- [Announcer] Next Door Neighbors is made possible by the support of the Nissan Foundation.

- [Nina] 2020 was a year of tumultuous change, forcing Nashville to reckon with health disparities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the realities of systemic racism and ongoing questions of what it means to participate in American democracy.

In this edition of Next Door Neighbors, we'll explore each of these areas through the lens of Nashville's immigrant and refugee communities.

- I mean just being on campus right now, and I haven't been here since March, so that's almost two months now.

It just hit me that I've been isolated in my home this whole time and I've missed campus, and it feels lonely.

- [Nina] Back in the spring of 2020, Nashville's Lipscomb University sent students home to finish their semester remotely.

COVID-19 had become a global pandemic, shuttering both schools and some businesses indefinitely.

At the time, Ruby Aguilar, a college senior studying English education had just begun student teaching.

- So when the COVID 19 pandemic began in March here in Nashville, I was in a placement, and I didn't get to finish my placement.

We just never went back, and as far as my professional goals, this whole situation has allowed me to reflect on what students are living through and just hearing different ways that students are struggling with online learning and then relating it to how I'm struggling as a student as well.

- So when I think about the challenges facing immigrant students in this time, we know of course, that immigrant families have been hard hit by the pandemic.

That there's a greater likelihood of them getting sick, perhaps being hospitalized or dying, partially because they are unable to work from home often, and they often lack regular healthcare.

What we know is that it affects the frame of mind for students, it affects the ability of families to focus on day to day things like virtual learning, staying engaged, communicating with teachers.

- On top of my academic stress that I've been facing, like trying to keep my grades up and you know, the GPA and all that, it's been hard, also navigating the fear and anxiety with my personal life at home.

My parents underwent a transplant surgery, where my mom donated her kidney to my father to save his life.

So my father ended up losing the kidney and he was in the hospital for, you know, several months and my mom was also recovering.

And so now with this current situation, of course, they're still immunocompromised, and so it's been hard to navigate just the emotions that stem from fearing what can happen to them because of this virus.

- [Nina] Aguilar's fear was rooted in circumstances far outside her control, like the level of exposure her mom dealt with every day as a hotel housekeeper.

- Well, initially, my mom got the word at her job that a coworker was tested positive for COVID.

Not even an hour later, she comes home and then she's like, y'all I tested positive.

And so when I came up positive, I was like, I've been around my dad, I've been taking care of my dad.

My God, I felt so vulnerable and just angry that like, why me?

Why did I have to test positive?

Why was my mom exposed?

And I just had so many questions and I couldn't do anything about it.

- [Nina] Fortunately, her family survived the infection, but there continued to be consequences.

Forced to quarantine, Aguilar's mom was eventually laid off, leaving them to wonder where the next paycheck would come from.

- You know, as a housekeeper, she's with other women, who like herself either are Latina or in some way have the same backstory of migrating to this country.

And then it's like they can't stop working because they might be the only source of income for their families.

And so they just kind of have to accept to be in that environment and take that risk every day.

And it's kind of infuriating that sometimes drastic measures aren't taken to protect them as workers, and they just can't avoid contracting COVID, and then they have to miss work, and it's just like this ongoing cycle that I just feel there needs to be more support for them in those ways.

- [Nina] For now Aguilar's family will support each other like they always have.

- So I graduated college on December 19th, 2020, and it was such a huge accomplishment and it was just such an amazing feeling cause for a moment, I thought, you know, what a bummer that I'm missing out on a physical graduation, but then it was like, no Ruby, you have your degree, like you're a teacher now.

(family members cheering) And so I told my family, you know, what a blessing that I get a job offer, and I get this opportunity to start my career, and at the same time, be able to support you all financially after so many years of my life that you all have given me everything.

- [Nina] Like Aguilar, Muna Muday knows what it means to overcome hardship.

Muday first arrived in the US as a Somali refugee back in 2004.

Today, she works in public health and knows firsthand why the pandemic may have a disproportionate effect on some immigrant and refugee communities.

- First of all, there are essential workers.

They work in construction, food plants or warehouses, where they cannot work remotely, they have to report to work.

And secondly, they live in a crowded apartments or intergenerational household, which makes it very difficult for isolation and quarantine.

There's issue of language barriers, there's issue of, you know, access to healthcare.

So all of these things has been a predominant factors in terms of why this populations are very vulnerable to this virus.

Honestly, we are doing our best, but somethings that I see as improvement in terms of our city, is that building an integrated system like with the Metro Public Health Department now.

When the pandemic started, they didn't know how to reach out to this specific population.

They had to reach out to local NGO.

- [Nina] One of the NGOs or non-governmental organizations doing work on behalf of Nashville's Latino community is the Hispanic Family Foundation.

As the COVID-19 vaccine opened up to adults of all ages in April, 2021, they hosted a clinic at their location in Plaza Mariachi.

The goal is to cut down on any barriers to access.

- So one of the barriers that we see here in the Latino community, first of all, is that they are afraid to go downtown.

One of the first questions that we are seeing in the phone calls is, is ICE gonna be there?

So these makes us think that they are afraid to come out.

The second one is the transportation, and they know we have the bus stop very close to here, so they know they can come.

And the other one that it was very surprising for me was the time, cause they were looking for times between six o'clock, seven and eight in order for them to come after work and have their vaccine.

- Once we learned about the vaccine, we wanted to get it because it was a way to help prevent the spread any longer, and also with everything that's going on, it's just a way that we can help protect our families and our friends.

- Even as, you know, public health professional, we are still asking ourselves this question, what it's gonna take for communities to heal.

We're gonna make sure these people have access to food or have access to vaccines.

It's all about empowering these communities.

A lot of the minority communities or racial ethnic communities are most of the times voiceless, and there are only few number of people that are advocating or speak up for these people.

We just need to have an inclusive and equitable society, where everybody have the right to flourish.

And in order for us to move together as a society and develop and progress together, then we all have to be at the table.

(people protesting) - [Protestants] No justice, no peace.

No justice, no peace.

No racist police.

No justice, no peace.

- [Nina] On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd, an unarmed black man died after a Minneapolis police officer pinned his neck to the ground with his knee for over nine minutes.

The incident caught on video outraged citizens from around the world, prompting mass protests like this one in Nashville.

It was organized by local immigrant groups in conjunction with Black Lives Matter, Nashville.

- [Protestants] I am my brother's keeper.

- With that said, I wanna take a moment to thank everybody who's here showing up in solidarity.

I wanna thank our immigrant community.

That's what makes Nashville so great.

We have a very diverse community here.

- [Nina] Many immigrants come to Nashville fleeing state sponsored violence in their home countries, only to find that issues like police brutality exists here as well.

(people protesting) - Personally, I've had plenty of encounters with the police, many unpleasant ones.

I can't even count how many times I've been pulled over, but I can tell you, there were times when I got pulled over for not having my lights on and the cops, multiple of them show up at the car with their guns drawn at my head.

You are lucky, you're very lucky to leave the scene and be alive.

- [Nina] According to a 2017 Metro Nashville commissioned study called the Policing Project, black drivers were stopped at a rate 44% higher than white drivers, and were 68% more likely to be stopped for non-moving violations.

These numbers affirmed another report called Driving While Black conducted by Gideon's Army, just one year earlier.

They found that at the time, MNPD conducted a majority of its traffic stops in low income, black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

And while black and Hispanic drivers were subjected to consent searches at more than twice the rate of white drivers, those searches failed to produce incriminating evidence nearly 90% of the time.

- We've got a structural racism issue.

We've got a, you know, policing issue.

It's an important right for me personally, to have and be able to come out and say what I need to say and protest, and, you know, basically speak up.

- [Protestants] No justice, no peace.

- [Nina] Claude Gatabuke's activism led him to help found Nashville's Black Lives Matter chapter.

That's where he met Ron White.

While Gatabuke came to Nashville as a Rwandan refugee and White is a native Nashvillian, the kinship they found in this is movement is one example of the way people from diverse backgrounds have organized to address systemic racism.

- The first step to getting rid of the problem is raising awareness.

That's why we meet at protests.

You know, protesting is one of the best ways to raise awareness because it inconveniences people.

- It is gonna take people coming together, but it's going to take people in the middle to choose a side, right?

Dr. King said best that the biggest threat to black folks essentially is the white moderate, who's more concerned about the presence of peace than the absence of justice.

- Yeah, I mean, justice is what it's gonna take.

The system needs to be addressed.

Like, why do we need military grade equipment?

(people protesting) Why do we still have mass incarceration?

Private prisons.

(people protesting) - Public safety is more than just police.

You don't make a problem get better by arresting it and just throwing it in jail, right?

You focus on what created the problem, why are people robbing each other, right?

You find out they don't have jobs, but why doesn't they have jobs, right?

They don't have the skill of training.

You just find the root cause of the problem rather than just waiting until it becomes a problem and then just locking it away, and thinking that's gonna cause anything to become productive.

No, that's not how productivity happens.

(people protesting) - [Nina] While activists like Gatabuke and White have focused their energies on grassroots organizing, other leaders from diverse backgrounds have begun stepping forward claiming seats at all levels of government.

Some, for the first time.

- We cannot deal with the issue if we don't acknowledge there's an issue, and there is an issue here, and there's an issue of inequity even in the way we protest, even in the way we respond to protests, even in the things that we protest about, even in our feeling that it's our rights to protest.

So if there's more diversity, more voices at the table, I believe there'll be more equity, there'll be justice.

- [Nina] After winning a seat on the Nashville Metro Council in the fall of 2019, Zulfat Suara became the first Muslim woman to hold elected office in Tennessee.

While her central issues revolve around education, livable wages and a community-based budget, she's also been outspoken about the need for police reform, because from her point of view, the issues go hand in hand.

- When I ran, I told everybody that I ran because of our budget, but your budget is meaningless if it doesn't tie the money to the issues that are important to the people, example, our school to prison pipeline.

I talk about socio-emotional learning of our children, I talk about how we need to make sure that every child is educated.

All of that are things if we do and we do right, would reduce what we need with the juvenile court, would reduce what we need with the police.

- Yes, good to see you.

- [Zulfat] We need police to keep us safe.

So when I see a police officer do something right, I want to commend them, I want to thank them for keeping us safe.

- You know, call me that's my cell phone number.

- And the fact that one police officer do something good, doesn't mean that there's no racism, doesn't mean that black are not been killed at a higher rate, doesn't mean we don't have bad policing.

We do.

We do.

And I think as a society, we have to be able to acknowledge both in order to be able to move forward.

- Hey, how are you?

(man mumbles) - Good.

You're doing all right?

- Good.

Yes sir.

- Good.

Then give me one of these.

- [Nina] Captain Carlos Lara oversees Metro Nashville Police Department's office of community outreach and partnership.

He says that new leadership under chief John Drake, Nashville's second black police chief is seeking to reshape some of MNPD's former policies.

- (mumbles) and coming over here to just make... You know, when you look at reports that were created in the past, the Driving While Black report, that was a report that had a lot of information regarding how the traffic stops were disproportionate in certain areas of town, and those who underserved and immigrant communities.

2017, I believe that the police department had about 238,000 traffic stops that were conducted by our department.

In 2020, when chief Drake was appointed chief of police, we had just over 34,000 traffic stops.

That's a reduction of over 85% of the traffic stops.

- [Nina] While data indicates that black drivers were still being pulled over at higher rates than white drivers, Captain Lara believes the department is now moving in the right direction.

- We're not perfect, we've got a long way to go, but we're moving forward, and I think we're making great strides to where we wanna get to.

Again, which is forging meaningful partnerships and relationships with the communities that we serve, no matter who they are.

- It's good to see you.

- It's good to see you too.

- As a black woman, when we talk about police brutality and the racism here, yes, it's something that it's right there.

I have boys, right?

I have two black boys.

The fight for black lives, the fight for immigrant is my life.

So it is important for me to get that voices heard.

- [Nina] And while police reform is one part of the equation, Suara believes that greater representation is another critical component - For women and minorities thinking about running for office, I say, do it.

If I can, anybody else can.

For immigrants, I say, this is your country.

You should be vested in it, you should be interested in what happen to this country, because whatever happens impacts you too, and if you don't use that power that you have to be able to run things or choose people that run things, guess what?

Somebody else will.

(upbeat music) - Morning.

- Good morning.

- Thanks for coming out today - Why vote?

Because it is the most powerful thing that we can do.

No one can take that away from us, even in the midst of all of this suppression efforts that we're hearing about.

It is the most powerful thing that we can do.

- This is my first time voting in a presidential election.

That means a lot to me.

Being from a family of immigrants and being able to go and represent my family that can't vote and people that I know and people that are like me that can't vote.

- [Nina] Half of US immigrants were eligible to vote, and their numbers have been growing.

According to Pew Research Center, naturalized citizens make up 10% of the US electorate, that's over 23 million voters, nearly double what it was in 2000.

Those growing numbers make the immigrant vote a coveted prize for both parties.

For example, Latinos make up the largest immigrant voting block and reflect a broad diversity of voting preferences.

- The Latino vote is definitely not a monolith.

We come from all across the world, and so we have a lot of different point of views on different things.

- [Nina] Raul Lopez is the founder of Latinos for Tennessee, a statewide conservative group.

While his primary issues are faith, family and the economy, he also believes in diplomacy.

- Our country right now is very split between conservatives and liberals, and I hope that a Latino community could be the example of ones that though we might disagree, we could sit down civilly and discuss issues and concerns, and work together, and not put up a wall right away, just because one is a conservative and one's a liberal.

- [Nina] Here at Casa Azafran, a community center in South Nashville, early voters wait in line to cast their ballots in the 2020 presidential election.

This popular polling site is also home to Conexion Americas, an organization serving the needs of Nashville's Latino community.

- I think voting is core to our mission, in the sense that it promotes a sense of belonging for someone.

I think if you vote, if you have the power to vote, you have the power to change your community.

You have so much power.

You have the power to elect your representatives, the people who are making policies that directly affect your everyday life.

So for the immigrant community, for the new American community, that's extremely important.

- [Nina] In the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, people of all backgrounds were voting in record numbers eager to exercise their rights as citizens.

For some, it was a referendum on immigration itself.

- I'm voting for the best outcome as coming from an immigrant family to show that we come for a better life, not cause we're rapists, criminals, drug dealers, we come for a better life for our family and for ourselves.

- 2020 is a very crucial election year, no doubt about it.

The stakes are really high, and we wanna continue to build our power, continue to build an immigrant voting block, a refugee voting block, and a person of color voting block that keeps coming out to the polls over and over and over again until our voices are heard by these elected officials.

- [Nina] For Polly Nguyen however, the enthusiasm was tempered by an accompanying sense of dread.

- And so right now I'm feeling kind of scared.

I'm not gonna lie about that.

I am kind of scared because you know, people are getting ready for riots, people are getting ready for, you know, civil unrest and all these other things.

- [Nina] Despite anxieties about the potential for civil unrest, the November 3rd election was largely peaceful, and the department of Homeland Security reported it to be the most secure election in US history.

But in the weeks that followed, unfounded accusations of widespread voter fraud were leveled by outgoing president, Donald Trump and tensions mounted.

- Go on in.

- Take it anymore, this is our country.

- [Nina] On January 6, 2021, a violent mob stormed the Capitol, trying and failing to thwart Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election.

Five people died, including law enforcement.

Over 140 were injured.

- I think I want decency.

I wanna make sure that all the elected officials need to step away from the division, the polarization that we have right now.

We need someone to bring us together.

- I just wanna see more people like me represented in Congress or even the presidential office in the future.

I just want people to have me in mind, people like me, my community.

(Star-Spangled Banner) - [Nina] On January 20th, 2021, Joe Biden took office, and Kamala Harris became the first female vice president in US history, the daughter of immigrants.

She is also the first black and Asian VP.

Today, nearly a quarter of voting members of Congress are racial or ethnic minorities.

That's up 97% since 2001.

- Forge our union with purpose to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.

- [Nina] Duretti Ahmed is a student at Vanderbilt University.

As a second generation Ethiopian-American, seeing greater diversity in government represents welcome progress, but it's not enough on its own.

- I would say seeing women of color in positions of power, it's nice to see on, you know, a surface level, it's very nice to see someone like me on TV.

You know, growing up, I didn't really see much of that, but what I look for in a candidate, honestly, skin color, ethnic identity, racial identity, religion is not really the first thing that matters, it's really about your politics, it's about what you support.

You can't really vote based on all these identities and not look at the politics, so that can be a dangerous thing.

So I really just look for someone who, you know, supports human rights.

- [Nina] Balancing the responsibilities of elected office while working to improve life for those on the margins is a topic Fabien Bedne knows well.

Today he works for the mayor's office in planning and infrastructure, but prior to that, he was the first foreign born person ever elected to Nashville Metro Council.

Bedne describes his initial days in office as a balancing act.

- I took on some issues that were common to everybody.

And I started working on this idea of who is everyone.

I realized that people have different definitions of what everyone means.

For me, everyone was everyone.

White, blacks, Latinos, gays, people from all backgrounds, Muslims.

I mean, you can't really just say that you're talking about everyone when you're starting to pick and choose who will fall into that definition.

- [Nina] While Bedne no longer serves on the council, he did pave a way for others.

- We need to have more people that represents all the richness of the tapestry that makes Nashville.

(applause) - And Daniella is going to register today.

(applause) - Sorry.

Yes, I'm super excited.

I wait for this day for a long time, was a process.

So I'm a new citizen, I'm a newcomer.

I'm an immigrant woman.

Just I can't wait to vote.

- [Nina] Daniella Peterson became a United States citizen just one day earlier.

Today, she's joined with fellow volunteers in a get out the vote event for Chattanooga's 2021 mayoral election, and she's hoping her enthusiasm will be contagious.

- Everyone is super excited to tell people to get out and vote.

I wanna be part of my community and I wanna be part of the change that we do.

So that's what I'm here for.

I wanna see a city that can prosper for everyone, that everyone has a voice and is heard.

So we have to make sure to have officials that are able and want to hear us.

- [Nina] Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus is the executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, and its sister organization, TIRRC Votes.

She and her colleagues partnered with local organizations to host the event.

- You know, we really believe that we're gonna build power in Tennessee from the ground up.

So it's incredibly important that our communities are coming out on every election.

We know that voting is like a muscle, and so it's important to exercise that muscle to get that practice, but also local elections really impact our daily lives, from sidewalks to schools to policing.

Elections like a mayoral race and local elections are won by several hundred votes, and, you know, immigrants and refugees, black and brown voters, they're gonna make the difference in local elections.

- I believe that our communities show ups every day.

We show up for our family, for work, then this is like one more thing that we're asking to people to show up for.

Do you think you can be here for our community so we can have elected officials that actually know that we are here, that we are not leaving.

(people cheering) (serene music) - [Nina] To see more episodes of Next Door Neighbors, visit NDN.WNPT.ORG.

- [Announcer] Next Door Neighbors is made possible by the support of the Nissan Foundation.