Funding for COLORES was provided in part by: Frederick Hammersley Fund, New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME-TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation... ...New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts... and Viewers Like You.

THIS TIME, ON COLORES!

RALLYS, RESILIENCE, ROLE OF WOMEN, IDENTITY, AND THE HORROR OF WAR - UKRAINIAN AMERICANS OF NEW MEXICO NATALIYA EDLEMAN AND LARYSA CASTILLO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AFTER ONE YEAR OF THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE.

BORN TO TWO FORMER SLAVES AND ONE OF THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN POETS TO GARNER NATIONAL ACCLAIM, DAYTON, OHIO CELEBRATES THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.

IT'S ALL AHEAD ON COLORES!

ONE YEAR LATER >>Larysa Castillo: We all together, united, we will win this war.

<Applause> >>Larysa Castillo: Dear friends, I woke up this morning and I was hoping that all these 365 days of brutal invasion was just a bad dream.

That I can simply erase it with the next morning and think of peaceful beautiful skies.

We gonna stand until the last breath and will gain our freedom forever.

<Cheers> >>Larysa Castillo: Stop the war.

Stop Putin.

Stop killing our people.

>>Lou DiVizio: Natalia, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it's still going, on now one year later, what has the past year been like for you?

>>Nataliya Edelman: For all Ukrainians I think in the world, whole world, is just nightmare for us.

>>Larysa Castillo: We need peace.

>>Nataliya Edelman: We have relatives.

We have a friends.

We have a families in Ukraine.

I grew up in Bucha and like almost everybody know what happened in Bucha and thanks God my brother and his family survived but 15 my friends or their kids killed.

City's just destroyed like Mariupol.

When you look at the pictures there is a nothing.

No trees.

Not buildings.

And before the war there used to live 500,000 people.

Where they right now?

>>Lou: Are you speaking with people in Ukraine right now?

>>Nataliya: Yes.

For example, my brother and his wife, when they tried to disappear from Bucha, because they already like didn't have a... they bomb all the time, they couldn't go out because snipers can kill you.

To survive they ate some dry spaghettis for three weeks.

They didn't take a shower because it's no water, no heat, like nothing.

And I remember last time I was talking with my brother.

I was like screaming and yelling and crying; please try to disappear, just try somehow and my brother and his wife took the car.

They saw the tanks.

Tanks go to them close and their friend's car was the front of my brother's car and the tank just go over the car and my brother understood that their car would be next.

And thanks God there was a little, you know like a street and they turned last moment and try to drive as fast as they can and what happened that was the whole street - dead bodies lay down.

Just dead bodies and my brother, actually his wife, was driving and she was like screaming and driving through the bodies and they survived.

<Singing in Ukrainian> >>Lou: Larysa, I understand you have been back recently.

What was that experience like for you?

>>Larysa Castillo: I came back to Ukraine in November last year to pick up some of my family members.

Driving through dark, pitch dark cities because there's no power.

It was pretty unusual and scary and driving on a bus through the bunch of holes on the ground where the bomb fell was just mind-blowing and driving through Kiev streets I saw those anti-tank protective constructions and I couldn't believe that.

I got there safe.

I met my family.

I was very happy to do that and I told them, "Let's hurry up.

Let's just get to safety."

Praying that those bombs not gonna fall on our heads.

But the crew on a Delta airplane, which we took from Amsterdam to Salt Lake City was like, they went above and beyond.

It's amazing that just the kindness.

Just meet the kindness against the cruelty.

>> Nataliya Edelman: Yeah, right now some of my friends live in... actually the husbands - men- stay in Ukraine but the wives and kids go to different other countries like Poland, Spain and it's happened to almost all Ukrainian families.

>>Larysa: (in Ukrainian) Glory to Ukraine!

>>Crowd: (in Ukrainian) Glory to Heroes >>Crowd Member: Putin out!

[MUSIC - Ukraine National Anthem] Nataliya: And also what is really painful that on the borders of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, the Russia separate kids from mothers and they took kids to Russia and mothers don't know where they're kids.

It's almost 4,000 kids right now in Russia, in some kind of camps.

I couldn't imagine that people to do to the other people in 21st century.

[Music] >>Nataliya: For me, I couldn't understand.

>>Larysa Castillo: There was a viral video all over the world how Russians killed a Ukrainian Soldier just for singing Ukrainian anthem.

[Music] >>Larysa: Freedom for Ukraine!

>>Lou DiVizio: Do you think that women have played a specific role?

>>Larysa: They like their freedom Liberty and right now it's over 50,000 of women are in Ukrainian army, they are snipers, they are military intelligence, medics, paramedics, just frontline fighters.

They do anything to make sure that they build the future for their kids.

[APPLAUSE] >>Larysa: Thank you so much.

Putin's legacy is mistake.

He thought the war will break us but the war united us.

It made us stronger.

It made us more faithful.

That's what he didn't count on.

He thought it's so easy just to walk in to Ukraine and in three days it's going to be his land?

Heck no!

>>Larysa: Here, as soon as the war broke out, we were trying to see - what can we do, can be helped and we were organizing a lot of fundraisers, a lot of food banks.

The Nations.

>>Nataliya: I think we've done more than 10 rallies already.

We need to talk to people to explain because everybody tired of the war.

It's so, more than one year, it's a genocide of Ukrainian Nation.

It can be like 80 percent of Ukrainian's can be killed if we will continue to have this war.

And more countries will be involved in this, in this war.

>>Larysa: This person created all the disaster.

You are free to do with this person whatever you want.

Take a piece, take a piece guys, tear it, rip it, spit on it, do whatever, that's what this person deserves.

>>Crowd Members: That's not just this person, it's Russia.

All of them, all of them, it's not only him.

>>Nataliya: Putin will never stop.

He will fight in a 76% support in Russia, support war in Ukraine.

>>Larysa: Now let us stand for one minute of silence for those who defends our land.

>>Lou DiVizio: What is it about the Ukrainian people that makes them so resilient through this?

>>Larysa: Our courage.

The willingness to fight till the end for the future of our kids.

We want to show the world that we exist.

We have our separate culture.

We have our strong nation who support each other.

>>Lou: What does democracy mean to you?

>>Larysa: Democracy, that's what we fight for and on top of our minds it's been independent.

To have freedom of speech, freedom of all their religion, rights, all the rights.

We can, we demand and not being dictated because Russia comes and tells us what to do, what kind of religion to preach and how to teach our kids.

They want to completely eliminate Ukrainian language and that's their goal to diminish our culture, our identity with who we are.

They want us to be just their marionettes and whoever don't want to go their way they just kill.

That's what they're doing right now.

They just killing merciless everyone, kids, civilians, women, they don't consider us as an independent nation.

They consider us their slaves and we are not.

We will always prove we are, we have our identity.

>>Nataliya Edelman: Ukraine is a young country with thousand years of history.

And Russia, this actually stole our history, they stole even our bush, you know it's a it's a some kind of soup.

You know, I remember um my grandmother had it's a special blouse like Larissa has, it's called the vyshyvanka.

And my grandmother put this vyshyvanka, the blouse like under you know under somewhere to make like a secret place, because if the Communists will find this kind of blouses, they can kill you.

They can kill you.

The Ukrainian poeters, they even didn't let them to write poems in a Ukrainian language.

They took them to the prisoner, torture them, killed them and I remember when I was a kid we had not many Ukrainian schools.

Were most of them Russian schools and very when people ask me here, "does Ukraine, it's a part of Russia?

Do you have your language?"

It's really like, "Yes!

We have own language, we have own culture and we're not part of Russia.

We never be part of Russia.

[Crowd Chant] >>Lou: What can we do from here to help?

>>Nataliya: First of all, I want to thanks all New Mexicans because we feel their support, we sign a couple flags, Ukrainian flags and sent to defenders and they sent us pictures when the defender just like a hug you know, himself with the flag.

They read, uh we sign you know some wishes for them, protections, we send them pictures - the kids made it and they just put in their pockets and they say they believe, they will save our lives, really, they believe in this and we gave financial support for 15 families in Ukraine because some people couldn't find a job.

Some people lost everything.

Like my classmates; his house completely destroyed and he say, "I don't know what to do."

And the many buildings are destroyed in Bucha and the next city is Serpin, there was just nightmare too and just little things.

Just, this will help, just do something small.

You don't need to have like a big project or make a big fund.

Just little things, this will help us and also it's make our hearts warm because we know we are not alone.

THE CAGED BIRD THAT SANG I'm very passionate about working in the community and also I love history.

And, so, the role as project manager for the Paul Lawrence Dunbar 150 ended up being something that fit me very well.

Um, it gave me the opportunity to really interact with the community.

And connect the community with history, the history of Dayton, through the legendary Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

The Dunbar 150 is a community approach to celebrating Paul Lawrence Dunbar and his life.

Special commemorations began actually in 2020.

And it also, um, continues until February of 2023.

So, it's been an incredible multi-year celebration of people coming together.

And, several projects have been created and there have been shows and performances and lectures.

So many things that have come out of this that have brought people together from all over the country.

Also introducing people to Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

There are too many people in Dayton that have not heard about Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

So, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, he was a phenomenon.

So, Paul Lawrence Dunbar was born right here in Dayton, Ohio in 1872.His parents were enslaved.

They both moved here to Ohio from Kentucky.

His father Joshua Dunbar escaping enslavement into Canada and deciding to fight in the Civil War after that.

Matilda Dunbar, his mother, when she came to Dayton, she actually learned how to read.

So, education was something that both Matilda and Joshua Dunbar were very passionate about.

When Paul Lawrence Dunbar was 6 years old, he started rhyming words and started putting poetry together and it became very evident that he was extremely talented, naturally talented in that way.

And, he loved books.

A lot of people know him as a poet and he definitely was a poet.

He also wrote in several different forms including short stories, novels, musicals, and songs.

He was a writer that really... he was an artist.

He was famous all around the world.

He travelled to Europe and all around the United States.

He took part in the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.

There he met Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass connected him to a lot of the pivotal figures and African American leaders during that time.

People like Charles Young -- actually, now, General Charles Young -- who led the Buffalo Soldiers.

His work was appreciated and that's why he went all around the United States and the world sharing it.

>> Paul Lawrence Dunbar is probably the most creative, the most productive and the most loving writer to ever be born in America.

And, he was the first African American to be accepted by the discipline of American literature.

Dunbar is our genius.

And, I don't want to see him covered in history.

I feel that Dunbar should be appreciated, cherished.

Paul Lawrence Dunbar was exceptional.

He wasn't a usual person; he was an exceptional person.

And, on top of all of that he had the determination to work hard at whatever he was doing >> Paul Lawrence Dunbar wrote about life.

He wrote about experiences.

And, he wrote in the voice of people.

He wrote in African American dialect.

And, in that way he just expressed the experiences that people were having, and that included themes of love, laughter, sadness, happiness, disappointment.

He talked about issues of justice.

He spoke about religion.

He spoke about families.

Um, he spoke about hatred as well.

He also addressed lynching, which was prominent during the day.

And he spoke to empower people.

Through his writings he spoke to people who were like him, not too far removed from slavery, who were figuring out life as freed individuals.

He wrote to encourage them to utilize their gifts as he did.

So, the Paul Lawrence Dunbar House, it's the last home that Paul Lawrence Dunbar lived in.

And he purchased it in 1904 for himself and his mother.

He had tuberculosis for years.

He needed a place to settle and he had the means to buy a nice place for himself and his mother.

It had everything that was needed and so much more, so this property was perfect for Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

And something that he cherished and was able to live out a comfortable life for the rest of the time that he had.

He passed away in 1906.

>> He was 33 at his death.

That house really did meet Dunbar's hopes and dreams.

The Paul Lawrence Dunbar House Site is the very first memorial to honor a Black man in America.

>> The home became a historic site in 1936.

The Paul Lawrence Dunbar House Historic Site is located on the west side of Dayton and it's not far from the Wright Dunbar Historic District.

So, if visitors could takeaway one fact or a bit of information, I would like for that to be that Paul Lawrence Dunbar was here.

Paul Lawrence Dunbar was in this community and that Paul Lawrence Dunbar was an incredible writer but more than anything that he used what was inside of him and shared that with other people.

And, that that's something that people can be inspired to do when they visit.

>> I think people like Paul are not born every day, gifted, brilliant and loving, concerned for others or about others, helpful to others.

He had so many traits that, uh, I think they should not be forgotten.

Dunbar should be revered forever and esteemed as one of the better writers in this world, period.

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"UNTIL NEXT WEEK, THANK YOU FOR WATCHING."

Funding for COLORES was provided in part by: Frederick Hammersley Fund, New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME-TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation... ...New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts... and Viewers Like You.