Juan González: Reflections on 40 Years of Fighting for Racial and Social Justice in Journalism

Democracy Now! co-host Juan González recently spoke at the Columbia School of Journalism in the first of three “farewell” speeches in New York before he moves to Chicago. Juan will also be speaking in New York on Friday, December 9, at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies and Monday, December 12, at the CUNY Grad Center. In his speech at the Columbia School of Journalism, Juan talked about his atypical journalism career and his years as a student activist and organizer with the Young Lords. Juan said, “I have been grappling now for more than 50 years — initially as an activist, then for decades as a journalist and a student of history — with the burning issue of how oppressed and marginalized people can best create and disseminate a narrative that truly reflects their lives, not just accepting the simple-minded, stereotypical and often denigrating narratives of them fashioned by those with greater power and wealth.”

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.