished one of michaels wishes to make her cry. [laughter] we have been friends for a while now. We communicate with each other. When i finish my documentary were the first person i called her when i finish my book i said i want to talk about the process of this book. Like how was this book of birth . When did you realize that okay , i have to do this. When did that happen . Civic you may remember jose, because it just kind of happene happened. I was on prime time on msnbc. With a friend of ours. And at that time it was actually doing a lot more primetime msnbc. Which was fun. Not so much this time around which is a separate conversatio conversation. But anyway, i had a moment and steve cortez who is a trip support uc term illegal to refer to humans being immigrants. And i talked to him and i said theres no such thing as illegal human being. Illegal is not a letdown. I just did what you and i do all the time. I was just speaking my truth. Well, that thing went viral. And ended up making a little video of that, that went viral. 10million people sought. A very close friend of mine said that is the book you have to write. You have to write the book illegal is not a noun. Submit yes, i do. I should this book was going to be a little pocketbook. That was my idea for let me just write this role fast. Its like a tenpoint guide of why illegal is not a noun. Short simple people of the airport to pick up and say oh why i should never use the term illegal to refer to human being. People are really interested in that book. When actually went ahead and decided to get an agent and decided to dip back into the world of publishing because its really scary. Its a scary worlds a lot of work. Got to have very thick skin. If the people around you really love you and believe in you. There really was not that much love for the idea of a small book. And so, that is how this ended up coming. And there were many iterations. I thought is to be a book a love letter to my daughter who deserves a book because my son got in my daughters like worst about . Ultimately what ended up happening once the editor who is been a phenomenal editor from simon schuster, when she got involved in the project and we talked about this not being just my story but a linear story and thats fine produce much more about all this different parts of my life that you mentioned. Also talking about history and policy and politics what looked like. One of people i hope reads this book is the vietnamese community. Because for me the vietnamese experience the refugee experience marks me. As a human being, as a child but i end up kind of resolving that by becoming a journalist and giving it at least in one case a vietnamese woman who end up in corpus christis voice. Because so many vietnamese just aspect of the first televised refugee crisis. As you know they were reduced to terminology. Horrific terminology that journalists used to refer to people as vote people. So even in the deconstructing of vets, it is a way in which we can find ourselves in each other in this book hopefully. What i was going to say is i loved how much is three interwoven throughout the book, right . Out and sitting back in. How is so crocheted in your lif life. 1961 when your father arrived here 1961, right question for those four years before the immigration and nationality act which you outlined in the book. And so i want to talk about that. Did you feel that part of your role here as a journalist, as a Mexican American journalist, is to correct a lot of history . Oh absolutely. Oh absolutely. But doing it, i felt like at one point this was a love letter to my country. It was a reckoning with this country, the United States but how could you do this . And how could you do this . And the sad truth, jose that we realized White Supremacy has been in this country from the moment that the pilgrims arrived. Until we, as a country have to understand what that means. One of the other things that happens with that finding connections with other communities. One of the more Beautiful Moments in the writing of this book was writing of the history part. You know the first people who were excluded by law from the United States, excluded, were asian women, chinese women. Before the chinese exclusion act was launched as said the women cannot come. And i began to think those women were my moms. And so now i feel when i see asian women i am tied to you, you are tied to me. We do not even know these stories because so much of history does not talk about this. Se. Actually for me it was so jarring. When we just read something from the book i had to read it and then i want you to respond and realize what i just described. This is from the book. Maria writes think it coming on until 1964 and the apparent exploitation of labor violations became untenable. Especially during the civil rights area people are paying closer attention to the kinds of injustice but under the program 4. 6 million labor contracts were signed. I helped keep the u. S. Economy afloat as we went to productivity during those years. Yet, there is almost no record or acknowledgment of the contribution today. After that i was like what yes. And that is what i talk about, part of the work of this book is to correct that narrative. You know to constantly be saying wait a second three things i find out in the writing of this book were i to was over and over like oh my god how did this happen and its actually important part of history because i think if both democrats and republicans have their druthers, they would be way happy to have a program. They be way happy to bring it back. Oh yeah just bring the laborers over, treat them however you want. As long as it got a little green card that means theyre not going to be forcibly deplete voided or putting ice detention facilities et cetera purchase bring them all in and after they are done send them back. Oh what benefits . Oh what retirement . Oh what Health Requirements . They are just workers. There are so many of them. That is what is so painful about our experience of immigrants in this community. Shirt their people come to this country who have no interest in spain here. Okay, fine. But then there are many of us who do. And what to stay. Not only want to save actually feeling ownership of this place. The fact that we will be reduced to you are just labor, that makes you invisible, right . Thats one of the themes. This is one of the things i thought was really not only compelling, but i kept being haunted by the fact that the language around this. The fact that americans were only seen as quote unquote workers. Right . No one you cant look at them as people. All you think about is their labor, right . Its part of that history to his i was leaving he reminded me its the republicans role and kind of the modern immigration conversation. And how president bush, the first president bush was really more in than what we remembered. How is that when youre researching that part of the book . That i have to say, that part of the work has been revealing to me. But also the to make it short is both republicans and democrats have actively thrown immigrants under the bus. So people will read this book and they will just be like wait, george h. W. Bush was actually good on refugees . He was the only one in the recent 50 years to increase noticeably the number of refugees allowed. He was one that signed protective status for so many. So this is george h. W. Bush and the Republican Party talked about immigrants and this kind of growing away. Where bill clinton was making anti immigrant ads and was busy actually building the beginning of the wall. I think this is important because we cannot have the illusion of again who controls the narrative. Who controls the narrative and actually whats been happening . What is action been the policies . The thing about reagan who was a predecessor to george h. W. Bush is Ronald Reagan as you know created the Immigration Reform and control act. Which actually legalized about 3 million undocumented immigrants to become citizens. That was amazing. The problem was that he was actively, this is a big part of the book two, actively bombing Central America sending soldiers down there, participating in genocidal activities. By soldiers that were trained by american military. That hasnt been good. Subject thats a part of the book i really appreciated was again how you are not only witnessing in living history ritual reporting on history. I mean is this is the premier latina journalist in the United States of america, right . I keep reminding myself that. This is what diane sawyer, barbara walters, right . As i was reading that i kept thinking to myself the whole chapter on obama on kind of the obama part of this, given it was the festival. Given of chicago he was the first chief of staff to president obama. Those are part of the book i was really favoring i have to say. Is favoring a journalist and is a documented person. He was yet to really see a full bracketing. For me the first time i am seeing it in writing. In the book. Could you talk to us a little bit about what that was like . That event you are m seeing in washington d. C. Was honoring the first Latino Supreme Court justice. In introducing president obama. Knowing the feeling in your stomach thats wait a second house is really going to turn out . Utility described it like such a good journalist. This scene is that after George W Bush were i did not have much access in the white house. Suddenly obama is elected. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is holding this big event, this big gala. Theres a vip tent. Now i am in the vip tent. Its kind of this beautiful, this beautiful moment and you are rightcurlybracket onstage getting ready to introduce barack obama. Who i had not met. And, i was very excited of course. We comes out on stage takes many whispers in my ear and said i miss hearing your show. You can listen to it any time pray but its nice that we are both because we are both from chicago. But you know we are both pretty said yes we are, it is so good to see you. And he gave his speech free when it came back onstage to cut a wrap up is when i said, wait a second, this is a moment in history, what just happened her here. And as journalists, we have to hold politicians accountable. I dont care if i am in the gala, i am all up and i just introduced him. He gave me an amazing dip hug it was beautiful. I have to hold him accountable. And so i said, remember president barack obama, there is no such thing as an illegal human being. We do not read use these terms. As a political moment. Not everybody started because it was a moment answering back for hvac it was a party. Civic and by the way, could we talk about this . I think you are right, jose, part of what we are getting at is that as journalists 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. This is that they have never shared publicly before, what i will never forget is i was asked by the white house and the groundbreaking and hosted. [inaudible] i was asked to moderate a conversation on youtube about immigration right after daca was announced. And tells a story of how doctor happened. It was not obama who made it happen but its the work of activists. Like many of whom are my friends. And maria calls me out of the blue. I will even know how you heard about this, but of course you heard about it. You said jose you better not get used by this white house. Civic my gosh. Tsubaki remember that . You said you better not be used by this white house. An iron member thinking to myself its great, maria, my friends, but then there is maria the journalist who have always put on a pedestal in my head. She said you better not be used by this white house. You are right, the book is in many ways a memoir. I kept thinking about bradleys memoir. Right . It covered so much ground in that way. But i have to say though i have to ask this question, president obamas 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 he was president and would not of got reelected about the latin expo. How do you think is going to talk about this . Civic heres the thing. President barack obama, i was at parties where he was at because mckay was at barnhart he was at columbia university. He was in hyde park, my community. His kids went to the school where i went to for high school. I know the neighborhoods, the local spots. The 31 flavors were he bought Michelle Obama on their first date, i was going to that 31 flavors when i was five years old. So i feel a connection to barack obama so deeply. And to michele as well. And yet, there is this between us because i like you and a few other journalists, have wanted to hold him accountable. Because he is a constitutional scholar. And so i have to understand. This is a question for him has helped put together being a constitutional scholar but knowing that every single hour. Every single minute, people were being denied due process simply because they were not born in this country. And that is is i just put it back on my twitter, and back in therapy. It is painful to go back in and kind of look at all these things that happen. So i would just make an offer to barack, president barack obama to say i am here for that conversation. Because weve gone beyond the point thats not what this is about. This is about our hearts, and we, 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. I know he cares about me. I know he listens to the work, i know he cares about you. And we need to have a coming together. That is like a more public request. We can do this and we have to do this. But how he is going to resolve that is going to require actually some very deep deep work. For me though i think about the difference of being a writer and being a politician. Barack obama is an incredible writer. Writers are here to tell the truth is what you said in this book. Politician sometimes cannot afford to tell the truth. Thats going to be really interesting. I hope he does. And i say this with love. But i hope that he does some therapy around this. I say it with love because we have to process. In owning Something Like a had to own in the book pretty have to do a lot of work and its not fun. It got to see her therapist. We wish that of barack with love. We do. Civic action thats the next part is going to go to. Again, i thought i knew you. I have known you for years and years and years now. But there many parts of this book i just did not know. For me as your friend and someone has followed your career, you writing about that in many ways we are living through right now movement. A black lives matter movement, the need to movement. And you were at Depaul University teaching class on Mental Health and depression when you were what, your student said check out this netflix series, 13 reasons why . Guest thats exactly what happened. I came in one morning, with Mental Health and depression. 8 00 oclock in the morning in chicago in the winter bread but we had to battle it. Iran becoming in and they were already mostly young women in that class. All latinos. Is it a dance . Is it a song . Or chimed about this documentary, this drama 13 reasons why. I had a teenage daughter at that time who was battling anxiety. And so, when they talked about what had to do with Mental Health, high schoolers, i said okay. And they said you should watch it. Yeah, jose, that was not what i was expecting to have happen, watching 13 reasons why. I think everyone got it wrong. I only saw season one. It is not a show about suicide. It is a show about shaving. Sexual assaults, and teenage girls. It is the story of what we had to live through. Even in this country with the nomination of Supreme Court justice capital. So what happens is, i watch that show. There is something that happens in that show and that is they really do capture and away you dont see it often. And it really did just triggere triggered. Which i had met i used to because of 911 triggers but i never experienced anything like this. That is when i decided i really have to do the therapy on this. I have to understand how this impacted me as a woman for decades. So, i am better now. Thats the cool part. I like about the fact theres also things i reveal about myself that are a little unexpected. I enjoy a lot of it now because i can. I understand, to use that term i was a victim. You are a survivor. When your therapist said that right . You were a survivor. Its like wait a second im a radical i am all these things. And you never thought of yourself that way. Also as a journalist, being a bahamian, okay. I can activist when you were in high school but a survivor . No. And i am pretty have to acknowledge i am. 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 then after i readily back in previous chapters and said oh she was foreshadowing this. Im sorry someone has written a book, structures really important. The way its structured incredibly well, right . And you are right that in some ways it is a book of a journalist. Now lets talk about that. Feeling of this year chicago humanities festival addition. In some ways you, your career as a woman of color, as a latino, as a mexicanamerican as an american. That shapes your journalism career. There many parts of this book, i was really struck for example for the exchange at cbs news in one of your colleagues says maria you have an agenda. The just talk a little bit about that. The person said that was from npr. That was it npr editor. Who actually said it was my first like my first real editor is a new york reporter. He just at oakmont Everybody Knows about your agenda. Like wait what . What agenda . Everybody knows what . Its like we all know about your latino agenda. And i was like what . I just never feeling thats really, that means you must have a white male agenda because that is what you are. What was that again . Theyll be like 93 may be, 93, 94 maybe . I really circled when answering the book pretty thought about all this moments at the Washington Post and they said i had an agenda. i dont want them to give up. The truth is that i am a working woman. I know why because im a working woman i am not independently wealthy so the notion i will just stop doing this and do something else, this is my job. I get a paycheck, i pay the bills, i have to do this. The big question would be for me to take a corporate job or pr which i could have easily done but who knows money is not what moves me with that sense of mission so i say is understand he is our teacher of this and the embodiment of our direct douglas right here. Because he is showing us that no matter whatever restrictions you have are limitations we have this thing is journalist we have to do and listen to the voice inside of you and hold on to that. We need you so desperately. And one last thing because this is important. Please read the news for all the people it is a history of journalist of color in the United States. It is this big. Dont get afraid to read segments of it so you can understand we need you. Host i was reminding myself that there were so many first and then end up thinking to myself you have broken this ground so People Like Us not only hopefully it would be easier but and we keep breaking new ground so i want to talk about your vision. Of course in the book you tell us why be here you are now and its a tremendous success if you havent downloaded the podcast listen to it now but it must be one of the few if not one of the only latina head of a company thats independent . As far as i know im the only latina that runs a nonprofit in the United States. As far as i know hopefully we will find out more. But when i created this is not what i was thinking the story of the creation there is a great story in the book. It involves 60 minutes but we will not reveal. Its very juicy what happens at that moment. But when i created it somebody asked me recently in an interview what was my vision . To make it to three years can we just get through as a small nonprofit to make it three years . I have heard the year mark they die or survive and here we are well into the tent here and growing in the reason why i think its not about making money that was not our intention so we are a nonprofit and we were lucky enough to have decades of work under my belt and with quite a reputation and credibility and authenticity. Often times that cost me in moments of the Mainstream Media were i am told you work too close to the story where you care too much or have too much green to your too much woman but those are the things that end up helps me understand that needs to be produced right now. Why do i think the audience for those properties whether latino rebels . Why i think they are going . Because we approach it i know it sounds crazy to hear journalist talking about love but we do approach it with love. I know if i ever told you this but one of the things i loved about you when we met because they were doing work with that you are motivated by love. Yes he is an aggressive journalist and ambitious he understands the power of social media but jose was his work loves the power of his work. When you are motivated by love the way i believe Frederick Douglass was or i be wells, all journalistic mentors, that keeps us going we just cant give up. Again, the resilience here you are so now how do we make people now im in charge of peoples paychecks. But i was struck with the ability any person would understand. I have many more questions for we are running out of time so what did you end up knowing about yourself . That i made a lot of peace with my father and that he died before he could see the book in their to bear the and then you never stop loving me into be a survivor of rape and what that meant as a young woman that i think and the journalist in me and it can be very lonely but in terms of ego. And at Depaul University where i taught i tell my students to walk around in the room. I need you to walk like this with a huge ego. So also my family is the one. He doesnt say need the house i need my mom. And icon . We did not come up with the title so that you and i are more different but yet im you and that is something we take away from the book. The beginning chapter and the end consistent with the chicago United Festival i was invested in toni morrison. And the most amazing speech out of chicagos festival and while paring and this is what it said. A list of priorities to the nation how to be alone and competent in solitude and nurture friendships. How to approach and perceive beauty and then to discriminate among various troops and how to narrate the self or articulate not how it is spoken of but how it speaks without erasing anothers and how to think about the quality of life. To me this tells me about the quality of life that has led and continues to lead and a privilege to be a part of it. Thank you so much for the work and for always laying the ground and keeping us honest. I love you. You made me cry again. Thank you for the chicago humanities festival. After 2016 in particular identity politics was pad rap it was originally formed in 1977 to lay out and articulate those who are marginalized to build a coalition so after 2016 that Hillary Clinton identity politics talking about Racial Justice and then talk about differing identities and abilities and she was talking about identity politics too often in politics with the whiteness and identity and every single aspect of our political conversations of the message and in the community asserts their rights and ability to that representation and is because we do it doesnt make it a bad thing. Good afternoon to welcome to the nixon privilege library executive Vice President of the foundation to the 2020 Great American author ss