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Juneteenth with Arise for Social Justice, author Sofi Stambo, pride words with Word Nerd

We celebrate freedom for all with a Juneteenth event that brings the community together. Arise for Social Justice has been honoring the holiday with a free celebration connecting folx of all walks of Springfield life with music, food and services they may need to thrive. Executive Director Tanisha Arena talks to us about the party they’re throwing, and her journey to this work.

We’re also looking at the immigrant experience through fiction and firsthand accounts. Restless Books has just published the award-winning collection, "People Who Live Alone Talk Too Much," which highlights the incredible intimate moments of immigrants interacting with American culture in New York. We speak with author Sofi Stambo about the appeal of short fiction and how it can connect these snapshots to something greater.

And, as Pride Month continues, we look at the language surrounding the LGBTQIA2S+ community itself with Word Nerd Emily Brewster, senior editor at Merriam-Webster, because these words have come as long a way as we have. We explore the linguistic history of “gay” and “queer,” which are just as fascinating as the folx they have represented over the centuries.

Christopher “Monte'' Belmonte is host and executive producer of NEPM's The Fabulous 413. He was born and raised in Massachusetts and has been a radio host in western Massachusetts for the last 20 years — the last 17 of them as host of Mornings with Monte on The River 93.9/WRSI.
Kaliis Smith is a radio host and producer for NEPM's The Fabulous 413.