URL Weekly 12/22

Next-level reporting. Innovative Black & Brown publishers.

Friday, December 22, 2023

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Today is Friday, and we’re highlighting stories from across the URL Media network about a bipartisan bill targeting critics of Israel, the first Native woman to serve as a federal judge in Oklahoma, and how women shaped the first 50 years of Hip-Hop.

In tomorrow’s newsletter, we’re reflecting on the year that was and revisiting some of the most read editions of The Intersection. — Alicia Ramirez

Uplift. 🙌🏼 Respect. 💯 Love. 💛

🇭🇹 Haitian immigration to the US by the numbers: This year, Haitians had more opportunities than ever before to come into the United States legally, but the impact of policy initiatives that made this possible is just starting to be felt. The Haitian Times has the story here.

More: ICE believes Pascal Charpentier, a 51-year-old man who has lived in NYC since he was three months old, is a citizen of Haiti. The only problem is he’s never even been there. (Documented)

🇮🇱 Critics say bill targeting anti-Zionism will usher in a new era of McCarthyism: A new bipartisan bill aims to target critics of Israel, but civil rights groups and organizers worry that it would usher in a new era of McCarthyism during a pivotal time of resistance and legitimate criticism of the apartheid state of Israel. Prism has the story here.

😡 Trump says immigrants are ‘poisoning the blood of our country’: Former President Donald Trump declared that immigrants arriving in the U.S. are “poisoning the blood of our country,” during an event in New Hampshire before doubling down on the message via social media later that day. La Noticia has the story here.

👩🏽‍⚖️ Sara Hill makes history as the first Native woman to serve as a federal judge in Okla.: Judge Sara Hill (Cherokee) has been confirmed to serve on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, making history as the first Native American woman confirmed for a lifetime judicial appointment in the state. Native News Online 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.

✊🏽 US multiracial population surges: The 2020 Census has unveiled a profound transformation in the demographic landscape of the United States, with an unprecedented  number of people identifying as multiracial. Black Voice News has more here.

🩺 Asian Americans have largely been left out of health studies, but a Minn. professor hopes to change that: University of Minnesota associate professor Dr. Ruby Nguyen, Ph.D., recently secured funding to include nearly 800 pregnant Asian Americans from the Twin Cities metro area in a nationwide study focused on how environmental factors impact childhood development. Sahan Journal has the story here.

☀️ Detroiters are asking the right questions about the city’s solar farms plan: This past summer, the city of Detroit unveiled a plan to convert a total of 250 acres of vacant land in some of Detroit’s “most blighted neighborhoods” into solar farms, but some residents are skeptical. Outlier Media has more here.

👮🏻‍♂️ Proposed bill could overhaul police interactions with civilians in NYC: A city council bill intended to document how often NYPD officers stop and question New Yorkers in low-level stops seems close to passage, but with it also comes backlash from the police union. Epicenter-NYC has the story here.

More: Jumal George, 33, was detained for marijuana despite working at a legal dispensary in New York City. (PushBlack)

🎤 How women shaped the first 50 years of Hip-Hop: Our Body Politic guest host Callie Crossley looks back at the first 50 years of women in Hip-Hop with educator and MC Queen D and author and cultural critic Aisha Durham. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

🎶 Celebrating the girls: Nedra Talley-Ross is the last surviving original member of the iconic girl group The Ronettes, featured in the book, “But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?: An Oral History of the ‘60s Girl Groups,” written by Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz. Talley-Ross and Flam recently joined WURD Radio to talk about the book. 🎧 Listen to the full interview here.

📚 6 novels by Black authors you should know about: Still on the hunt for the perfect gift this holiday season? Black Girl Times has you covered with a list of six novels by Black authors you should know about. Read more here.

🕊 The everlasting legacy of María Emilia Martin: María Emilia Martin, creator of the nationally syndicated radio program Latino USA, was a groundbreaker, mentor, and friend to many. She died earlier this month at the age of 72. Read more here from palabra.

🎬 How Allison Strong built a room of her own: Actress and singer-songwriter Allison Strong shares the magic of growing up in a matriarchal home, the early negative feedback that nearly destroyed her spirit, and the action she took early in the pandemic that allowed her to survive and thrive as an artist. 🎧 Latina to Latina has the interview here.

📷 Crafting change through art: Siddharth Katragadda, a San Diego-based artist, joined Immigrantly host Saadia Khan this week to talk about how he’s using his talents to create a more vibrant world. 🎧 Listen to their conversation here.

🥘 Southern family recipes and food stories to keep you warm this winter: If Southern family recipes are gifts from our ancestors, this collection of essays and food writing is Scalawag’s gift for us all this holiday season. Read more here.

Photo credit: Zamani Feelings

👏🏽 URL Media and its partners secures critical funding from MacArthur Foundation

URL Media, a network of media organizations that serve, support and center communities of color and whose leadership and teams represent these populations, secured a one-year $500,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to expand its editorial capacity and support the formation of its non-profit arm, URL Collective. Also, two URL Media newsroom partners, Documented and Outlier Media, have received funding from the MacArthur Foundation — totaling $1.5M — to better serve their communities. Read more here.

🎉 URL Media welcomes newest partner AsAmNews

URL Media is thrilled to announce AsAmNews, a digital news platform founded by veteran journalist Randall Yip in 2012, has joined the network. AsAmNews began as an all-volunteer organization more than a decade ago and has evolved into a vital news source for one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the U.S. Read more 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.

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