Social Issues 2004 Archive | PBS NewsHour

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SOCIAL ISSUES


	2004 DECEMBER Dec. 31, 2004 Child Victims of the Tsunami One third of the victims of the tsunami have been children. Terence Smith speaks with two international aid agency workers about the youngest victims of the disaster in South Asia and what is being done to help them.

	Dec. 23, 2004 Corporate Social Responsibility Can Help Bottom Line At the annual Business for Social Responsibility conference, corporations explore ways to give back to the community and look at the effect good deeds have on the bottom line.

	Dec. 17, 2004 Augusto Pinochet, Former Chilean President Is Indicted for Humanitarian Abuses In part two of a two-part series, Elizabeth Farnsworth reports on the indictment of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for kidnapping and murder.

	Dec. 14, 2004 Augusto Pinochet Indicted on Humanitarian Abuse Charges Elizabeth Farnsworth reports on the indictment of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on charges of human rights violations in part one of a two-part series.

	Dec. 9, 2004 Soccer Star Mia Hamm Retires A sports columnist takes a look at the legacy of soccer star Mia Hamm the day after her final game.

	Dec. 1, 2004 U.N. Targets Women, Developing World in AIDS Fight Health correspondent Susan Dentzer talks with Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, about the impact of AIDS on women.



	NOVEMBER Nov. 26, 2004 Health Community Divided Over Prescription Drugs for Children Essayist Anne Taylor Fleming looks at the precarious connection between children and prescription drugs.

	Nov. 19, 2004 American Hyphen Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune asks, "What is an African-American?"

	Nov. 8, 2004 Experts Discuss the Ongoing Debate Over Gay Marriage Voters in eleven states voted to ban same-sex marriage on Election Day. Margaret Warner leads a debate on the gay marriage issue with Shannon Royce, executive director of the Marriage Amendment Project and Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.



	OCTOBER Oct. 28, 2004 Economic, Social Issues Play Part in Voters' Decisions A look at which issues are most important to voters, and if those issues are in voters' economic interest.

	Oct. 25, 2004 First Ladies Seek to Define their Political Role A special broadcast that aired Monday night, "The First Lady: Public Expectations, Private Lives," looked at how past and present first ladies dealt with the undefined role of first lady.

	Oct. 13, 2004 Juvenile Justice The U.S. Supreme Court considered arguments Wednesday on the constitutionality of the death penalty for juveniles. A reporter discusses the high court's debate over executing juvenile criminals.

	Oct. 12, 2004 Candidates Court the Undecided Women Vote Women voters are a major target for President Bush and Senator Kerry's presidential campaigns. Two partisan pollsters discuss the importance of women voters in the presidential election.



	SEPTEMBER Sept. 27, 2004 Acting White Essayist Clarence Page talks about the ramifications of using the term "acting white" and about taking personal responsibility.

	Sept. 21, 2004 Native Treasures The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian opened on the National Mall in Washington Tuesday as the first federal museum in the United States dedicated exclusively to Native American people and cultures. Arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown takes a look at the new museum.



	AUGUST Aug. 12, 2004 Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur, Sudan Ethnic Arab militias have killed tens of thousands of black African Sudanese in the Darfur region of the country. Penny Marshall of Independent Television News reports from a refugee camp in Chad. Ray Suarez follows up with Dr. Rowan Gillies, international president of Doctors Without Borders.

	Aug. 6, 2004 President Bush, Sen. Kerry Each Address UNITY Conference President Bush and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry both fielded questions at the UNITY 2004 conference in Washington this week. Kerry spoke to the gathering of minority journalists Thursday, and Bush addressed the conference Friday morning.



	JULY July 23, 2004 President Bush and Senator Kerry's Addresses to the National Urban League President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., both addressed the National Urban League last week.

	July 15, 2004 Tough Talk: Bill Cosby Comedian Bill Cosby created controversy recently with pointed public criticism of parenting practices in certain African-American communities. Ray Suarez discusses Cosby's controversial comments with Dr. Alvin Poussaint, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, and Ta-Nehisi Coates, a writer for the Village Voice.

	July 14, 2004 Gay Marriage Debate After a background report, Senators discuss the rejected bid to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, likely tabling the measure for the rest of this election year.

	July 14, 2004 Stem Cell Basics Some have declared the research to be morally repugnant. Others have said scientists have been wildly optimistic in their promises of how treatments may help patients.

	July 12, 2004 Essay: Hating Clarence Page argues the mere act of judgment is regarded as hatred in modern-day street lingo. Page then asks, if anyone who offers a critique of another now can be called full-blown hater, is there any language left to identify the true bigots?

	July 5, 2004 Wal-Mart Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Paul Solman reports on the Wal-Mart sex discrimination lawsuit, the largest employment discrimination case to head to court.



	JUNE June 23, 2004 Conversation: A Traveler's Guide Jim Carrier presents a guided tour of the civil rights movement in his book, "A Traveler's Guide to the Civil Rights Movement." Carrier recounts earlier moments in black history in which the civil rights movement began. Terence Smith speaks with Jim Carrier.

	June 14, 2004 Family Portraits Former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton returned to the White House for the official unveiling of their portrait, which will hang in the presidential residence. Kwame Holman profiles Simmie Knox, a former sharecropper and the first African American to paint a presidential portrait for the White House.



	MAY May 28, 2004 Interview with Dr. Larry Diller Assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco Dr. Larry Diller, who practices behavioral developmental pediatrics, discusses his concerns regarding children taking antidepressants.

	May 28, 2004 Adolescent Patients Caught Between Suicide and Anitidepressants Certain antidepressant drugs may actually increase the risk of suicide in adolescent patients, a recent study in the medical journal The Lancet suggests. Susan Dentzer looks at efforts to add an FDA warning label about adolescent suicide to antidepressant medications.

	May 24, 2004 The Presumed Alliance with Author Nicholas Vaca The author of "The Presumed Alliance: The Unspoken Conflict Between Latinos and Blacks and What It Means for America," examines the economic, social and political realities that create tension between these two groups.

	May 21, 2004 Essay: After All These Years Essayist Anne Taylor Fleming reflects on how she and other women of the baby-boomer generation are learning from their parents about how to approach a less lonesome model for facing age in their senior years.

	May 17, 2004 Supreme Court Watch The Supreme Court ruled today that states are not exempt from provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act which require elevators and ramps in public facilities. Margaret Warner discusses the 5-4 decision with National Law Journal Washington bureau chief Marcia Coyle.

	May 17, 2004 Brown v. Board of Education 50 Years Later The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case desegregated America's public schools, but most minority students still attend schools where they are the majority. Gwen Ifill talks to four experts about the ways Brown has brought about change, and the ways it has failed to do so.

	May 17, 2004 Gay Marriage: A New Era Massachusetts became the first state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Monday. Correspondent Spencer Michels reports on the ceremonies and controversy in the Bay State.

	May 14, 2004 Plan B Rejection Some members of Congress have called for an investigation into whether abortion politics played a role in the recent FDA decision to bar over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraceptive Plan B. Ray Suarez gets two perspectives on the controversial contraceptive from Dr. Susan Crockett and Dr. Tina Raine.

	May 12, 2004 Brown v. Board of Education In May of 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. KTWU, the Topeka PBS station, produced a look back at the decision through the eyes of some of the people who made it happen.

	May 11, 2004 Emmitt Till The Department of Justice has reopened an inquiry into the 1955 murder of Mississippi teenager Emmett Till after two new documentaries suggested the initial investigation and subsequent acquittal were flawed.

	May 11, 2004 Essay: With All Deliberate Speed Essayist Clarence Page reflects on the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision on desegregation, but he insists modern-day African-Americans have only as much integration as they can afford.

	May 3, 2004 Mind Over Matter Essayist Roger Rosenblatt explains that the disabled are often viewed as the "other," but in the modern era of war and terrorism, one's life can be easily transformed to become one of them.



	APRIL April 30, 2004 The Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is a federal law designed to give states the right to refuse recognition of a same-sex marriage approved by another state. It also defines marriage as a union between a man and woman for the purposes of federal law.

	April 26, 2004 Rape in the Ranks Betty Ann Bowser provides a report on sexual assault in the military.

	April 9, 2004 Remembering the Past Two people who have survived periods of horrific genocide have teamed up to speak about their experiences in the Holocaust and Rwanda, with the hope of preventing such acts from happening again. Jeffrey Brown speaks to David Gewirtzman and Jacqueline Murekatete about their experiences and how they met.

	April 1, 2004 'The Working Poor' Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Shipler observed some impoverished working Americans and their families for years to research his new book, "The Working Poor." Ray Suarez speaks with Shipler about his book and the interlocking problems that challenge the climb out of poverty.



	MARCH March 29, 2004 Abortion Law Abortion rights activists filed challenges Monday to a new federal law that bans late-term abortions. Judges will hear evidence in three separate trials about the law's constitutionality. Two experts discuss the reasons for the challenges.

	March 8, 2004 Essay: American Family NewsHour essayist Richard Rodriguez offers some thoughts about gay marriage.

	March 3, 2004 Gay Marriage The mayors of Portland, Ore., and Nyack, N.Y., said today that they would begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Kwame Holman reports on the recent controversy over same-sex marriage in America.



	FEBRUARY Feb. 27, 2004 Political Wrap Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist William Safire discuss the presidential campaign and the debate over gay marriage. Then, presidential historian Michael Beschloss joins a discussion on the historical influence of independent candidates, like Ralph Nader, on presidential elections.

	Feb. 26, 2004 Offensive Behavior After several women accused University of Colorado football players of raping or sexually assaulting them at recruitment parties, a special prosecutor will be named to launch an investigation into whether the university used alcohol and sex parties to recruit star athletes to its football team. Spencer Michels reports.

	Feb. 25, 2004 Saving Black Colleges Many of America's esteemed black colleges are increasingly running in the red. John Merrow looks at the financial crises at some of these historic institutions.

	Feb. 24, 2004 Gay Marriage President Bush announced Tuesday that he is in favor of amending the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as a union of a man and woman, essentially banning same-sex marriages. Gwen Ifill discusses the issue with two constitutional scholars.

	Feb. 18, 2004 Marriage Test San Francisco's City Hall spent Valentine's Day weekend granting marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, despite a California state law forbidding same-sex marriage. Spencer Michels reports on the rush to the altar and the legal challenges aimed at stopping the same-sex marriage licenses from being recognized.

	Feb. 17, 2004 Immigration Reform Correspondent Ted Robbins of KUAT-Tucson gets perspectives on President Bush 's proposed immigration reform plans from some of those whom it will affect the most -- the Latin-American immigrant population in the American Southwest.

	Feb. 13, 2004 Gay Marriage Legislators and courts in several states are debating whether same-sex couples may legally marry. Ray Suarez gets two perspectives on the issue from Matt Daniels of the Alliance for Marriage and Cheryl Jacques of the Human Rights Campaign.

	Feb. 13, 2004 Shields and Brooks Jim Lehrer speaks with syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks about same-sex marriage and the 2004 presidential campaign.

	Feb. 10, 2004 New Battleground Essayist Anne Taylor Fleming considers the grocery workers strike in Southern California.



	JANUARY Jan. 30, 2004 Dawn's Early Light Essayist Richard Rodriguez reflects on how the influx of Mexican and Central American workers is changing the way Americans think of themselves.

	Jan. 19, 2004 Citizen King On Martin Luther King's birthday, a documentary on PBS's "American Experience" looks at the last five years of his life. An excerpt is posted here.

	Jan. 12, 2004 The Power of One: Background The current U.S. Supreme Court is increasingly being called the "O'Connor Court" for the pivotal fifth vote Justice Sandra Day O'Connor often casts. Kwame Holman looks at the unique power of the court's first woman justice.

	Jan. 12, 2004 The Power of One The current U.S. Supreme Court is increasingly being called the "O'Connor Court" because of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's tie-breaking swing votes. Legal experts discuss the first woman justice's pivotal role on the nation's top court.

	Jan. 8, 2004 'A Small Nation of People' W.E.B. DuBois sought to show the world how African Americans lived, worked and prayed in his "Exhibit of American Negroes" at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris. Gwen Ifill speaks with Deborah Willis, who recently wrote "A Small Nation of People" about that exhibit and how DuBois created a new consciousness for African Americans.

	Jan. 8, 2004 Family Planning Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on the politics and practice of family planning in the southern African nation of Zambia.