Midmorning Weekend
Segment 1: Gwen Ifill looks at race and politics in America
Veteran journalist Gwen Ifill looks at the transformation of black politics in America, from the post-Reconstruction era to the election of President Barack Obama.
Segment 2: Soldier suicides on the rise
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Suicides among U.S. soldiers have risen to the highest levels in nearly three decades, with 124 soldiers taking their own lives in 2008. Veterans advocates and psychiatric experts say multiple redeployments and an institutional stigma against soldiers who seek help for mental health are playing a role in the increase.
Kerri's guests are Mark Benjamin, National correspondent for Salon.com and co-author of Salon's "Coming Home" series, which details the mental health issues of soldiers based at Fort Carson in Colorado; and David Rudd, chair of the department of psychology at Texas Tech University and a former Army psychologist.
Segment 3: A father's tragedy shadows the son
In his 2005 memoir, David Vann attempted to come to terms with his father's suicide by taking a voyage on a hopelessly unprepared boat. In his new novella and collection of short stories, "Legend of a Suicide," Vann comes back to the themes of loss and a father's legend that haunts his son.
