Sandhya Dirks
Sandhya Dirks is the race and equity reporter at KQED and the lead producer of On Our Watch, a new podcast from NPR and KQED about the shadow world of police discipline. She approaches race and equity not as a beat, but as a fundamental lens for all investigative and explanatory reporting.
Dirks covers policing, housing, social justice movements, and the shifting demographics of cities and suburbs. She's the creator and co-host of the podcast American Suburb, about the transformation of suburbia into the most diverse space in American life. She was the editor for Truth Be Told, an advice show for and by people of color. Her stories about race, space, and belonging were part of KQED's So Well Spoken project, which won RNDTA's Kaleidoscope award, honoring outstanding achievements in the coverage of diversity.
Prior to joining KQED in 2015, Dirks covered the 2012 presidential election from the swing state of Iowa for Iowa Public Radio. At KPBS in San Diego, she broke the story of a sexual harassment scandal that led to the mayor's resignation. She got her start in radio working on documentaries about Oakland that investigated the high drop-out rate in public schools and mistrust between the police and the community. Dirks lives in Oakland and believes all stories are stories about power.
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Sikh activists marched 350 miles across California in October to mark the 40th anniversary of a massacre and call for protections from what they say is a growing threat from the Indian government. -
In swing states like Georgia, growing numbers of South Asians could make a difference this election. So how do they feel about the woman some call "Lotus POTUS?" -
The NAACP this week launched a sweeping ad campaign to mobilize Black voters in swing states. One ad addresses young Black men -- a key demographic for the Harris campaign.
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Chicago is home to the largest population of Palestinian Americans in the U.S. Is the community optimistic that having the DNC in town amplifies their concerns? -
A coalition of demonstrators in support of the Palestinian cause are protesting outside of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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Scholars say Trump’s false claim that Harris “turned Black” isn't a new racial conspiracy theory. -
Cash payments to Black descendants of the formerly enslaved have been a key part of the reparations movement. California lawmakers have set aside $12 million, but cash payments aren’t in the plan.
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Rising crime in Oakland, Calif., is widening a divide between some Black activists who disagree over what and who are responsible.
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Sikhs in California will vote in a referendum to push for their own independent state in India -
More than a year after a Southern California school district banned the teaching of critical race theory, some Temecula Valley Unified students say it's resulted in more racism.
