>> good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight. as russia moves toward the east in ukraine, we sit down with the ukranian foreign minister, and explore the profound resilience of the ukrainian people. then. with new figures showing inflation at a historic high, a report on why some corporations are reporting record profits. >> what we're seeing in this moment is really when that profit maximization and opportunitcollide. and the opportunity is the cover of inflation. >> and. 91-year old artist faith ringgold, who fought for change in the art world, is celebrated with an exhibtion of her work at the new museum in new york. all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour."

>> landscape is changed but not for the last time. the rules of business are being reinvented with a more flexible workforce by looking at current opportunities and ahead to future once. resilience is the ability to pivot again and again for what happens next. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering plants to help people do more of what they like. our customer service team can help find a plan for you.

>> with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. >> we have two major stories tonight. the russians are

concentrating more of their forces in the south and the east in ukraine. more on that in a moment. but first. here at home, inflation numbers released today by the u.s. labor department show prices up in nearly every consumer category but especially energy costs. president biden traveled to the midwest to explain how his administration is going to try to help ease the pain at the pump for americans. soaring inflation fueled by record-high gas prices brought president biden to the heartland today. speaking in menlo, iowa he told americans he gets the economic pain they're feeling. >> i'm doing everything within my power to bring down the price. >> the president left washington this morning hours after the labor department released its monthly price report, painting a bleak picture: in march, inflation was up 8.5% from a year ago that's the

sharpest increase since 1981. it's felt across the economy: at the grocery store, where the cost of meat, poultry, fish and eggs is up 14%. and dairy products up 7%. clothing prices are also up 7%. and at the gas station a stunning 48% increase in the past year. >> on june 1, you're not going to show up at your gas station. >> the president focused today on energy - announcing that his administration would allow the salef gas made with 15-percent ethanol from june to september. the cheaper blend of gasoline known as e-15 - is usually banned in the summer when driving rates peak to prevent air pollution. >> even if it's another dollar or two, it will make a

difference in people's lives. >> today the president argued rising costs made worse by russia's invasion of ukraine - call for emergency action. the administration predicts that the use of e-15 this summer could save drivers 10 cents per gallon of gas it remains to be seen how much this move - combined with the release of millions of barrels from the strategic petroleum reserve - will blunt inflation's costly rise. to help explain what's behind the numbers, i'm joined by david wessel. he's the director of the hutchins center on fiscal and monetary policy at the brookings institution. welcome back. you have been digging into these numbers. tell us what you're seeing. >> definitely prices are way up. energy prices are one but not

the only driver. while there is no denying that inflation is uncomfortably high, there is a glimmer of hope in these numbers. for one thing, energy prices are down from their peak. secondly, the price of goods felt. in part because people who were not going to the movie theater or traveling or buying a lot of stuff but that is now starting to ease, it is a sign that the problems in the supply chain might be easing. second, they like to look at the underlying cause of inflation. that measure rose less in march than any of the previous five months. a sign the worst is behind us. >> by goods, you mean anything people are buying.

>> absolutely. used car prices, they have been up more than ready%, they fell nearly 4% in march assignment maybe that's beginning to shift. >> overall, we do see prices going up. what are the main factors driving? what else can wait point a finger at? >> there's a lot of demand in the economy and supply-side has not be able to adjust for that. one reason we have so much demand is we had a big fiscal stimulus and the american rescue plan and that is contributed to the demand in the economy. people got a lot of money, they saved it and they have been spending. on the supply side, we have a lot going on. the kinks in the supply chain, things that are affecting the ability of car producers to produce new cars.

the russian invasion of ukraine has driven up energy prices. also, the supply of workers has been constrained. there were people in the labor force before the pandemic that have not come back yet. the reason we have inflation is there's a lot of demand, not a lot of supply and that is causing prices to go up. >> how much can president biden or any lawmakers, how much difference can they make taking the edge off of this? >> taking the edge off is a good phrase. the people that will recognize will say that the president has taken $.10 off the price of gasoline. there isn't much that he can do. i don't think any of the things they have done wide up to very much. one thing they could do but they

are reluctant to do is to repeal the trump tariffs that are rising the present imports in the united states. this is largely going to fall on the federal reserve. the federal reserve is going to raise interest rates a lot this year in the hopes of making it harder for people in businesses to borrow and for them to demand less in goods and fewer services in hopes that that will equilibria the economy. >> people are bracing for the higher interest rates. when president biden points to vladimir putin and says so much of this is his fault, how much of that is accurate? >> there is something to that. basically, we had an inflation problem for russia invaded ukraine. we had too much demand in the economy, so many supply problems related to covid or other things that had nothing to do with the invasion of ukraine.

on top of that, now we have the surge in oil prices, gasoline prices, food prices that are clearly triggered. it got started before vladimir putin, but he is making it worse. gasoline prices were up 18% in march. that is almost entirely because of the russian invasion of ukraine. >> these are sobering numbers and it's helpful to have this kind of explanation. thank you. ♪ >> russian president vladimir putin said today his war in ukraine will continue until it has achieved goals he set forth, and he insisted all was going to plan despite dogged ukrainian resistance that forced the russians to retreat from an

assault on the capital, kyiv. meantime, ukrainian officials said they are investigating the possible use of a chemical agent against their troops in mariupol, where the mayor said today twenty-one thousand people have been killed during the ongoing siege. on that trip to iowa this afternoon, president biden had some of his harshest words yet for putin, and tied the war to america's energy crisis: >> none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away." >> the administration had previously made a point of not labelling russian killings in ukraine "genocide", instead calling out russian "war crimes". before mr. biden spoke, but after putin's remarks this morning, special correspondent simon ostrovsky sat down with ukraine's foreign minister, dmytro kuleba, in kyiv.

>> the question on everybody's mind is how can the world help ukraine? what hasn't the united states? what hasn't the euro-atlantic alliance done yet in order to support ukraine in its fight in this war with russia? >> well, there are three ways to help ukraine here and now. the first one is to provide ukraine with all necessary weapons. second is to impose the harshest sanctions on russia. third, to provide ukraine ukraine with macro-financial assistance that will help us to keep the economy afloat because we are at war. >> what is the urgency of weapons supplies right now? why do you need these weapons now and not later? >> in the beginning. you hear 'no'. this is not going to happen. then you hear, ok, we will give you this, but this is it. we cannot give it anything more. then you break this wall

again and then people tell you, ok, you can get this as much as you need, but you cannot get that because it's too sophisticated or it's offensive not defensive. in the end, we get everything but the time between the initial question that we asked and the moment when we get it is wasted and the price that we pay is human lives, destroyed houses and villages and the war taking place in ukraine. >> you said that eventually ukraine always gets what it asked for, but there's a lapse in time. well, what about those mig jets that poland promised and nato and the united states blocked. >> two weeks ago the the the real message that i was receiving about it was "impossible." two days ago, the message was we are working on it. and that's just to reinforce my point that in the end, we get

what we need. >> we've been looking at the atrocities that were perpetrated by russia while they occupied areas around kiev. and it's just horrible to imagine what's happening in the areas that are still occupied by russia right now. >> it will be much worse. but the situation in mariupol is much worse. the situation in the occupied donbas in the occupied south up south of ukraine is also very bad but after the massacre of butcher, russia, of course, will try to conceal evidence and traces of its atrocities in the in the currently occupied territories. >> what do you say to critics who want to see a negotiated solution with russia, who criticize the supply of weapons to ukraine because they believe that it will escalate the conflict? >> well, the perfect case scenario for russia would be disarmed. ukraine raped, tortured, killed by a russian army, and no one is coming to

help her. and when you hear statements like this, like the one that you mentioned, this is exactly what russia wants to do, it wants to have. it's not the west who provides us with weapons who launched the war. it's not western soldiers who commit crimes and atrocities in ukraine to provide ukraine with weons is actually to prevent further escalation. because the stronger we are, the more careful russia will be in launching its next attacks. >> do you think there is an opportunity for a negotiated settlement? vladimir putin today said that peace talks have reached a dead end. >> i don't think that the deal can be signed now as we see how russia is unfolding its offensive operation in donbas. i

think the moment for negotiations will be after the end of the battle for donbas, when both sides will understand the prospect of this war. >> i've heard it said that an energy embargo on russia would end its appetite for war in a matter of months. do you believe that? >> well within within days, maybe weeks. >> why are you so confident of that? >> because war needs money, we analyzed russia's revenues. i don't think you have to be a rocket scientist to understand where the money come from and they all come from oil and gas. all the sanctions that have been imposed today are important, but their true effect will be will be felt in mid-term and long term perspective. if they run out of gas and oil revenues, their economy will be in tatters and their war machine

will simply will simply stumble. if they see that we are weak, if we see if they see that we don't have weapons to defend ourselves. of course this they will be tempted to move further to advance. >> let's talk about a peace agreement. is ukraine willing to make territorial concessions to russia in order to achieve a peace settlement? >> no. ukraine will not make russia in order to achieve peace settlement. i'm copy pasting your question in my answer to avoid any misunderstandings or double double interpretations. >> but surely i mean, some people watching this program will find it unbelievable to imagine that ukraine will give no territorial concessions in order to achieve peace to end the war. they'll say it's not realistic to expect the war to end without some kind of a territorial concession. >> i can tell to those people

that since 2014, the recipe that was, uh, the recipe of ending the war that was proposed to us by our partners, including the united states at that time was make a concession here. and putin will step back, make a concession there, and it will pacify putin, and it never worked. stop looking for excuses, why not to help ukraine? and stand by us to make putin concede. not ukraine. >> your position seems to be there's only two ways for this war to end either ukraine wins or ukraine loses. >> no, no. there is one way for this war to end. it's ukraine wins. everything else is just tactics. >> mr. foreign minister, thank you for speaking with the news hour. >> my pleasure.

>> among the cities hit hardest by the russian invasion is harr'kiv, once ukraine's second-largest city. it has suffered relentless shelling, and is devoid of many of its people. but a core remains, some to fight, others with no other choice, and still others trying to save what's left. special correspondent jack hewson and filmmaker ed ram just left harr'kiv, which sits a short drive from russia, and they sent us this look at a resilient city and its people. >> a refrain to rally the faithful. amid the destruction "the glory and freedom of ukraine has not yet perished" begins ukraine's national anthem cellist denis karachevtsev plays for an audience of none here in the kharkiv's battered city center those that remain find solace and resistance wherever they can lifting morale for the shellshocked

this is a message to our people we have no fear - war is a terrible thing but we are all trying to do something helpful . >> down the road group of volunteers has joined the war effort: by sandbagging a monument of nike, the greek goddess of victory. it honours the declarati of ukrainian independence from the soviet union in 1991 a totem of ukraine's slow de-russification since independence, ukrainians identifying as ethnic russians has dropped from 22% to 17. but does this mean ukrainians have a problem with ethnic russians or russian speakers? >> "how? we treat each other normally! we understand each other, they understand us in ukrainian, we understand them in russian. we treat each other okay. we never had to insult

each other because of russian nationality. we don't do that." >> despite what peter says, anti-russian sentiment is growing across the country. but in majority russian-speaking kharkiv, it's clear this is not an ethnic conflict. the people of kharkiv share much culturaldentity with those across the border, just 20 miles away. for peter it is not russia or russians that are the problem, it's vladimir putin. >> "i want to tell you from the bottom of my heart: this man is a reptile, not a human. during the world war ii, the fascists didn't act like he has take a look how many children have been killed one moment please it is very sad to seeit is very sad to see all of this" >> putin's invasion has only strengthened, ukrainian national identity historian volodymyr "when your house is being bombed when they take your property

from you when you see the dead you start recognising your identity in a different way." >> nikitrozhenko shows us round the remnants of a recently bombed chocolate factory, an ethnic russian, he embodies the shift in thinking that has taken place since the start of the war >> "i was standing for independent ukraine but for friendly neighbourship with russia as well at that time later russian propaganda became harder and harder" >> nikita was formerly a city councillor for a pro russian party, but since the invasion has abandoned his russian politics and joined the ukrainian army. >> "still i'm ukrainian but now nobody wants to be friends with russia anymore. same as me" "[russians] please come here if you dare we'll send you back in plastic bags but better do not come here to end this ongoing bullshit, and we canove on" >> sheltering from the violence

above, an estimated 15,000 have made a temporary home of the city's subway system. the psychological strain has been huge, exacerbated by the loss of kinship with whom they once had so much in common. for some the shock is still sinking in. >> "we were like neighbours, i'm a russian-speaking too and no one could think that all can begin from there i just can't comprehend why our relations gone so bad so he decide to destroy us, a peaceful people who got to suffer especially children is suffering and so painful to see how these chdren are dying because of person like putin" >> children like ludmila's son igor, are growing up with a different understanding of russians: as a dangerous enemy. >> "we're just try to support kids so they won't see this mess, have no fear and feel no

misfortune, try to lift them up with our fighting spirit and not to lose our hearts that's the way, isn't it?" >> amid the gloom and confusion, the people of kharkiv lift their spirits by whatever means they can because resilience, now, is also a part of ukraine's evolving sense of identity for the pbs newshour, i'm jack hewson in kharkiv, ukraine. >> the newshour's coverage of the war in ukraine is supported in partnership with the pulitzer center. in the day's other news: police in new york are looking for the gunman who opened fire on a subway train this morning. at least 10 people were shot and 19 others hurt. william brangham reports.

some of the images are graphic. >> the sunset park subway station as passengers fled the gunfire. the rampage left smoke and wounded people on the platform. the commissioner described what happened on the train. >> >> just before 8:24 this morning, as a manhattan-bound n train waited to enter the 36th street station, an individual on that train donned what appeared to be a gas mask. he then took a canister out of his bag and opened it. the train at that time began to fill with smoke. he then opened fire striking multiple people on the subway and in the platform. >> sewell said the incident is not being investigated as terrorism t this time, but she also didn't rule anything out.

the suspect was described as a 5 foot 5 heavyset black man. this evening, he was still at large. high school freshman john butsikares was riding the subway on the way to school when the shooting began a few train cars down from him. >> it was scary. i didn't know what was happening. it was everyone pked on the train. people were scared no one knew what happened. >> yahya ibrahim works near the subway and saw people streaming out of the station after the attack. >> one of them was injured. i believe it was a lady gettin' shot right in her leg. a lot of people was coming out from side to side screaming, yelling, asking for help. >> officials have now increased police presence at transportation hubs from washington d-c to connecticut, even though there is no evidence the suspect was coordinating with others. the white house says president biden was briefed on the incident. this afternoon, it was reported that police were looking for a u-haul truck with arizona plates in connection with the shooting. in israel: police say an officer shot and killed a palestinian man who

stabbed him at a security check early today. >> it was the latest in a spate of deadly confrontations. israeli forces also confirmed they've arrested 20 suspects across the occupied west bank. the raids follow attacks in israel that have killed 14 people. more than 6 and a-half million people in shanghai, china began venturing outside today after a 2-week "covid" lockdown. they were allowed to leave their homes and shop for food and medicine. but, they were limited to their own neighborhoods. meanwhile, the u-s consulate in shanghai is sending non-emergency staffers home. officials today cited concerns about how the lockdown is being administered. >> we have moved from authorized departure to ordered departure because of the scale of the covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions that have been placed by prc authorities on people in shanghai including our diplomats and their families.

>> the chinese foreign ministry charged that washington is using the pandemic to smear and discredit china. british prime minister boris johnson faces fresh calls to resign after being fined today for violating pandemic restrictions. it involves office parties during strict "covid" curbin 2020 and 2021. johnson's wife and finance minister are also being fined. the prime minister said today he understands public anger, but intends to stay in office. back in this country: new york lieutenant governor brian benjamin has resigned after being arrested in a fedel corruption investigation. he pleaded not guilty today to taking bribes from a developer to steer grant money to a non-profit group. benjamin was a democratic state senator at the time. >> we also allege that benjamin repeatedly lied cover up the bribery scheme, including by falsifying campaign forms and misleading city regulators. and we allege that benjamin

repeatedly lied on the vetting forms that he filled out before he was appointed lieutenant governor. that's a cover up. >> governor kathy hochul made benjamin her second-in-command last fall, after she replaced andrew cuomo as governor. on wall street today: the new inflation numbers undercut early momentum on the stock market. the dow jones industrial average lost 87 points to closet 34-thousand-220. the nasdaq fell 40 points. the s-and-p 500 slipped 15. and, actor and comedian gilbert gottfried has died of heart trouble caused by a rare muscle disease. his raw voice and crude humor first gained notice in the 1980's, on stage, t-v and movies. he also did extensive voice work, notably as the parrot "iago" in disney's "aladdin". gilbert gottfried was 67 years old. still to come on the "newshour". a look into how big

corporations' profits are keeping up with soaring prices. a new report finds gains and losses in the "state of black america". artist faith ringgold's six decades of work is highlighted a new exhibition. and much more. despite rising inflation, major u.s. corporations are reporting record profits, as companies pass rising supply chain costs onto consumers. economics correspondent paul solman explores whether concentrated market power is contributing to inflation. >> corporations are raising prices even as they rake in

record profits. >> prices at the pump have gone up, why? let me give you a hint senator elizabeth warren. this isn't about inflation. this is about price gouging. >> this is a charge that pops up in lots of places, even on my twitter feed. so, do the facts justify the outrage? we, you've heard the standard causes of covid inflation: government stimulus money; a tight labor market driving up wages; clogged supply chains imports anchored offshore. and now, to top it off, russia's invasion of ukraine goosing oil, gas and wheat prices. but if all this explains an inflation rate that's just reached 10% for businesses (the producer price index), how come profits have risen even more? >> over the past year, companies' net margins have risen to record highs and net margins are expected to rise again over the next year. nearly 100 of the biggest u.s. publicly traded companies booked

2021 profit margins that were at least 50 percent higher than their 2019 levels. >> and 2019 was pre-pandemic; the economy, solid, inflation, low. so, why the profit hike? >> the ceo of kroger recently said >> "a little bit of inflation is always good in our business." >> lindsay owens runs a progressive economic think tank that scours the earnings calls corporations hold for stock analysts and investors like this one, from constellation brands, which sells beer, wine and spirits. >> we're going to look at this on a market-by-market basis, brand-by-brand basis, and we'll take as much pricing as we think the consumer can absorb. >> one of my favorite examples is tyson foods. >> purveyor of one out of every five pounds of beef, chicken and pork sold in the u.s. here's tyson's chief financial officer on their latest quarterly results. >> "our pricing actions led to approximately $2.1 billion in sales and price/mix benefits during the quarter. which offset the higher cost of goods sold of $1.6 billion."

>> in other words says owens >> our pricing is taking into account both the cost of raw materials and the cost of labor, but more than offsetting it. and that more than offsetting it is that additional profit that they're able to bring in. >> but profits sank when covid hit, say companies like tyson. this is just making up for lost time nothing but an extreme, short-term business cycle. >> capitalism requires greed to run. >> economist noah smith. >> corporations are always greedy. their greed dial is always set to absolute maximum. and the idea that eliorating greed would have any effect on inflation is wrong. and i made fun of it by making the following chart. >> smith, a liberal, mocks the idea that newfound greed explains the inflation surge with a tonguin-cheek "greed index" chart. >> and i labeled the rises in inflation as rising greed and the drops in inflation as

falling greed. >> which would imply rising corporate generosity. >> the reason this is a joke is because the big drop in inflation in the 80s would have to be caused by surges in corporate altruism, the altruism of gordon gekko and the 80s people. >> greed is good. >> yes, that gordon gekko. >> greed works. >> so, back to the original question: if corporate america is no greedier than ever, how come profits have soared? >> what we're seeing in this moment is really when that profit maximization and opportunity collide. and the opportunity is the cover of inflation. >> aha: the "opportunity" caused by the pandemic. and when companies like tyson blame higher costs, as their ceo has? >> "labor costs have gone up 20%, cattle costs are up 22% and freight's up 32%. we're not asking customers or the consumer ultimately to pay for our inefficiencies. we're asking them to pay for inflation." >> woe is me. we have no choice

but to raise our prices. our labor costs are goinup, our inputs. our inputs! >> but in reality, companies aren't being forced to raise prices because of inflation. they're raising prices because they can. >> and why can they now, with so little resistance? i asked >> inflation sort of disguises these price increases. when prices for everything around you are rising, it's much easier for companies to raise their prices and not experience that consumer blowback. >> the point is, when consumers come to expect inflation, the process can begin to feed on itself. >> companies know that consumers expect higher prices right now and ey're really seeing how far they can push that. >> and, says robert reich, wall street is egging them onsaying >> look, this is a great time to raise your prices, keep your margins, even raise your profit margins. and of course, those wall streeters are saying the same thing to everybody else in the industry.

>> but in a competitive market economy, won't newcomers emerge offering lower prices? that's a lot less likely these days, >> 7percent of all american industries have become more concentrated in the last two decades. most are now dominated by a handful of corporations that coordina prices and production. this is true of banks, broadband, pharmaceutical companies, airlines, meatpackers >> you got four basic meat packing facilities. and you pay a hell of a lot more because there's only four. >> now it's not literally just 4, but 4 dominate the market. and it's not just meat: >> see what's happening with ocean carriers. during the pandemic, about half a dozen foreign-owned companies raised prices by as much as 1,000 percent and made record profits. >> the traditional check on consolidation, of course, is anti-trust enforcement. (reich worked at the federal trade commission in the 1970s. )

>> antitrust used to be a real thing but since the early 1980s, antitrust has taken a backseat. in fact, se would say it's been thrown out of the car altogether, and big companies now routinely have the power to raise prices. customers will note that there is almost an exact price matching among all major so-called competitors because they're not really competing. >> so, what is to be done? >> tonight, i'm announcing a crackdown on those companies overcharging american businesses and consumers. >> a crackdown on the shipping industry by regulators. >> if they identify that there is market manipulation or price gouging going on. >> the president's national economic advisor, brian deese. >> and the agencies have now commitd to partnering where the department of justice has significantly more enforcement resourceand investigatory resources. >> and the administration says it's working to lessen concentration in the food sector too. >> you need scale to be competitive and it takes capital to get to scale. so the usda is

actually right now working with smaller processors in rural areas across the country to try to give them grants, give them low cost capital so that they can scale, they can get into the game more quickly and easily. as the meat industry points out, though, it's been concentrated for decades - decades of low inflation, even in meat. in the end, this is any administration's challenge: to affect real change amidst economic forces bigger than all of us. meanwhile, with company costs rising at about 10 percent, corporate profits are rising 12.4 percent. that extra two-and-a-half percent or so seems to be at least part of the inflation we're all paying for right now. for the pbs newshour, paul solman. >> what is the "state of black

america" in 2022? a new report from the national urban league paints a picture on everything from the economy to voting rights. john yang has more on its findings. >> judy, since 2005, the national urban league has released an annual "equality index" to compare how black americans are doing in comparison to white americans. this year, the index shows that black americans get only 73.9 percent of what white americans enjoy - not much different from what it found in 2005. while there have been significant gains in some areas like economics and health circumstances - both up about 10-percent since the first report, in other areas, like social justice and civic engagement, black americans have lost ground, according to the report. marc morial is the president and c-e-o of the national urban league and he joins us fro atlanta where the report was released earlier today.

what does it say in the it has been almost two decades yet the overall index number is virtually the same? >> thank you for having me. what it says is that the disparities in american life between blacks and white are persistent. lock in in a sense of suspended animation. were you could have some progress in some areas than a decline in others. it is the caboose on the train syndrome where black americans remained behind white americans even when things improve for black americans, they are improving at the same rate or even more for white americans at the same time. this is the persistent challenge for 21st century america. can these gaps, these structural gaps of racial inequality be

closed in the 21st century? >> you talk about the caboose syndrome. the gains in economics, but the gain means you are only up to 3/5 of what white americans enjoy and in health, it's about 84%. talk a little bit about those areas where there have been gains. >> i think the affordable care act and the expansion of medicaid had a dramatic impact by increasing the number of black people who were insured. it closed the health gap somewhat but still a 16 point differential is too much. a discussion about race and racial justice in this country is not fact-based all too often. will people think or perceive or what they make in terms of political pronouncements, this gap remains wide.

it remains the challenge for 21st century america. >> the areas where this shows a decline in, social justice, civic engagement. talk about that. >> the war on drugs, the broken nature of the criminal justice system, the way in which police and communities are at odds, the way in which black people are shot in an unjustifiable fashion by the police, all of these contribute. the sentencing disparities. while there have been efforts to improve this, there have not -- they have not gone far enough. that contributes to the gap that exists. in civic engagement and voting, a focus of this report, we saw significant gains. where black voter turnout in the 2008 election exceeded white

voter turnout. that reversed significantly i 2016 when you had russian interference and post shall be beholder laws. now in 2020, that gap in terms of voter turnout narrod a bit because the pandemic it forced states to be more visionary and i think were open and allowing people to vote by mail. to drop their ballot in a dropbox. to utilize absentee voting. voter suppression after january 6 where 40 states plus have introduced hundreds of bills to take away all of these expanded options for people to vote will narrow the civic engagement or widen the gap if we do not do

something and that's why the report has a focus on the plot to we think diminish and destroy american democracy. >> it is also why you chose to release this in atlanta today in georgia. you kicked off a plan that was called reclaim your vote. talk about the efforts you are making in this midterm election year. >> i'm so glad you mentioned clark atlanta university and fact that we are here in the cradle of the civil rights movement. dr. ki, john lewis lewis, many other great call atlanta home and this is one of the epicenters of the 1960's civil rights movement. on the other hand, georgia has become ground zero for voter suppression. the way in which the georgia legislature has reacted to the election then the aftermath of

the insurrection is to lead an assault on the right of people to vote. we thought we needed to come to the front lines. the front lines of where people can get a close-up look at what is happening here in georgia. we also believe that going to one of our great historically black universities and including the students from spelman and morehouse and morris brown along with the clark atlanta community places a spotlight on why closing the racial gaps in this

country is important to the next generation. . our campaign says to people frustration is not a strategy. cynicism is not an option. we have to fight voter suppression, but we have to do everything in our poweto dissipate in the elections this fall because we have to put out the effort to remind people that if you do not have a seat at the table, you will literally be on the menu. a major reospective looks at

the remarkable life and work of artist faith ringgold, who has fought for change in the art world and beyond for 60 years. jeffrey brown has this profile for our arts and culture series, canvas. in 1967 faith ringgold painted "die", a large work capturing the violence and chaos of the

era. ringgold, 06:38 you can't necessarily change what's going on, no. but, i can say what i think about it. i'm free tdo that. and i will. sixteen years later, she exploded black stereotypes, in a work called "who's afraid of aunt jemima". >> you turned her into a powerful woman. >> well, she was powerful in the way she was doing something with those pancakes and stuff that nobody else had done. >> at 91, faith ringgold is having a big moment: six decades of her art are on view in a retrospective exhibition at the 'new museum' in new york, titled "american people": paintings sculptures works on fabric and the 'story quilts' a mix of writing, painting, and quilting for which she is best known. across the hudson at her home in new jersey, we had a chance to visit the artist, on this day signing prints in her large and bright studio - surrounded by the tools of her trade, archives posters, and artworks. of her life's work, she says this: >> i wanted to make a contribution to amera. it's my country. i thought, 'i have something to say about the american people. and what's great about it is i could say it. got freedom of speech. >> you could say it through your art. >> that's right. >> her works from the early 60s portray americans black and white

looking at one another at themselves at the artist, and at us, seeming to raise questions of power, as in one titled, "for members only" later, in larger paintings, came a more head-on confrontation: "u.s. postage stamp commemorating the advent of black power" and, a work that might have been painted in our own time: "the flag is bleeding". >> i felt that i needed to record some of what was happening at that time. >> is that the right word, 'recording' it through art? >> it felt powerful that i could express it and i could have my say. >> ringgold grew up and spent most of her life in harlem, encouraged in her art by her mother willi posey, a seamstress and clothing designer. years later, she captured a memory of her early life in "tar beach" summer nights on a harlem rooftop. she studied art at city college and set out to find her place. >> i thought i had a right to, and thought i should and i could, (and i did). >> but there were barriers. >> oh, please. everywhere. yeah, lots of barriers. 'your art is not welcome here. and you're not welcome here'. and people have different ways of saying that, you know. but i found my way. >> one way was through activism:

protests and posters for civil rights and black empowerment demands for the art world to open up to women and artists of color. women, she says, were literally out of the picture, so she put them back, including in a mural-size painting for the correctional institute for women at rikers island, which has now been restored and appears in the exhibition. >> did you feel like you needed to make some noise? >> yeah, you got to be heard some way. you gotta have some courage somewhere, for being a woman and for being black, too. i just can't accept rejection on that level. >> she challenged art trends by using 'craft' techniques like quilting. and art history by adding women and african-americans into the story as in her 1990s series, "the french collection", a family "dancing in the louvre" a quilting bee amid van gogh's

sunflowers at arles a parisian cafe. >> well, i was giving myself the freedom to take another look at the possibilities of what life could be. i didn't have to just settle for what i was given. especially when it was so unsettling. >> new museum artistic director massimiliano gioni is one of the exhibition's curators. >> she's opening doors and windows and making the house o art much more complex and hospitable. the great thing about seeing this work together, seeing 60 years of this work, is you understand h many times faith ringgold was right, before her time. >> the 'story quilts' contain literal written 'stories' around their edges and those beginning with "tar beach" would lead to a way for ringgold to reach new generations: through children's books. she's now published more than 20

books with beautiful art and stories of history and inspiration. "tar beach" has the famous, "anyone can fly", right? >> all you gotta do is try. yes, indeed - you can do it! >> in 2020, ringgold lost her husband, burdette, known as 'birdy', after nearly 60 years together. and the pandemic has been tough on this socially active woman. but she continues to be surrounded and supported by two loving daughters: michele, a writer and cultural critic, herself a noted art historian - and barbara, a linguist and educator, both of whom help run ringgold's "anyone can fly" foundation. ringgold herself is now working on a project about aging, but - always in charge - she wasn't ready to show it yet. she was willing to say how she felt seeing her life's work on display. >> i'm glad i can look at it and not say, "oh, i wonder why i didn't do this and that.' i did. >> you look at it with pride? >> i look at it with pride, yes.

because i have a right as an american to create the kind of art i want. so why not use that? >> faith ringgold's "american people" exhibition is at the new museum in new york through june 5th and then travels to the de young museum in san francisco. just wonderful to look at all of that art. thank you. and tonight on the newshour online. farmers in central california are going into a third consecutive year of drought, as they contend with not only a lack of precipitation, but also authorities increasing limits on the use of public water for irrigation. see more now at pbs.org/newshour tomorrow night on pbs, the newshour presents a special hour focusing on the challenges the

formerly incarcerated face when they are released from prison or jail and re-enter society. amna nawaz hosts the searching for justice special, "life after lockup". >> it screws up finding a job and finding a house. >> they say you're rehabilitated but the world doesn't know that. >> we taught ourselves to be afraid of people who have broken the law. we govern through fear. >> i'm always going to be in a state of incarceration even though i am free. >> ".wednesday, april 13 at 10/9 searching for justice. central." >> very much looking forward to that tomorrow night. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us on-line and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and we'll see you soon.

major funding has been provided by -- architect, beekeeper, mentor. at raymondjames financial advisor, taylor's for you to have your life well planned. >> carnegie corporation of new york supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement and the advancement of peace and security at carnegie.org. the target foundation committed to advancing racial equity and committing the change required to accelerate equitable economic opportunity. with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and for

contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪

hello, everyone. welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. ukrainian does not have time to wait. >> as russia prepares to unleash the next wave of its attack on ukraine, is the west prepared to stand together? we look at strategic and political pressures inside the u.s. and europe. and -- >> i want a france that is part of a strong europe. that will continue to forge alliances with the major democracies to defend itself. >> take a close-up view of how france's presidential election could shift the balance. then as war in ukraine disrupts food supplies around the world, could there be widespread famine? also -- >> a lot of cases will happen before we really start taking action again.