Hana Baba

This past Monday, Riverside County experienced a magnitude 4.7 earthquake. That’s not really news for Southern California, but this is: an earthquake detection system accurately predicted it.

The immigrant experience is meant to be a smooth one, full of promise. Ideally, people from developing countries come to America for better work, education, human rights and, overall, and a better future for their children.

However, many of these stories turn out to be not as polished as that narrative. Immigrants often need to learn a new language, navigate a new system, face realities they never have before, and find their way in a new adopted country. Their hopes are high, and sometimes they end up unmet.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. A great one is worth much more than that. Think of famous photos like the napalm girl in Vietnam, the post-depression Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange, athletes Tommy Smith and John Carlos making Black Power salutes at the 1968 Olympics, or Steve McCurry’s Afghan Girl. A picture can connect us with people and help us understand their lives. It can even help create tangible social change and a better world. 

It’s not often we hear a story of love and heartbreak – and the music that was specifically composed for it. One such story befell the 19th century composer Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann. Meghan Laslocky is author of The Little Book of Heartbreak and she shares their story of love and the music that told it with KALW’s Hana Baba.