Women’s Right to Vote in New Mexico and Recap of COVID Conversations

New Mexico in Focus begins its 14th season with a look back at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic since it first hit the state in March, and a look forward from the time women won the right to vote 100 years ago.

As part of an online preview screening this week of the PBS program “American Experience: The Vote,” correspondent Megan Kamerick led a conversation about the history of women’s suffrage in New Mexico. Kamerick is hosting a new podcast series on the topic. NMiF excerpts a portion of that discussion. More information on both the national program (airing July 6 and 7 on NMPBS) and the local podcast can be found here.

For the rest of the show, NMiF highlights noteworthy segments from the past four months, including a May 8 conversation with Sec. Kathyleen Kunkel of the Department of Health on the state’s efforts to ramp up and maintain COVID-19 testing. Two months later, similar questions remain about whom to test and how often.

Throughout the pandemic, correspondent Laura Paskus has been interviewing journalists around the state as they cover COVID-19 in their communities. On May 22, she spoke with two veteran border journalists, Bob Moore of the website El Paso Matters and Lauren Villagran of the El Paso Times, about the impact of the virus in El Paso, which is in the midst of a major outbreak just across New Mexico’s southern border.

Correspondent Antonia Gonzales has been examining the pandemic’s effect on Native communities, which have been among the hardest hit by the virus. On May 15, she spoke with journalist Sunnie Clahchischiligi and Lewis Joe, a Navajo COVID-19 survivor.

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panelists have been discussing and debating public health reactions to the pandemic crisis since the first case hit the state in March. Key excerpts from panel conversations on March 13 and March 27 are shown.

Host: Gene Grant

In Focus Interviews:
“American Experience: The Vote” / Local Leaders on Women Winning Voting Rights (New!)
Correspondent: Megan Kamerick
Guests: Dr. Sylvia Ramos Cruz, women’s suffrage historian
Martha Burk, political psychologist and author of “Your Voice, Your Vote”
Pamelya Herndon, attorney and CEO of the KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change
Meredith R. Machen, director, League of Women Voters of New Mexico

Testing New Mexicans for COVID-19 (May 8)
Correspondent: Matt Grubs
Guests: Sec. Kathyleen Kunkel, New Mexico Department of Health

COVID-19 in El Paso (May 22)
Correspondent: Laura Paskus
Guests: Bob Moore, president and CEO, ElPasoMatters.org
Lauren Villagran, reporter, El Paso Times

COVID-19 Survival and Recovery on the Navajo Nation (May 15)
Correspondent: Antonia Gonzales
Guests: Lewis Joe, Navajo citizen, COVID-19 survivor Sunnie Clahchischiligi, Navajo journalist and UNM doctoral student 

The Line Opinion Panel
The Line Look Back (March 13)
Panelists: Merritt Allen, Vox Optima
Andy Lyman, reporter, New Mexico Political Report
Sophie Martin, attorney
Dan McKay, reporter, Albuquerque Journal

The Line Look Back (March 27)
Panelists: Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group PR  
Laura Sanchez, attorney