“We Live Here” is a podcast that shares stories about race and class from St. Louis and beyond. Episodes range from investigative accountability pieces to story-based reflections with a focus on everyday people interested in racial equity.
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In this episode, we hear from a refugee who is a college student about what it’s like to learn and live through COVID-19 and we ask a social worker and an immigration attorney about what social support and legal services are needed by refugees through the pandemic and beyond. -
Advocates, public health officials, and public defenders are calling for decarceration-- reducing the number of people held in jails, prisons, and detention facilities-- as a strategy to flatten the curve and prevent massive outbreaks among people who are already vulnerable to the virus. -
We’ve seen the growth of new research, movements, and programs that center the experiences of Black people. The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on African Americans across the nation and in St. Louis raises a crucial question about how to work toward racial equity during a pandemic. -
More recently in St. Louis black-led efforts like STL Lunch and the Hands Up United Books and Breakfast program have recognized that food access is a racial equity issue and the need that arises especially when school is out of session for summer. -
The city of St. Louis made national headlines when its first 12 recorded deaths from COVID-19 were black. The peak of the first wave of cases expected to hit around the same day this episode is being released, which is why we wanted to better understand how the outbreak is touching the lives of black St. Louisans. -
In this episode, we wanted to take some time to share two interconnected and inspiring stories about healing and community in the face of xenophobia and COVID-19. -
States across the country have announced shelter-in-place orders but for many, that is not an option. The challenge for St. Louis and elsewhere is how to curb the spread of the coronavirus among people who are unhoused. -
We wanted to understand how anti-Asian xenophobia has impacted Asian Americans and Asian American-owned small businesses here in St. Louis. -
The shift to online learning for many schools can also reveal the deep economic and racial inequities that characterize schools in our hometown and yours. -
We’ll be putting a racial and economic equity lens on the outbreak of COVID-19… and recovery from it. We don’t know how this is going to play out, but what seems certain is that this crisis will hit those with the least in our society the hardest. -
St. Louis is home to the longest-running school desegregation program in the country. For generations, it has shaped the students’ lives and how they see race in one of the most segregated places in America. -
We tell you how Mayor McGee went from sharecropping in the deep south to help a group of mostly black mayors share resources in the fractured system they inherited.
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The Team
Gabriela Ramirez-Arellano
Autentico Co-Host
Before creating the We Live Here Auténtico Podcast, Gabriela worked as an educator, diplomat, community advocate, business counselor, restaurant owner, marathon runner, author, co-founder and small business owner.
Originally from Guanajuato, Mexico and inspired by her own experience growing up as an immigrant in the United States, Gabriela has a passion and commitment to help others.
Now back in St. Louis, Gabriela finds her voice helping small business owners achieve their dreams as the Executive Director at the Center for Emerging Technologies and Director of Entrepreneurship at CORTEX. Through her podcast, Auténtico, she empowers and showcases bilingual Latinx professionals and small business owners and through her work at the BALSA Foundation she promotes social equity and prosperity
Gabriela holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Missouri - Columbia and an MBA from Lindenwood University. She just graduated from the 2021 Leadership MO class and is most proud of raising amazing children who inspire her to help make the world a better place.
Alejandro Santiago Ortega
Autentico Co-Host
Alejandro Santiago Ortega is a foreign attorney and community advocate.
Alejandro received his J.D. from Universidad Anáhuac in Oaxaca, Mexico. After graduating law school, Alejandro did a Master’s Degree in U.S. Law at California Western School of Law in San Diego, California. Alejandro has worked for non-profits and law firms in many areas including real state, immigration, mediation, and contracts.
He also volunteers for several organizations in the St. Louis region, looking to create meaningful change in the community. Alejandro is committed to improving the quality of life for all in the region.
Alejandro Santiago Ortega es abogado extranjero y defensor comunitario.
Alejandro recibió su J.D. de la Universidad Anáhuac en Oaxaca, México. Después de graduarse de la facultad de derecho, Alejandro hizo una maestría en derecho estadounidense en la Facultad de Derecho de California Western en San Diego, California.
Alejandro ha trabajado para organizaciones sin fines de lucro y bufetes de abogados en muchas áreas, incluyendo bienes raíces, inmigración, mediación y contratos.
Alejandro también es voluntario de varias organizaciones en la región de St. Louis, buscando crear un cambio significativo en la comunidad. Alejandro está comprometido con mejorar la calidad de vida para todos en la región
Awards
2020 - Empower Missouri Media Award
2019 - Kaleidoscope Award
2020 - Empower Missouri Media Award
Contact Us
Have episode ideas or feedback? We'd love to hear from you.
welivehere@stlpr.org
We Live Here is a co-production of St. Louis Public Radio and PRX, funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
