URL Weekly 10/27

Next-level reporting. Innovative Black & Brown publishers.

Friday, October 27, 2023

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Today is Friday, and we’re highlighting stories from across the URL Media network about a program disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline, the global response to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, and a Brooklyn shop hoping to make the outdoors more inclusive.

Be on the lookout for tomorrow’s newsletter where we dive into how climate change disproportionately impacts BIPOC and other vulnerable communities. — Alicia Ramirez

Uplift. 🙌🏼 Respect. 💯 Love. 💛

🎓 Disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline: The Youth Justice Coalition is a nonprofit organization in South Los Angeles that advocates and provides a path to high school diplomas for formerly incarcerated or otherwise “system-impacted” teens and young adults — mostly Black and Latino students who have been expelled from the Los Angeles Unified School District. palabra. has the story here.

✊🏽 Why is everyone going on strike?: Thousands of workers across industries are going on strike. Whether it’s Dunkin’ employees or Hollywood actors and screenwriters, the American labor movement has reached a boiling point, but what’s behind it? Prism has more here.

💰 Former President Donald Trump fined for violating gag order: Former President Donald Trump was fined $5,000 last week after a social media post disparaging a court staffer was found on his campaign website weeks after the judge ordered for it to be deleted. Legal affairs reporter Zach Schonfeld joined WURD Radio this week to talk about what that might mean for Trump going forward. 🎧 Listen to the full interview here.

🎙 Discussing the global response to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Our Body Politic guest host Hagar Chemali talks with MSNBC columnist Nayyera Haq and Global Opinions Editor for The Washington Post Karen Attiah about the ongoing war in the Middle East, and the ways in which governments and social media have responded. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

Note: A lot has happened with the conflict since our partner published this podcast last Friday, Oct. 20. Check out our page on the conflict, which compiles more recent coverage on the invasion of Gaza from URL Media partners and beyond. 

🕵🏽‍♂️ Minn. AG opens investigation into controversial contract-for-deed real estate practices: The Minnesota attorney general’s office is investigating potentially exploitative real estate transactions that have targeted Somali and Hispanic immigrant homebuyers in the state. The investigation comes from reporting done by Sahan Journal in collaboration with ProPublica. Get the full story here.

🎨 A massive Detroit mural series leaves some asking, ‘Where are the local artists?’: The city of Detroit recently paid a New York-based nonprofit $140,000 for a series of murals being presented as part of an “art walk” called Detroit Be the Change ahead of the 2024 NFL draft. However, none of the muralists are from Detroit. In fact, they aren’t even from the U.S. Outlier Media has the story 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.

👮🏻‍♂️ Police are using victims’ rights laws to shield themselves from public scrutiny: Two months ago, Ohio police fatally shot 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young and her unborn child in her car in a Kroger parking lot. But the names of the officers involved have not yet been released. They say they were victims of an automotive assault and are entitled to privacy. PushBlack has more here.

📔 An update to the 2001 Tulsa Race Riot Commission Report: It’s been more than 20 years since the Tulsa Race Riot Commission published its landmark 2001 report calling for accountability and restitution, but has anything been accomplished? The Oklahoma Eagle has more here.

🗣 Calif. council meeting disrupted by hate speech: At a San Bernardino City Council meeting last week, a telephone caller used the public comment period to make racist comments. And while the community has come together to condemn hate speech, the question of what happens next remains. Black Voice News has more here.

🇨🇦 Wab Kinew becomes first Indigenous premier of a Canadian province: Wab Kinew (Onigaming) has officially become Manitoba’s 25th chief executive and the inaugural First Nations premier of a Canadian province, introducing the most diverse cabinet in the province’s history following a traditional swearing-in ceremony this week. Native News Online has the story here.

🗽 The web of shifting alliances and political connections behind a NYC real estate deal: New York City’s iconic East Broadway Mall in Chinatown is changing hands, but its former operation and tenants have questions about the new leadership. Documented has the story here.

🎶 From Spelman College to Amazon Music exec: Phylicia Fant is currently Head of Music Industry and Culture Collaborations at Amazon Music, but she got her start as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. at Spelman College. Watch The Yard has her story here.

🎭 Brooklyn theater comes alive with book launch experience: Breaking away from traditional book releases and signings, author Edwin Raymond transformed the book launch for his memoir “An Inconvenient Cop,” co-written with Jon Sternfeld, into a cultural experience by bringing excerpts from the book to life as theatrical scenes. The Haitian Times has the story here.

🏘 Diving into the world of human connection: Award-winning journalist Andrea Smardon takes listeners on a rollercoaster in her podcast series “Stranger Becomes Neighbor,” where she uncovers the struggles, celebrates the victories and shows what it means to start over as she profiled Afghan refugees in Salt Lake City. In this week’s episode of Immigrantly, Smardon brings listeners into the fascinating world of human connection and empathy. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

🧗🏾‍♂️ Making the outdoors more inclusive: Benje Williams and Ken Bernard first met when Williams was looking for new backpacking gear at a New York City REI where Bernard was working. The duo hit it off. They decided to open their own outdoor shop in Brooklyn called Outlandish to better serve people of color wanting to get involved in hiking and the outdoors. Epicenter-NYC has the full story here.

The EminiFX trap: The Haitian Times reports that a culture of corruption, unfettered access to the Haitian community through religious networks and vulnerable groups, including women and elders leave many in the diaspora and back home vulnerable to scams. Read this expose about a $250M Ponzi scheme that shook the lives of at least 25,000 people — many who are Haitian — across seven different countries between 2021-2022.

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.

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