URL Weekly 01/19

Next-level reporting. Innovative Black & Brown publishers.

Friday, January 19, 2024

Reading this from an email forward or elsewhere on the internet?

Subscribe.

Hey

Today is Friday, and we’re highlighting stories from across the URL Media network about the fight to protect Palestinians fleeing violence in Gaza and the West Bank, the Black musicians working to diversify country music, and the resilience of a legally blind painter.

In tomorrow’s newsletter, we’re exploring the growing humanitarian crisis in our own backyards as a result of elected officials who would rather play political chess with human lives than adopt policies to support them.  — Alicia Ramirez

Uplift. 🙌🏼 Respect. 💯 Love. 💛

✊🏽 Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy: The fight for health justice continues: It’s been nearly 60 years since Martin Luther King Jr. called health injustice “shocking and inhuman,” during a Medical Committee for Human Rights Convention, but many of the same disparities still exist today. Black Voice News has the story here.

🇵🇸 Advocates call for a Temporary Protected Status designation for Palestinian refugees: Immigration lawyers and advocates are calling for a Temporary Protected Status designation for Palestinians already living in the U.S. and an immigration plan similar to the one created for Ukrainian citizens in 2021. Prism has the story here.

🗳 Trump wins Iowa Caucus, what does that mean moving forward?: Former Iowa Rep. Wayne Ford, organizer of the Iowa Brown and Black Presidential Forum, recently appeared on WURD Radio to discuss what happened during the Iowa Caucus this week. 🎧 Listen to the full interview here.

Join us in celebrating the launch of URL Media’s new hub for independent journalism by Black and Brown publishers! Discover the stories and perspectives that matter. Check it out here.

🖼 New York State asks Tribal Nations to review offensive artwork in Capitol building: Tribal nations in New York are being asked to participate in a review of artwork representing Indigenous peoples on display in the state’s Capitol building. One piece, in the reception room to the governor’s office, includes a depiction of French explorer Samuel Champlain killing an Indigenous man. Native News Online has more here.

🏡 NYC housing voucher expansion goes into effect despite lawsuits, controversy: An expansion of a New York City housing voucher program went into effect this week despite threats of lawsuits and controversy. The program expands eligibility for housing vouchers to include people who are “at risk” of eviction. Epicenter-NYC has the story here.

🏛 There are still only a few Black leaders in Miss.: Despite Black residents making up nearly 40% of Mississippi’s population, Black leaders in the state legislature are routinely blocked from the lawmaking process by being barred from chairing important committees or locked out of closed-door meetings on the basis of their political affiliation. Black Girl Times has more here.

⚖️ Texas citizen journalist sues officials: Priscilla Villarreal, known online as La Gordiloca, has built a following reporting on the Texas border town she calls home, Laredo. But one text message to a contact in the police department has led to a lengthy legal battle in which officials say she broke the law. She says they violated her First Amendment rights. palabra., in partnership with The Texas Observer, has the story here.

🍱 Community protests gentrification as Suehiro Cafe closes in LA’s Little Tokyo: Protestors are demanding an end to the evictions of long-standing businesses in Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo. The latest business to close was Suehiro Cafe, which had been a neighborhood staple for more than 50 years. AsAmNews has the story here.

🏗 Attorney pushes for an end to developer “double-dipping” in Detroit: Tonya Myers Phillips is an attorney and works at the Maurice & Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice. She recently talked with Outlier Media about the community benefits process in Detroit and the changes she would like to see to benefit residents. Get the full story here.

🇪🇨 Explaining the crisis in Ecuador: Ecuador is currently facing a delicate political and social situation, undergoing a transition from its historically peaceful status among South American nations to one involved in a terrible power struggle of social order over drug trafficking and poverty-related challenges. Luz Media has more here.

🇭🇹 Neighborhood in Haiti’s capital targeted by gang: A Bel-Air gang attacked Solino for the second time on Jan. 16, killing several residents, injuring others and causing scores to flee the Port-au-Prince neighborhood. The Haitian Times has the story here.

🪕 Black country music stars on diversifying the genre: Our Body Politic guest host Mara S. Campo looks at the foundational role of Black Americans in country music, and the barriers to entry that still exist for many. This episode features professor Francesca Royster, author of “Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions,” and country music singers Brittney Spencer and Mickey Guyton. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

💃🏾 Delta Sigma Theta sorors gather at the White House for Founders’ Day photo shoot: Dressed in crimson red, Delta Sigma Theta celebrated the sorority’s 111th Founders’ Day with a photoshoot at the White House featuring notable members like Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Denise Jenkins and Reta Jo Lewis, chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Watch The Yard has more here.

🥘 How Dalina Soto became an anti-diet dietician: Dalina Soto always thought she’d be a doctor, but one college class helped her refocus on the power of preventive healthcare. Now, as a registered and licensed dietician, she encourages people to eat without guilt, embrace their culture and question dietary absolutism. 🎧 Latina to Latina has her story here.

🍔 How a Minn. Hmong family fought grief with 400 Whoppers from Burger King: Somsanith Thao and her siblings grew up gardening for hours on their father’s farm, work that was rewarded with a Whopper Jr. from Burger King. Those memories inspired Thao to serve her father’s favorite American meal at his funeral service earlier this month, ordering 400 Whopper Juniors from a local Burger King. Sahan Journal has the story here.

💕 Love comes in many shapes and sizes: Immigrantly host Saadia Khan talks with Cassindy Chao, a matchmaker in the California Bay Area, about her process, the requests she goes through, and the future of matchmaking with the rise of artificial intelligence. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

🎨 The artistry of legally blind talent Ken Alexander: About eight years ago, NJ-based self-taught artist Ken Alexander was left with less than 20% of his vision in his left eye due to glaucoma, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to paint. The Trenton Journal shares his story here.

Sara Lomax-Reese, CEO of WURD Radio, media entrepreneur for almost 30 years, served as Program Lead for the inaugural Facebook BIPOC Sustainability Accelerator and is a former John S. Knight Fellow.

S. Mitra Kalita, former SVP at CNN Digital, current CEO & Publisher at Kalita Mukul Creative Inc., which publishes Epicenter-NYC, The Unmuted and The Escape Home has worked at The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The LA Times, and has launched brands like Mint and Quartz.

Share