Today, we start with a discussion about the resignation of LA's NAACP president Leon Jenkins. What does this mean for the organization and what is its role in modern day America? Then, a couple big anniversaries this week: Union Station turns 75 and LA's Groundlings improv company turns 40. Plus, California Chrome hopes to win big at the Kentucky Derby this weekend, Carlene Carter's new album pays tribute to her musical family and more.
A look at the relevance of LA's NAACP in the wake of Leon Jenkins's resignation
Leon Jenkins, president of the L.A. chapter of the NAACP, has resigned following criticism over his plans to honor Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling with a lifetime achievement award.
The award would have been the second given to Sterling under Jenkins' watch, despite his track record of lawsuits filed for discriminatory actions and statements.
The scandal focused an unflattering spotlight on the NAACP's Los Angeles branch and Jenkins.
Ken Bensinger profiled Jenkins earlier this week for Buzzfeed and joins us to talk about what this means for the Los Angeles chapter of the organization.
The Modern-Day NAACP
And as many look at the LA chapter of the NAACP's actions, what relevance does the national group hold as an organization for civil rights? How badly does the Donald Sterling scandal tarnish their reputation? Is there still a place for this historic organization amongst a sea of other activist groups?
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, founder of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable joins us to discuss the past and future of the NAACP.
Friday Flashback: NAACP president resigns, John Boehner and more
It's the end of another week and time for the Friday Flashback, Take Two's look at the week in news. This morning we're joined by Robin Abcarian, of the Los Angeles Times, and by Jamelle Bouie of Slate.
Leon Jenkins, the head of the Los Angeles are chapter of the NAACP, steps down because of the link the organization had with disgraced Clippers owner Donald Sterling. What do we you know about Jenkins? Are you surprised that he resigned? What do you think this does to the legacy of the organization?
Last week, Speaker of the House John Boehner took the GOP to task for dragging their heels on immigration reform. This week he made another statement, saying that maybe he spoke a little too harshly and was, you know, a little misunderstood
What do we make of Mr Boehner and his assertion that the white house is now responsible for passing immigration reform?
Conservatives came out in force after Boehner's initial comments, and Congressman Mo Brooks from Alabama was quoted as saying that a group of conservative politicians will meet to strategize about immigration reform. What's the sense in DC about the likelihood that immigration reform will happen at all?
Let's leave the topic of immigration and go to something that's also on the minds of many people these days. The death penalty and lethal injections. As many know, this week in Oklahoma, the execution of convicted murderer Clayton Lockett was botched after he was given the state's new lethal injection cocktail. What happened to Lockett?
Death penalty opponents are calling this cruel and unusual punishment. Will this execution likely trigger challenges to the death penalty?
Kentucky Derby: Yuba City's California Chrome favored to win big race
Update: California Chrome won! Read all the details here.
Ladies and gentlemen, ready your exactas and adjust your hats, because the two most exciting minutes in sports arrives this weekend.
The Kentucky Derby gets underway Saturday afternoon and this year there's already a favorite in place. His name is California Chrome and he hails from Yuba City in Northern California. He enters his first Kentucky Derby entry after winning four straight stakes — including the Santa Anita Derby.
To get to know Chrome, who has since shot to stardom, we dialed up one his closest human friends, his 77-year-old trainer Art Sherman. He usually trains Chrome in Los Alamitos, but joins us on the phone from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
Interview Highlights:
How did California Chrome become the favorite?
"Well, I think it's over his last performances. He's won four straight by a margin of over 25 lengths, and his race in the Santa Anita Derby was very impressive. It was the second-fastest running of the Santa Anita Derby ever, so that was impressive."
What's he like to train?
"Oh, super horse. I wish all of them were like him to train. He's very laid back, easy to do anything with, got a very good demeanor and he's all race horse. Very nice to train.
How's he handling all the attention?
"He loves it. He loves the attention. He loves people. He's kind of like a people's horse. Nothing bothers him, there's 100 people around him today giving him a bath, he just looks at them and just all the cameras and all the flashes and he never bobbles or turns his head any which way or get nervous. He just seems to enjoy it very much."
How did California Chrome get his name?
"Well, they said that they picked it out of a hat. They put three names in and they let some waitress, said here, 'Pull this one piece of slip of paper out of the hat,' and that was one with California Chrome. Because he has a lot of Chrome on him. You know, he's got four white stocking feet, a big blaze down his front of his head, it's kind of a striking-looking horse. One thing about it, I can pick him up anytime I want to out in the track because there's not too many that look like him."
What it makes me think of, particularly here in Southern California, is the cars full of chrome. He's as fast as a car, right?
"Oh, you better believe it. He's something else. You have to enjoy the horse, he's got such a personality and don't forget he is a stud horse. He likes to bite once in a while, but not the kind that wants to savage you, you know? He's just a little playful, that's about it."
You drew post positions earlier this week and you'll be in fifth in a 20-horse field. Any thoughts about what that does for your chances of ending up in the winners' circle?
"Well, you know, I was looking back at all the records. There's been a lot of number fives winning the Kentucky Derby. The last Cal-bred to ever win the Kentucky Derby went out of the five hole, and my jock, the last derby he win he got number five, so maybe five is going to be a lucky number for us today. Don't forget, he was number five the Santa Anita Derby too."
What's the most important for your horse in the 24 hours leading up to the race?
"Well, I just want him to be healthy for one thing and just let him relax, go through the paddock, let him gallop and choose miles like he does and you know. I did all the serious working before I left California, so I'll be very satisfied if it comes out fast for Saturday."
Does he get any extra carrots?
"He gets everything a little extra. He's the big horse."
In 'Carter Girl,' Johnny Cash's stepdaughter pays tribute to her musical family
As the daughter of country legend June Carter Cash and the stepdaughter of Johnny Cash, it's as if Carlene Carter was destined to make music.
She started singing with the Carter Family when she was just 17 years old and she hasn't stopped since. Her newest album, "Carter Girl," features some great country classics:
Give Me The Roses (While I Live)
But this is the first album that Carlene's put out since 1978 that's had her family's name in the title. She recently answered why that was when she spoke with Take Two's Alex Cohen on KPCC.
"Thing was that I always knew I would make a record to honor my family's musical legacy and it was never the right time. And then right after mama passed, I felt that was too soon. But, after a nice 10 year gap I decided that it was the right time to make this record. It took a little while to make it in the sense that I had to do a lot of research.
I thought I knew a lot about the Carter family and the music, but as I got into it I realized that there were like 450 songs. So, I took the song book "In The Shadow of Clinch Mountain"... And I brought that out and I started to go through songs that I had never heard."
"Black Jack David" was one of the first songs that Carlene's grandmother taught her.
"...it took me back to a time when I was learning how to play a guitar and grandma was teaching me that little number and aunt Helen, she taught me a lot about playing the guitar."
Creating this album dredged up tons of beautiful memories for Carlene. But growing up with such a musically gifted family was anything but normal compared to what other kids grew up with.
"...I noticed that parents, actually, the daddy came home from work and they had dinner at 5 o'clock kind of stuff, and that wasn't the way it was at our house. Nobody's mom went on the road to go work. And nobody's mom was on the Grand Ole Opry. Nobody that I knew. I could say that I did used to sit at their feet and watch them practice and stand in the wings...and go I want to do that when I grow up."
Much of this album is about Carlene coming to terms with her family legacy and remembering the family that she had. Nnothing demonstrates that more than the song "Lonesome Valley 2003."
She remembers the time when she lost her mother, stepfather and sister within a very short period of time.
She explained why it took her so long to sing about it:
"It was just, my heart hurt. It was just a normal grieving for me. And I also had the added factor that everywhere I went I heard them. Mainly I'd hear John a lot. And everywhere I looked there was a video of him singing "Hurt." And my mom's in that and that would just tear me up. And you know I remember when John died I was on my way from California to his bedside and didn't make it. And I heard that he passed while I was in the airport in Salt Lake City."
But while she still misses her family, Carlene was able to perform a song with them in a way. They took old recordings of June, Johnny and her aunts, and Carlene sang with them on the track, "I Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow."
"I just remember how my aunt Helen was just smilin' every time she was playing. And my aunt Anita just singing like a bell. And mama just gettin' down in there, you know? But we recorded these songs when I was a full fledged member of the carter family and it was one of my favorite ones that I used to perform with them because it was kind of up and it had a...everybody sang a verse.
"And of course any time we were recording, John had to be there. He couldn't stand it. He just needed to be in it. So, we took it an we kept... all the voices as if they were there... I was just pretending that they were in the other room singing on a different mic. And this is how it came out, you know?"
At the end of the chat with Alex Cohen, Carlene performed two songs in studio, "Tall Lover Man" and "Gold Watch and Chain."
LA's Union Station marks 75 years with archival exhibit, free Metro passes
This weekend marks the 75th anniversary of the opening of L.A.’s landmark Union Station downtown. In May 1939, tracks opened and sent trains out into a bustling and growing Los Angeles.
A new collection of artifacts, prints and other archives can be seen — some for the first time to the public — as part of an exhibit that opens today. It's showing at the Central Library downtown and curated by the Getty Research Center.
Take Two stopped by Union Station to talk with some of the people working behind the scenes at the historic site.
We're lead through the main concourse of the station with Marlyn Musicant, lead curator for the exhibit. The new exhibition, No Further West: The Story of Los Angeles Union Station opens May 2nd at the Central Library downtown.
On Saturday, free rides from Union Station to other downtown venues will be sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation, which has partnered with Metro to help build community through public transportation. 5,000 TAP cards loaded with $3 each – enough for a round-trip fare from Union Station to other downtown venues that also are sponsoring activities on Saturday – will be distributed to the public. The hope is that people will learn how convenient it is to take Metro. Patrons can pick up the cards at the Annenberg table in Union Station’s East Portal.
TIME ranks UC Riverside as best college value in the US
Last year, President Obama announced a plan for a new way to rank colleges. He called on the nation to evaluate schools based on things like graduation rates, tuition, and the percentage of students who receive federal Pell Grants.
TIME Magazine has taken on that challenge by crunching the data for 2,500 colleges and universities and ranking them according to the proposed metrics. According to their results, the top university in the entire country is right here in southern California.
TIME's Hayley Edwards joins the show to tell us which campuses made the grade and why.
TIME's Top 10
- UC Riverside
- UC San Diego
- CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College
- UC Irvine
- CUNY Brooklyn College
- UC Davis
- Christian Brothers University
- CUNY Queens College
- William Carey University
- California State University, Long Beach
Interview Highlights:
What was President Obama calling for with these new metrics and why are they necessary?
"The White House is responding to the unsustainableness (sic) of the status quo. You have the cost of college skyrocketing, you have students returning to school, the economy is bad, people need an education, they're taking on more and more debt, they're defaulting at very high rates and there's just not enough information to know which school I should be going to that's actually going to help me get a good job."
So what was he calling on to emphasize more in terms of ranking colleges?
"The White House announced this proposal last fall, and they actually haven't said exactly what metrics they're going to use. They said they're going to focus on affordability, accessibility, things that help the nation as a whole, but a lot of people have said that that will probably focus on things like graduation rate, measuring the success of students post college, measuring the number of low income students who enroll at a college and a shorthand for that is looking at the percentage of Pell Grant recipients at a college. Although, all of this data is imperfect in different ways."
What happened once you crunched the numbers?
"My colleague, Chris Wilson, he's the interactive graphics editor at Time.com, he's brilliant. In a couple days, he took all of the data off of the IPEDS website — which is the giant database of all the federal information about college and universities — and created this really fun little tool that looks at these three different measures:
- Graduation rate: The number of students who actually get out of there with a degree in 6 years or less.
- Percentage of Pell Grant recipients: This is shorthand for students whose families make less than around $50,000 a year, around there.
- Affordability: Total net cost of that university.
If you rank all three of those with equal weight, then at the top of the list is UC Riverside."
Are you surprised that UC Riverside topped the list?
"I used to work at the Washington Monthly, which does a very similar ranking, and they look at colleges that give you the best bang for the buck, and Riverside has topped that list before, so it didn't completely blindside me."
How does this effect our perception about what makes a good school?
"I think that one of the interesting things about this tool and what Obama is trying to do, which is to shake up the way that we think a good school is. Other college ranking systems, like U.S. News and World Report and Forbes and Playboy and all of these different magazines all use different metrics to rate and rank universities.
"The White House's point is it wants to take metrics that actually serve a social good, a greater public good, like accessibility, and reward colleges for letting in more low-income students and helping them to graduate. This is also one of the major criticisms of it, is that people say people don't choose schools based on how many low income students there are there, they choose them because of their dance programs or because of an academic program that they really like."
How a new-found love of spice is changing the American palate
Flamin' Hot cheetos, canned tuna with jalapenos and Sriracha on everything.
Gone are the days of beige, bland food like meatloaf and mashed potatoes, America's palate has been turning up the heat with spice. Chefs, restaurant chains and food manufacturers are taking notice.
RELATED: Event — Make What Your Mama Gave Ya: Dishing on family eats and tradition in LA
Food and Wine Magazine's restaurant editor, Kate Krader, on how this new love of bold flavors could be destroying an appreciation for subtle flavors. Then, Take Two talks to Sarah Nassauer, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who looked at how big food manufacturers are cashing in on kicking it up a notch.
From Mars to the stage: JPL Choir explores math and music
Some of the greatest minds in science work for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena. But this weekend a group of them will turn their attention from exploring space to exploring their artsy side, as we hear from KPCC's Meghan McCarty.
LA's Groundlings improv company celebrates 40 years of yucks
If you want to make it as an improv comedian, that phrase — "Yes, and..." — is your key to keep a scene's momentum going.
What started as a small improv company here in LA has kept its own momentum going for 40 years.
In 1974, The Groundlings started out performing in a tiny basement for audiences smaller than the size of its cast. Since that time, it's spawned some of the biggest stars in comedy, like Melissa McCarthy, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Phil Hartmann, Lisa Kudrow, and others.
Take Two visited to the Groundlings' theatre in West Hollywood, on Thursday, and took the stage to get a lesson in the group's history and a lesson in improvisational acting.
Mitch Silpa is a teacher in the Groundlings' improv school and Edi Patterson's a cast member in its anniversary show, "40 is the New Groundlings."
We first wanted to know if the company has a distinct style of comedy and if they can tell when someone's been a cast member. Patterson says there's definitely a very specific Groundlings style of improv.
"There's a big emphasis on specificity in character. If you come see some characters at The Groundlings, you're not going to just see some dude. You're going to see some dude who knows what he thinks about things, he has certain opinions, he looks a certain way," said Patterson.
Silpa agrees.
"It's the difference between...playing "a corporate woman," and playing "that corporate woman" that has a specific name and the way they sit and mannerisms where you look and go, 'oh my God, I know that person, as opposed to a broad generalization of a character.'"