Subjects: Guidance

The fastest growing religion in the U.S. is Islam; it is also one of the most controversial as a result of 9/11. Studio Guest: Imam Kifah Mustapha (from a Mosque located in Bridgeview, IL) who is also the Associate Director of The Mosque Foundation and Dr. Aminah Beverly McCloud, a Professor of Islamic Studies at DePaul University. Video Inserts: Dr. Azizan Baharuddin from the Centre for Civilizational Dialogue at the University of Malaysia, and a mini-case study on the Islamic community in Waukegan, Illinois.

This program features a segment on the Amish community in Indiana and a profile of Italians in America, looking at their struggles in the past and their dreams for the future. Studio Guest: historian and film maker Dominic Candeloro. Video Inserts: Mini-Case Study on the Amish in the U.S.; and film clips from the movie And They Came to Chicago: The Italian American Legacy.

A view of Americans with mixed ethnic/racial heritage. Studio Guest: Robin Tillmon, President of the Bi-racial Family Network (BFN) in the Chicago area and the child of an inter-racial marriage and Eric Glenn, the product of mixed-race parents. Video Inserts: Creole culture in New Orleans; and an “inter-racial” couple, Diane and Reggie Alsbrook, who live off the grid in New Mexico.

Examines ethnocentric views which fuel a great deal of decision-making in this in regards to where people live, work, and worship. Video Inserts: Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and a segment from the HBO documentary film, Hate.Com: Extremists on the Internet; David Duke, a White racialist with international connections; and Liebe Geft, a leader at the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance.

Explore the world of Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexuals, and the Transgendered. Studio Guest: Sylvia and Gysbert Menninga, parents of a gay child; Tamara McClatchey, a lesbian professional; and Dr. Alan Sanders, a researcher from the University of Chicago. Video Inserts: None

People with disabilities are one of the largest special interest groups in our society and yet one with the lowest visibility. Studio Guest: Robin Sweeney, Disabilities Coordinator for Governors State University and one of her advisees, Marion Kaes, a student at GSU. Video Inserts: Hiram Zayas; and Lenda Hunt.

Examine age issues from young to old and their social consequences. Studio Guest: Sally Furhmann, Director of the Rich Township Senior Center, Pat Klein, Youth Director for Richton Park’s Youth and Family Center; and Kenneth Kramer, President of the Park Forest Chapter of AARP. Video Inserts: Age Old Stereotypes; Adult Day Care Center.

The Republic of South Africa is one of the world’s newest democracies; it provides a unique mirror image of the U.S. at various in times in its history. Studio Guest: Machiel van Niekerk, Consul from the South African Consulate-General in Chicago Video Inserts: Wilmont James of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) and Charles Villa-Vicencio who worked for the Truth in Reconciliation Committee (TRC); Coloreds in South Africa; and students at the Cecil B. Rhodes High School.

A review of many of the essential topics we have explored. Studio Guest: Dr. Robert D. Martin, Curator of Anthropology at the Field Museum in Chicago. Video Inserts: Jehovah’s Witnesses headquarters in New York; and Maurice Ashley, the first African American International Grand Chess Master in the world.

Explore your peers’ and your own individual ethnic/racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds.