[CLOSED CAPTIONING HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY CARDI'S FURNITURE AND MATTRESSES] >> TONIGHT ON "RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY" -- >> SABINA MATOS MIX RHODE ISLAND HISTORY.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: I HAVE TO DO THE BEST POSSIBLE JOB THAT I CAN, BUT I ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE I DO IT OFTEN.

MARY BETH: ALL JOURNALISTS WILL SAY THIS IS NOT JOURNALISM ANYMORE, THIS IS ADVOCACY.

I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYBODY CALLS IT, BECAUSE I THINK WE ARE ALL JUST TRYING ON SOME LEVEL.

WE ALL HAVE THIS URGE TO REFLECT ABOUT WHAT WE ARE SEEING.

♪ >> GOOD EVENING.

WELCOME TO "RHODE ISLAND PBS WEEKLY."

I AM PAMELA WATTS.

MICHELLE: I AM MICHELLE SAN MIGUEL.

JOHN LENNON WROTE "LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU WHEN YOU ARE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS.

WE MEET TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT IN DIFFERENT AND ULTIMATELY EXCITING WAYS.

WE BEGAN WITH LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SABINA MATOS, WHO IS A HEARTBEAT AWAY FROM GOVERNING THE OCEAN STATE.

SHE WAS SELECTED FROM DOZENS OF APPLICANTS.

POLITICS IS IN MATOS' BLOOD.

HER FATHER SERVED AS MAYOR OF HER HOMETOWN IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

THE FORMER PROVIDENCE CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT HAS SAID PEOPLE HAVE BEEN UNDER MATT ESTIMATING HER FOR A LONG TIME, AND SHE HAD HER OWN DOUBTS, TOO, WHICH ALMOST KEPT HER FROM EVER RUNNING FOR OFFICE.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: AS THE FIRST AFRO LATINO WOMAN NOMINATED FOR THIS POST, I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE GOVERNOR'S COMMITMENT FOR IMPROVEMENT.

MICHELLE: WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD "FIRST" NEAR YOUR NAME?

LT. GOV.

MATOS: TO MAKE SURE I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE.

BEING THE FIRST ONE COMES WITH A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY.

IF I DO THAT JOB, THAT WILL BE REFLECTED.

I HAVE TO MAKE SURE TO DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO DO THE BEST POSSIBLE JOB THAT I CAN, BUT I ALSO HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT I DO IT OFTEN FOR OTHERS WHO COME AFTER ME.

MICHELLE: WHEN SABINA MATOS MOVED TO THE UNITED STATES IN 1994, SHE NEVER IMAGINED SHE WOULD RISE UP THE RANKS OF RHODE ISLAND POLITICS.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: I THOUGHT I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS SOCIETY.

MICHELLE: MATOS BECAME A U.S. CITIZEN IN 2005, 11 YEARS AFTER SHE AND HER FAMILY LEFT THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

SHE SAYS THE PROCESS TO COME TO THE UNITED STATES WAS NOT EASY.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: IT TOOK 10 YEARS, FROM THE TIME THAT THE PETITION HAPPENED TO THE TIME THAT WE FINALLY WERE GRANTED THE GREEN CARD TO COME TO THE UNITED STATES.

MICHELLE: LEAVING THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WAS BITTERSWEET.

SHE HAS FOND MEMORIES GROWING UP ON THE ISLAND, BUT IT WAS DIFFICULT.

MANY TIMES, CLASSES WERE CANCELED BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ELECTRICITY.

IT ALL PREPARED HER FOR HER NEXT CHALLENGE YET -- ARRIVING IN NEW YORK CITY AS A YOUNG WOMAN, SPEAKING LITTLE ENGLISH.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: I ARRIVED ON A FRIDAY, AND THEY ALREADY HAD A JOB LINED UP FOR ME ON MONDAY.

SO I WAS WORKING IN NEW YORK, AND I STARTED WORKING IN A FACTORY IN QUEENS.

I ALWAYS HAD THE MEMORIES OF THE LIONS GAME, BECAUSE -- OF "THE LION KING," BECAUSE "THE LION KING" MOVIE WAS COMING OUT IN 1994.

THERE WERE PATCHES ON A LOT OF CLOTHING, THAT EVERYTHING WAS "THE LION KING."

MICHELLE: A FEW MONTHS LATER, MATOS MOVED TO ENGLAND AND BEGAN TAKING ENGLISH CLASSES.

SHE WENT ON TO GRADUATE FROM RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE, BUT SHE SAYS SHE WAS SO SHY, SHE DID NOT DISSIPATE IN ANY COLLEGE ACTIVITIES.

HOW DO YOU GO FROM BEING A SHY PERSON LEARNING THE LANGUAGE TO SEVERAL YEARS LATER, I'M GOING TO THROW MY NAME INTO RUN CITY COUNCIL IN 2006?

LT. GOV.

MATOS: IT IS THAT COMBINATION OF FACTORS.

I PUT IN THE INSTITUTE, ONE WAS THE LATINO LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE, WHICH HELPED ME A LOT, HELPED ME CONNECT WITH INDIVIDUALS IN THE COMMUNITY, AND ALSO TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT WAS TAKING PLACE AND WHAT WAS HAPPENING AROUND ME IN THE COMMUNITY.

MICHELLE: THAT COMMUNITY IS THE PROVIDENCE NEIGHBORHOOD SHE CALLS HOME.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: YOU HAVE THE HONDURAS PLACE, YOU HAVE A DOMINICAN RESTAURANT UP THE STREET.

MICHELLE: IT IS WHERE SHE GOT HER TASTE OF POLITICS.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: THEY APPROACHED ME AND ASKED ME TO RUN BECAUSE I WAS INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY.

I SAID NO, BUT THEN I SAID TO MYSELF, YOU KNOW, IF I WIN, I COULD DO A LOT TO HELP MY COMMUNITY.

A LOT OF ANTI-IMMIGRANT MOVEMENT WAS HAPPENING AT THE TIME, AND A LOT OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS WERE HERE, AND THERE WAS A FEAR THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS GOING TO BE GENTRIFIED.

GENTRIFIED.

MICHELLE: MATOS LOST HER FIRST CAMPAIGN, BUT LATER, SHE RAN FOR A SEAT ON CITY COUNCIL AND WON.

SHE HAS ALSO BEEN COUNCIL PRESIDENT.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF, AND YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ON PROVIDENCE CITY COUNCIL?

LT. GOV.

MATOS: THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS.

ONE IS PUSHING BACK THAT THE LIMITATION -- TAXES LIMITATIONS AGREEMENT WAS MORE FAIR TO THE TAXPAYERS OF PROVIDENCE.

MICHELLE: MATOS' INFLUENCE WILL NOW BE FELT BEYOND THE CAPITAL CITY.

SHE PLANS TO VISIT ALL 39 CITIES AND TOWNS IN HER FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: I AM ENJOYING EVERY MOMENT OF IT.

IT IS A LOT OF WORK.

IT IS NOT THE SAME AS BEFORE.

I WAS JUST IN THE CITY OF PROVIDENCE, SINCE I AM CLOSER.

NOW I HAVE TO TRAVEL LONGER.

OF COURSE, RHODE ISLAND, AS YOU KNOW, YOU ARE A LITTLE CHALLENGE.

MICHELLE: YOU HAVE TO DRIVE MORE THAN 15 MINUTES.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: YES, YOU HAVE TO DRIVE MORE THAN 15 MINUTES.

MICHELLE: A FORMAL INAUGURATION WAS HELD FOR MATOS MAY 2 AT THE RHODE ISLAND STATE HOUSE, EXACTLY 37 YEARS AFTER SHE STARTED HER FIRST JOB AT THE FACTORY IN QUEENS.

MATOS WAS SWORN IN AT A PRIVATE CEREMONY IN APRIL ALONGSIDE HER HUSBAND AND TWO CHILDREN.

WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AS YOU ARE BEING SWORN IN AS THE 70TH LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND?

LT. GOV.

MATOS: IT WAS SPECIAL FOR ME, MY FAMILY, AND MY FRIENDS, FOR THE COMMUNITY.

BUT I UNDERSTOOD IT WAS SPECIAL FOR A LOT OF YOUNG LITTLE GIRLS OUT HERE IN THE COMMUNITY, BECAUSE SHE SEES, SHE IS DOING THIS, I CAN ALSO DO IT.

MICHELLE: ONE OF HER GOALS AS SECOND IN COMMAND OF THE STATE IS TO CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE A COMBINATION OF WORKFORCE HOUSING WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND ALSO COMMERCIAL SPACE ON THE FIRST FLOOR.

MICHELLE: SHE SHOWED US A FORMER MILL IN OLNEYVILLE THAT IS BEING CONVERTED INTO JUST THAT.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: I THINK THEY HAVE NOT BEEN BUILDING ENOUGH.

THERE HAS NOT BEEN A STRATEGY TO THINK ABOUT IF WE WANT TO GROW THE POPULATION OF THE STATE, WHAT WOULD BE REQUIRED WHEN IT COMES TO HOUSING.

WE HAVE NOT HAD A DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCE FOR HOUSING IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND.

ONE OF THE THINGS I ALWAYS HEARD WITH THE DIFFERENT HOUSING ADVOCATES IS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE THAT BIG HOUSING SIDE, SOMEONE THAT IS DEDICATED TO HOUSING AT THE SAME LEVEL AND MAKING SURE THAT HOUSING IS A PRIORITY.

MICHELLE: ANOTHER PRIORITY FOR MATOS IS MAKING SURE MORE PEOPLE GET VACCINATED.

RHODE ISLAND WAS THE EIGHTH STAYED IN THE COUNTRY TO HAVE ADMINISTERED AT LEAST ONE COVID-19 DOSE TO 70% OF THE POPULATION.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: THE NEXT STEP IS GOING TO BE TRYING TO CONVINCE THOSE THAT THINK THEY DON'T NEED THE VACCINE THAT THEY SHOULD GET THE VACCINE.

IF THEY DON'T WANT TO DO IT BECAUSE OF THEMSELVES, THEY SHOULD DO IT BECAUSE OF THEIR LOVED ONES IN THEIR LIVES.

MICHELLE: GETTING VACCINATED IS PERSONAL FOR THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR.

HER FATHER CAME DOWN WITH COVID-19 AT THE START OF THE PANDEMIC.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: HE WAS INTUBATED FOR SEVERAL DAYS, AND HE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL FOR CLOSE TO A MONTH.

HE IS STILL STRUGGLING WITH HIS RECOVERY, BECAUSE A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS HAVE WHAT IS CALLED LUNG COVID -- OR LONG HAULERS, HE IS IN THAT CATEGORY.

MICHELLE: HER FATHER SURVIVED, BUT, SADLY, TWO OF HIS BROTHERS DIED FROM THE VIRUS.

IN MANY WAYS, COVID-19 WAS THIS GREAT REVEALER IN TERMS OF HIGHLIGHTING INEQUITIES THAT EXISTED LONG BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.

WHAT MOST SURPRISED YOU ABOUT WHAT WAS EXPOSED DURING THAT TIME?

LT. GOV.

MATOS: I THINK THAT SO MANY PEOPLE DID NOT KNOW THAT THE CHALLENGES WERE THAT BIG, THAT THE INEQUITIES WERE THAT BIG.

MAYBE BECAUSE I EXPERIENCED IT MORE OFTEN, I LIVE CLOSER TO THIS REALITY.

MICHELLE: MATOS' APPOINTMENT TO LOOK KANAAN GOVERNOR COMES AT A HISTORIC TIME.

THIS YEAR'S -- TO LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR COMES AT A HISTORIC TIME.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: THERE IS A DISCUSSION THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE INTENTIONALLY ABOUT BUILDING NEW LEADERSHIP, AND ALSO, WITH THIS NEW GENERATION OF THE MILLENNIALS, THERE IS MORE AWARENESS OF THE NEED TO PARTICIPATE AND BE AWARE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING OF THE SHAPING OF THEIR CITIES, THEIR STATES, AND THEIR GOVERNMENT IN GENERAL.

BUT HONESTLY, I THINK IF I AM SITTING HERE RIGHT NOW IN THIS POSITION, IT HAPPENS BECAUSE OF MANY INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR YEARS TO BUILD LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE LATINO COMMUNITY.

MICHELLE: MATOS ALSO WANTS TO SEE CHANGES IN HOW LEADERSHIP IS SELECTED, BY VIRTUE OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION, THE GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MUST RUN INDIVIDUALLY.

BUT MATOS SAID SHE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT AMENDED, SO SHE AND GOVERNOR MCKEE CAN RUN AS A TEAM.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: WE THINK ABOUT THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BEING THERE IN CASE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS, BUT SOMETHING GOOD CAN HAPPEN TO THE GOVERNOR.

GOVERNOR RAIMONDO GETTING ELEVATED TO COMMERCE IS SOMETHING REALLY GOOD THAT HAPPENED TO THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THERE ARE CHALLENGES.

IF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR WAS NOT UP-TO-DATE ON EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW IN A PANDEMIC.

MICHELLE: AND YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW THAT YOU ARE VERY MUCH IN THE LOOP OF WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE?

LT. GOV.

MATOS: YES.

MICHELLE: WHILE MATOS SAYS SHE PLANS TO RUN FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR NEXT YEAR, SHE IS NOT RULING OUT WHAT THE COMING YEARS WILL LOOK LIKE.

LT. GOV.

MATOS: SO MANY THINGS HAVE HAPPENED FOR ME TO BE HERE, AND POLITICS, YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE THOSE LONG-TERM PLANS, BECAUSE THINGS CAN CHANGE FROM ONE DAY TO THE NEXT.

PAMELA: UP NEXT, THREE BLEND OF PHOTOJOURNALISM AND ART, PROVIDENCE'S MARY BETH MEEHAN HAS BUILT A CAREER FROM OPPORTUNITIES, FROM NEWSPAPERS TO REIMAGINING WHERE AND HOW HER ART CAN BE DISPLAYED TO BEST INTERACT WITH THE COMMUNITY, MEEHAN'S CAREER EVOLVED IN WAYS EVEN SHE COULD NOT HAVE PREDICTED.

CONTRIBUTEING REPORTER BILL BARTHOLOMEW RECENTLY SAT DOWN WITH MEEHAN TO DISCUSS HER MOTIVATIONS AND STRONG DESIRE TO GO BEHIND THE MYTHS TO EXPLORE THE PEOPLE OFTEN TIMES SOCIETY COMPLETELY IGNORES.

MARY BETH: I MEAN, THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BROUGHT ME INTO THEIR HOMES AND SHARED THEMSELVES WITH ME HAVE BEEN JUST LIFE-CHANGING, FROM DAY ONE.

JUST AN HONOR THAT SO MANY OF THESE AMAZING HUMAN BEINGS HAVE OPENED THEMSELVES TO ME IN ORDER TO TEACH ME SOMETHING.

BILL: PHOTOJOURNALIST AND ARTIST MARY BETH MEEHAN HAS, THROUGH VIVID AND OFTEN HAUNTING IMAGES, EXPLORED CULTURE AND VISIBILITY, TELLING THE STORIES OF PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES THAT ARE MISSED OR PRESENTED OR MISUNDERSTOOD.

MARY BETH: -- MISREPRESENTED OR MISUNDERSTOOD.

MARY BETH: THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF THEM, WHEN I THINK OF THEM ALL, WHAT IF I HAD GONE THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT ENTERING THOSE SPACES?

MY LIFE WOULD BE SO -- THERE'S A POVERTY, THERE IS A POVERTY OF SPIRIT THAT I AM SO GLAD I DID NOT HAVE TO WALK A PATH IN THAT WAY.

BILL: FROM HER DAYS AS A NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST TO A SERIES OF LARGE-SCALE PHOTO INSTALLATIONS PRINTED ON VINYL BANNERS IN CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY, MEEHAN HAS SOUGHT TO BUST THE MYTHS THAT OFTEN DEFINED PLACES AND PEOPLE.

MEEHAN GREW UP IN BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A SMALL CITY LOCATED ABOUT 40 MILES FROM PROVIDENCE.

BACK THEN, BROCKTON WAS A TYPICAL WORKING-CLASS COMMUNITY OF MOSTLY IRISH HERITAGE, AND THE CITY WOULD ULTIMATELY PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN HER ARTISTIC IDENTITY.

BUT MEEHAN SAYS IT WAS WHEN SHE WAS IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL AND AN UNCLE OF HERS HAD GONE TO NEW YORK CITY TO PURSUE A CAREER IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM THAT SHE FIRST BEGAN TO SEE HER FUTURE.

MARY BETH: I REMEMBER JUST BEING A KID AND BEING SO ENTRANCED WITH HOW YOU COULD LOOK INTO A PICTURE AND REALLY IMAGINE THESE WORLDS AND TRY TO INHABIT THESE WORLDS, AND THEY COULD BE FROM ANYWHERE, GET OUT, AND THAT -- D THAT YOU COULD INTERACT WITH IT.

BILL: BUT IT WOULD TAKE SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE MEEHAN WOULD DISCOVER THAT PHOTOGRAPHY COULD BE MORE THAN A HOBBY.

MARY BETH: HEY, WAIT, THIS IS SOMETHING YOU CAN BUILD A LIFE AROUND.

I DID NOT REALLY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ART SCHOOL OR JOURNALISM SCHOOL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT I ENROLLED IN A PHOTOJOURNALISM PROGRAM, IN A MASTERS PROGRAM, AND GOT INTRODUCED TO THE WORLD OF JOURNALISM, THE WORLD OF PHOTOJOURNALISM, WHICH ENTAILS, YOU KNOW, JUST BEING IN THE WORLD, LIKE BOOTS ON THE GROUND, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PEOPLE'S LIVES WERE LIKE, RINGING DOORBELLS, INTERVIEWING STRANGERS, GETTING VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THIS ROLE OF SEEING MYSELF AS THIS KIND OF PORTAL, BUT I COULD COLLABORATE WITH PEOPLE THAT I DID NOT KNOW, TO TRY TO AMPLIFY STORIES THAT I THOUGHT WERE IMPORTANT TO BE HEARD.

BILL: MEEHAN EVENTUALLY ENDED UP IN BOSTON, WHERE SHE BEGAN DOING FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE "NEW YORK TIMES" AND "THE BOSTON GLOBE," AS WELL AS DEVELOPING HER OWN PROJECTS, INCLUDING A PROJECT ON BOSTON ITALIANS WHO WERE TRACING THEIR HERITAGE AND HISTORY.

MARY BETH: WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND HOW IT IS NOT JUST A ONE-WAY JOURNEY COME BUT PEOPLE MAINTAIN THEIR CONNECTIONS, AND IT IS A BACK-AND-FORTH, A CONSCIOUSNESS OF BEING AN IMMIGRANT AND WHAT YOU CARRY WITH YOU WHEN YOU COME TO THIS COUNTRY.

BILL: MEEHAN BECAME A STAFF DOCTOR RIVER FOR "THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL," -- A STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER FOR "THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL," LANDING HER OWN WEEKLY COLUMN.

MARY BETH: IF REPORTERS WENT TO THE NEWSROOM, IT WAS BECAUSE A CRIME OCCURRED.

BUT I UNDERSTOOD, HAVING GROWN UP IN BROCKTON WITH IMMIGRANT PEOPLE, THAT HAVING BEEN MY IDENTITY, I MEAN, I COME FROM IMMIGRANTS, THAT THERE WERE OTHER STORIES THAT NEEDED TO BE TOLD AND OTHER WAYS OF LOOKING AT THOSE COMMUNITIES.

BILL: AFTER A MOVE TO PROVIDENCE AND A BREAK FROM HER WORK TO FOCUS ON RAISING HER CHILDREN, MEEHAN DECIDED TO RETURN TO HER ROOTS IN A BIG WAY.

MARY BETH: MY FIRST IMPULSE WAS TO GO BACK TO BROCKTON, BECAUSE AFTER HAD LEFT, WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS, YOU KNOW, IT HAD BEEN 15, 20 YEARS SINCE I HAD LIVED THERE, AND WHAT I WAS HEARING AS MY OLD, WHITE IRISH UNCLES WERE SEEING THE CITY CHANGE, IMMIGRANTS WERE STILL COMING, BUT THEY ARE NOW COMING FROM CAPE VERDE AND HAITI.

BILL: MEMBERS OF THE BROCKTON COMMUNITY.

MARY BETH: HOW DO I MAKE A BODY OF WORK THAT IS WHAT IS LEFT OF THE OLD, WHAT IS THE NEW?

AND IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING WONDERFUL ABOUT BEING ABLE TO SHOW THAT WORK IN A MUSEUM OR A GALLERY, BUT THERE WAS ALSO SOMETHING EXPRESSIVE ABOUT IT.

IT IS WHY I WANTED TO TAKE THE WORK OUT OF THE CITY AND SHOW IT IN A SPACE WHICH, BY NATURE, WOULD BE NECESSARILY THE MOST LIKELY, AN UPPER-MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE SPACE.

BROCKTON, SINCE I LEFT, BECAME A MAJORITY MINORITY CITY, SO I GOT REALLY INTERESTED IN THIS IDEA OF ACTIVATING THE CITY OF ELF WITH THESE IMAGES -- CITY ITSELF WITH THESE IMAGES AND USING THE DOWNTOWN LANDSCAPE AS A PHYSICAL GALLERY.

BILL: IN 2011, THESE IMAGES WERE BLOWN UP AND DISPLAYED AS HUGE VINYL PORTRAITS IN THE HEART OF THE CITY.

MEEHAN WAS THEN APPROACHED BY THE PROVIDENCE ARTIST AND FOUNDER OF VAS 220 GALLERY AND ARTSPACE.

HE WANTED HER TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR IN PROVIDENCE.

BY 2015, HER PROVIDENCE PORTRAITS WERE PART OF THE CITY'S FIRST ARTS FESTIVAL.

IT WAS NOT LONG BEFORE MEEHAN WAS GETTING CALLS FROM PEOPLE AROUND THE COUNTRY WHO WANTED HER TO COME TO THEIR CITY AND DO PORTRAITS.

ONE OF THE FIRST INVITATIONS CAME FROM TWO GENTLEMEN FROM A SMALL SOUTHERN TOWN ABOUT 40 MILES FROM ATLANTA.

MARY BETH: THAT WAS JUST OVERWHELMING.

WHAT DID I KNOW FROM THE SOUTH?

A WHITE, LIBERAL NORTHERNER WHO THOUGHT I KNEW EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT THE SOUTH -- AND ABOUT THE NORTH.

SO I WENT, AND IT WAS HARD, AND I WAS REALLY NERVOUS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I HAD ONLY EVER REALLY WORKED IN NEW ENGLAND, WHICH I FELT I KNEW.

I UNDERSTOOD THESE LEADERS OF IMMIGRATION.

I LIVED IT AND LOVED IT.

BILL: SHORTLY AFTER STARTING HER SOUTHERN EFFORTS, SHE WAS APPROACHED BY A PROFESSOR AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY, WHO WAS CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT HE DESCRIBED AS THE MYTHOLOGY SURROUNDING SILICON VALLEY.

>> THERE IS DEFINITELY AN OVERLAP BETWEEN JOURNALISM AND ART IN THAT YOU ARE SERVING AS A MIRROR FOR A COMMUNITY, AND YOU KIND OF START TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO WALK IN BOTH OF THOSE SPACES.

MARY BETH: OLD COLLEAGUES IN PHOTOJOURNALISM HAVE NOW SAID, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT JOURNALISM ANYMORE, THIS IS ADVOCACY.

OR, THIS IS NOT FINE ART, BECAUSE YOU ARE DOING JOURNALISM.

I FINALLY DECIDED THAT I DO NOT CARE WHAT ANYBODY CALLS IT, BECAUSE I JUST THINK THAT WE ARE ALL TRYING ON SOME LEVEL, WE ALL HAVE THIS URGE TO REFLECT BACK WHAT WE ARE SEEING.

BILL: SO MUCH OF YOUR WORK HAS BEEN ABOUT MYTH BUSTING, SO TO SPEAK, ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION, BUT ALSO ABOUT ENVIRONMENTS AND JUST STIGMA.

MARY BETH: WELL, I THINK WHAT WE NEED TO REALLY NAME IS THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, WHITE, FOR 400 YEARS, WHITE PEOPLE HAVE MADE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO REPRESENT THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN A REALLY DEROGATORY -- JUST DEROGATORY WAYS, DISTORTED, HORRIBLE WAYS.

AND THAT HAS BEEN INTENTIONAL AND THAT WE HAVE ALL INGESTED MESSAGES, DISSEMINATED BY PEOPLE IN POWER IN ORDER TO JUSTIFY THEIR OWN POWER OVER A FEW GROUP OF PEOPLE.

WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED THROUGH IMAGERY AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE CLAIMED THE RIGHT TO DEFINE THE NARRATIVE HAS NOT BEEN NEUTRAL, IT HAS BEEN EXCESSIVELY NEGATIVE IN MANY CASES.

SO HOW DO WE, PARTICULARLY THE WHITE PRACTITIONER, HOW DO WE PUSH THOSE NARRATIVES WITHOUT RE-INFLICTING MORE DAMAGE, THE POWER DYNAMIC, GETTING IT WRONG, EVEN WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS, FOCUSING SO SOLEY ON THE SYMPTOMS OF THE CORRUPT SYSTEM THAT WE END UP DRIVING THOSE SYMPTOMS OF THOSE COMMUNITIES WHEN WE ARE NOT LOOKING AT THE SYMPTOMS AT ALL.

BILL: IN WHAT MEEHAN SAYS IS HER IN SENSUAL PURSUIT OF AUTHENTICITY, SHE HAS TOUCHED THE LIVES OF COUNTLESS PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE.

WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR BODY OF WORK, WHEN IT IS WRITTEN IN THE STARS, SO TO SPEAK?

MARY BETH: OH, GOD.

[LAUGHTER] I HOPE THAT THEY NOTICE WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN TAUGHT TO THINK, HOW THOSE ASSUMPTIONS ARE HAVING AN IMPACT ON THEIR INTERACTIONS IN A DAY-TO-DAY WAY, AND TO TAKE A CHANCE TO BUST THROUGH THOSE MYTHS, OR BUST THROUGH THOSE ASSUMPTIONS.

INTERACT WITH THE WORLD INAUTHENTIC WAY.

PAMELA: FINALLY TONIGHT, SINCE THE VERY FIRST DNA SEQUENCES WERE OBTAINED IN THE EARLY 1970'S, GENETICS, THE POWERFUL SCIENCE THAT EXPLORES THE VERY BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE, HAS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED THE WAY RESEARCHERS APPROACH TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF DISEASE.

HERE IN THE OCEAN STATE, A THRIVING AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY HAS TURNED TO GENETIC RESEARCH TO PROTECT THE ANNUAL OYSTER CROP FROM DANGEROUS PATHOGENS THAT EXIST NATURALLY IN NARRAGANSETT BAY.

AND AS RHODE ISLAND PBS PRODUCER JAMIE MCGUIRE FOUND, GENETIC RESEARCH ON OYSTERS MAY GO A LONG WAY IN UNDERSTANDING AND EVEN PREVENTING DISEASES IN HUMANS AS WELL.

>> I AM A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND, AND I WORK ON THE AREA OF AQUATIC PATHOLOGY.

I WAS HIRED TO HEALTHY AQUACULTURE -- HELP THE AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY AND MANAGING ANIMALS DURING THE DAY, SO MY ROLE IS TO FOLLOW UP, TO MONITOR THE CREATURES AND SEE WHAT THE IMPACT IS ON THOSE WILD AND CULTURED RELATIONS AND THEN FIGURE OUT WAYS TO MANAGE THOSE DISEASES.

SO THE DISEASES AFFECT OYSTERS AT DIFFERENT STAGES, STARTING FROM THE LARVAE ALL THE WAY TO THE ADULTS THAT THEY DEPLOY AND GROW IN THEIR FARMS.

THE WAY WE ARE TRYING TO MANAGE THE HATCHERY, BECAUSE IT HAPPENS UGLY, IS TO PROIDE SOMETHING IN THE WATER THAT MINIMIZES THE ABILITY OF THAT PATHOGEN TO CAUSE DESTRUCTION.

DAVID: MY NAME IS DAVID NELSON.

I AM A PROFESSOR IN CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY.

WE GOT INTERESTED IN THE PROJECT BECAUSE SHE SAID THERE IS THIS PROBLEM IN MANY OYSTER HATCHERIES.

EVERY SUMMER, A NUMBER OF THE HATCHERIES WILL BE AFFECTED BY BACTERIAL INFECTIONS CAUSED BY A PARTICULAR ORGANISM THAT WIPED OUT THE OYSTER LARVAE.

AT THE SAME TIME, WE BECAME INTERESTED AND LEARNING ABOUT THE BACTERIA'S PROBIOTIC ORGANISMS.

CAN THEY PREVENT DISEASE -- NOT TREAT DISEASE -- BUT PREVENT DISEASE AND OYSTER LARVAE, WHERE THE PROBLEM REALLY IS?

>> THE QUESTION WE WANT TO ANSWER, REALLY, IS -- CAN WE PREVENT INFECTIOUS DISEASE OUTBREAKS IN AQUACULTURE FACILITIES BY INTRODUCING BENEFICIAL BACTERIA.

MY NAME IS DAVID ROWLEY.

I AM A PROFESSOR HERE.

JUVENILE OYSTERS SUCCUMB TO INFECTION EASILY.

TREATMENT IS NOT AN OPTION.

PREVENTION IS WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS OUR ATTENTION.

SINCE A LOT OF THOSE INFECTIONS -- INFECTIOUS AGENTS ARE BACTERIA, WE THOUGHT WE COULD COMBAT THEM WITH BENEFICIAL BACTERIA, AND WE CAN PEER WE FOUND THOSE BACTERIA THAT CAN PREVENT INFECTION.

>> SO THE WAY WE START IS WE START IN THE LAB, AND WE HAVE POTENTIAL MICROBES THAT WE ISOLATE FROM WATER AND OTHERS THAT ARE HEALTHY.

WE TEST THEM WITH OYSTERS, LARVAL OYSTERS IN THE LAB.

BASICALLY WE EXPOSE THE LARVAL OYSTERS TO THE POTENTIAL PROBIOTIC, AND WE ISOLATE THE PATHOGEN AND SEE IF IT PREVENTS THE OYSTER FROM DYING.

WE HAVE DEVELOPED TWO PROBIOTICS, AND WE HAVE BEEN TESTING THEM IN DIFFERENT HATCHERIES THROUGHOUT THE EAST COAST.

SOMETIMES THEY WORK GREAT, WE SEE A GREAT EFFECT, AND SOMETIMES THEY DON'T PROVIDE THAT MUCH OF AN EFFECT.

SO WE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF WE HAVE TO IMPROVE THIS PROBIOTIC THAT WE ARE USING OR FIND OTHER MICROBES THAT WILL BE COMBINED WITH THE ONES THAT WE ALREADY HAVE, TO IMPROVE THAT EFFICACY OF THE BIOTIC, TO MAKE THEM BETTER.

>> IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND HOW THESE TYPES OF BACTERIA, BENEFICIAL BACTERIA, COULD PREVENT INFECTIOUS DISEASES, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE GENETICS OF THOSE ORGANISMS.

HOW DOES IT DO THIS?

WHAT ARE THE MECHANISMS?

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT BACTERIA WILL INTERACT?

>> BECAUSE WE HAVE SEQUENCED THE GENOMES OF BOTH OUR BIOTICS AND PATHOGENS, WE CAN SPECIFICALLY GO IN AND ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT GENES THAT WE THINK ARE INVOLVED.

WE DON'T INFECT ANYTHING AT THEIR FACILITIES, BUT WE CAN THROW IN OUR PROBIOTICS AND SHOW THAT THEY PROTECT AND THEY GET BETTER YIELDS OR WHAT HAVE YOU.

AND WE SHOW THAT THEY WERE NOT HURTING THEIR PRODUCTION, AND IF ANYTHING, THEY ARE GETTING BETTER SURVIVAL.

SO WITHOUT ALL THE KNOWLEDGE OF WORKING THE DNA, WE COULD NOT DO THAT EXCEPT VERY SLOWLY.

IT WOULD TAKE US PROBABLY DECADES TO GET WHERE WE ARE NOW, WHERE NOW WE CAN DISCOVER THESE THINGS IN A MATTER OF A YEAR OR TWO.

>> WHILE WE ARE CREATING TOOLS FOR AQUACULTURE, WHICH IS IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THIS IS AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRY HERE IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, AND WORLDWIDE.

AQUACULTURE IS ON THE RISE IN TERMS OF OUR NEEDS, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE PROTEIN TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE EATING ON THIS PLANET TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE, THIS INTERPLAY BETWEEN BENEFICIAL BACTERIA, HARMFUL BACTERIA, THE HOSTS THAT THEY RESIDE -- THIS IS A MODEL THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE INCLUDES EVERYTHING, OTHER TYPES OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, WHETHER ANIMALS OR PLANTS, AND EVEN HUMANS.

PAMELA: AND OUR THANKS TO JAMIE MCGUIRE.

FOR A DEEPER EXPLANATION IN THE ROLE GENES PLAY IN PREVENTION OF SOME OF HUMANKIND'S MOST DEBILITATING DISEASES, TUNE IN TO SEE "THE GENE," A TWO-PART DOCUMENTARY FROM EXECUTIVE PRODUCER KEN BURNS.

I'M PAMELA WATTS.

MICHELLE: I AM MICHELLE SAN MIGUEL.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

WE WILL BE BACK NEXT WEEK FOR