Tuesday, January 20, 2026
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A View From the Ground
News and information about politics, government, civic participation and engagement from URL Media's network of Black and Brown publishers.
This week, let’s talk about why people only started to care about ICE's transgressions after the death of Renee Good, how NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is approaching the press and more. And as always, we’re bringing you the latest updates at url-media.com.
Some people only started caring when ICE shot a white mom
A white woman protesting ICE enforcement was shot three times by a federal agent in Minneapolis last week. Renee Nicole Good was a citizen, a mother, and unarmed. The shooting happened blocks from where George Floyd was murdered, and suddenly mainstream media is asking questions they didn't ask before. Why does it take this particular violence to break through?
This isn't about one tragic death. It's about a system that was always designed this way, now revealing itself. Federal agents are operating like an occupying force in American cities, and the administration's promise to only target "criminals" was always a lie. When citizenship, whiteness, and motherhood can't protect you from state violence, we have to ask what kind of country we're actually living in.
Toni Morrison wrote "They shoot the white girl first" in her acclaimed novel “Paradise,” and it reads less like fiction now and more like prophecy. The convergence of patriarchy, white supremacy, and authoritarian nationalism isn't new. It's just finally visible to people who thought they were safe. The question is whether we'll recognize the warning before it's too late.
Source: Outlier Media / Cydni Elledge
Crypto meets Detroit's housing crisis, the critical group Mamdani has locked out and more stories from the URL Media network
Detroit fights crypto real estate company that has left hundreds freezing: Detroit is fighting back against a crypto real estate company that's basically slumlording its way through 700 properties while raising $93 million from overseas investors. RealT's tenants are living without heat in freezing temps, dealing with sewage backups, and watching the company renovate empty units instead of fixing their homes. The city wants a court-appointed receiver to take control, but a judge just denied that motion. Meanwhile, RealT owes millions in unpaid taxes and allegedly funneled rent money into off-the-books accounts. Crypto meets housing crisis, and guess who's losing? Keep reading at Outlier Media.
Why prison reform feels impossible (it’s not): Dr. Christy Perez, a writer and advocate for prison reform, went straight to the people in a Reddit AMA about criminal justice. She's connecting dots between Christian theology and modern policing, explaining why "prisoners" versus "incarcerated people" actually matters, and breaking down how abolition and reform can work together. Spoiler: high arrest rates don't equal high crime, and the system is designed to make you feel powerless. But she's got receipts and a roadmap for change. Keep reading at Black Girl Times.
NYC mayor locks out community reporters: NYC's new mayor held his first press conference for influencers only, and community journalists who actually cover the neighborhoods he campaigned in were locked out. Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he's speaking directly to "everyday New Yorkers," but community outlets serving millions across 270-plus publications weren't invited. Meanwhile, these same outlets struggle for funding and can't get basic emails answered by his team. The definition of "press" is being rewritten in real time, and the people who've been doing the work for years are watching from a livestream. Keep reading at Epicenter NYC.
Urban planning made Chinatowns deadly hot: America's Chinatowns are climate disaster zones, and it's not an accident. San Francisco and Boston's Chinatowns are facing extreme heat, terrible air quality, and dangerous overcrowding because of decades of racist urban planning. Boston's Chinatown hit 105 degrees last summer, nearly six degrees hotter than the rest of the city. Meanwhile, heat-related deaths nationwide jumped 53% in the last decade. Old buildings, no green space, interstate highways cutting through neighborhoods, and the densest traffic in the country are creating deadly conditions for thousands of mostly elderly, low-income residents. Keep reading at AsAm News.
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