Tonight tens of millions of viewers are expected to tune in for the second presidential debate, which takes place at Hofstra University on Long Island, in a town that rarely makes national headlines.
The sprawling town of Hempstead is pretty diverse — 18 percent black, 18 percent Hispanic and 6 percent Asian — and as WNYC’s Arun Venugopal discovered, so are residents' political views and what they care about.
Khadijah Muhammad, a black hijab-wearing Muslim, is an unemployed nurse’s assistant and with President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney in town, she’ll be watching to see what they say about jobs “because so many people are unemployed right now.”
For more on what Hempstead residents hope to hear at the debate tonight, check out Arun Venugopal’s Micropolis Tumblr.
Arun Venugopal is a reporter and the creator of Micropolis, WNYC’s multi-platform series examining race, sexuality, religion, street life and other issues that define New York City. He has been with the station since 2005, and has covered a wide range of stories, including the death of Sean Bell, the controversy over the Park 51 mosque and community center and Occupy Wall Street .
Comments [1]
I take exception to Arun labeling Khadijah Mohammad as hijab wearing Muslim. It shows bias not only on Arun's part but also of the station to let such labeling on the air. I thought WNYC is public station?
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