Tag Archives: Enrique Cerna

Features

‘Chino Y Chicano’ Podcast Centers POC Stories in Seattle

by Ronnie Estoque

Matt Chan and Enrique Cerna are award-winning storytellers with decades of experience in the television industry. They met in 1978 when they both worked at KING 5, and have maintained a strong bond that has lasted nearly 45 years. While they worked within different capacities over their careers and only rarely collaborated, they decided in 2020 to join forces and to create Chino Y Chicano, a podcast that centers the stories of People of Color living in Seattle. 

Continue reading ‘Chino Y Chicano’ Podcast Centers POC Stories in Seattle →
Voices

OPINION: WSU Moves On From Cougar Coach Vaccine Embarrassment

by Enrique Cerna

At Washington State University (WSU), it will be long remembered as Black Monday. 

Monday, Oct. 18, the day state employees were required to meet a state mandate to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. It was also the day that football coach Nick Rolovich and four assistants were terminated for failing to meet the mandate. It was a painful day, not only for the coaches who lost their jobs, but also for the players, university administrators, students, and alumni.

Continue reading OPINION: WSU Moves On From Cougar Coach Vaccine Embarrassment →
Voices

Chino Y Chicano Podcast: Girmay Zahilay

by Enrique Cerna and Matt Chan

A couple of retired guys that spent their careers making television dish on the good, bad, and ridiculousness of life for People of Color in America. They tear apart the news of the week, explore the complexities of race, and talk to people far more interesting than they will ever be.

Girmay Zahilay joins the Chino Y Chicano to talk about his first year and a half on the King County Council. It has been a rollercoaster of crises from COVID-19 to police violence and racial justice protests, a growing homelessness and gun violence problem, and now a reopening of the state as vaccination efforts continue. Zahilay reflects on a council experience that so far has been full of emotion, and unpredictability.

Continue reading Chino Y Chicano Podcast: Girmay Zahilay →
Voices

Life on the Margins Special Episode: Pandemic, Racial Justice and the Arts

by Enrique Cerna, Jini Palmer, and Marcus Harrison Green

Episode Summary

We look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial justice movement on artists and performers in communities of color. We talk with writer and author Reagan Jackson, Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna plus singer and “The Voice” alum Stephanie Anne Johnson. Each brings a unique perspective on how this year of pandemic and social change has affected them personally and professionally. Continue reading Life on the Margins Special Episode: Pandemic, Racial Justice and the Arts →

Voices

Life on the Margins Episode 5: The Movement for Change

1 Comment

by Enrique Cerna, Jini Palmer, and Marcus Harrison Green

Episode Summary

The movement for change rolls on. On this episode, we look at the creation of Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest. After recent protests, some peaceful, some not, #CHOP took root as Seattle police abandoned its East Precinct. We also talk with Elmer Dixon, co-founder of Seattle’s Black Panther in the late 60’s, another time of major civil unrest in Seattle and the nation. He shares his thoughts on the similarities of that time and the present. And we meet educator and artist Aileen Granstrom, one of 200 artists who have contributed their time and skills to create murals with messages in the Seattle Chinatown International District.

Continue reading Life on the Margins Episode 5: The Movement for Change →

Voices

Life on the Margins Special Episode: It Can Happen Here, Too

by Enrique Cerna, Jini Palmer, and Marcus Harrison Green

In this special edition of Life on the Margins, we probe deeply into the case of Manuel Ellis, a Black Tacoma man who died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody on March 3rd, 2020. The investigation into his death was seemingly dormant until it roared into the public spotlight this week after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee demanded a full investigation into the 33-year-old’s death. Since then, video footage of his fateful encounter with police, along with an audio recording of him saying the words “I can’t breathe,” have led the mayor of Tacoma to call for the firing of the four officers involved in the case. Continue reading Life on the Margins Special Episode: It Can Happen Here, Too →

Voices

Life on the Margins Episode 3: Communities of Color and the Covid-19 Pandemic

2 Comments

by Enrique Cerna, Jini Palmer, and Marcus Harrison Green

A public health study reveals that King County has significant racial disparities in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. Among Latinos, the study shows the virus death rate is two and a half times higher than white people. The study mirrors what is happening nationally as communities of color are being hit hard by the coronavirus. In episode 3 we break down the data in King County with Matias Valenzuela, equity officer for Seattle-King County Public Health, and we also meet registered nurse Jessica Esparza; an ICU nurse at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, who is risking her life to save others amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading Life on the Margins Episode 3: Communities of Color and the Covid-19 Pandemic →

Voices

Life on the Margins Episode 2: The Better Angels of the COVID-19 Pandemic

1 Comment

by Enrique Cerna, Jini Palmer, and Marcus Harrison Green

Amid the death and turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic, people are stepping up to aid their community with humanity and compassion. We introduce you to coffee shop owner Luis Rodriguez and volunteer Maria Lamarca Anderson who show us why giving is so important in these difficult times. Plus, we begin a new segment “For Real Though” that examines society’s absurdities, ridiculousness, and injustices that are leaving us in a state of disbelief, and making us ask “but, for real though?”

Continue reading Life on the Margins Episode 2: The Better Angels of the COVID-19 Pandemic →
Voices

Life on the Margins Episode 1: Racial Politics and the Coronavirus Pandemic

by Enrique Cerna, Jini Palmer, and Marcus Harrison Green

We planned to wait for ideal production conditions, but giving a platform to the voices who need it most can’t wait (and if John Legend can perform from his living room, why can’t we)! The South Seattle Emerald, in partnership with Town Hall Seattle, is pleased to present the debut episode from our pilot season of Life On the Margins. Every other week, Enrique Cerna, Jini Palmer, and Marcus Harrison Green will strive to empower, elevate, and amplify stories not just about marginalized communities, but from within, and alongside them. We hope you enjoy listening (Jini and Marcus’s mics are thankfully in the mail)! Continue reading Life on the Margins Episode 1: Racial Politics and the Coronavirus Pandemic →