URL Weekly 4/14

Next-level reporting. Innovative Black & Brown publishers.

Friday, April 14, 2023

Share

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

Today is Friday, and we're highlighting stories from across the URL Media network about Black joy, a ghost town inside Tulsa and what it will take to rebuild trust in the media.

Be sure to keep an eye on your inbox tomorrow for reporting from across the network about reparations.

— Alicia RamirezUplift. 🙌🏼 Respect. 💯 Love. 💛

Activists, farmers raise concerns about equity measures in Minn.’s marijuana legalization bill: With the final weeks of the Minnesota legislative session on the horizon, marijuana advocates and stakeholders say they still expect the state Senate and House of Representatives to pass an adult-use legalization bill before adjourning. But some still question the legislation’s equity measures. Sahan Journal has the story here.

Immigrant workers file national complaints against employer’s intimidation tactics: About 40 immigrant Indigenous workers at the non-union, Brooklyn-based demolition company Best Super Cleaning, have resumed their monthly picket lines outside the company’s worksites demanding an end to retaliation and intimidation. Read more here from Documented.

Heavy, unregulated truck traffic is plaguing Detroit’s eastside residents: When Nancy Heaston and her husband, Joseph, bought their Detroit home nine years ago, they knew there would be truck traffic. But in the past few years, Nancy said trucks have become more frequent. Outlier Media, in partnership with BridgeDetroit, found that nearly one semi-truck per minute passes their home to get to a large warehouse across the street. Read more here.

ALSUMA: The ghost town inside Tulsa: The town of Alsuma might be a distant memory now, but those who lived there before it was annexed by the city of Tulsa remember a tight-knit community filled with dozens of families and good neighbors. “If you lived in Alsuma, you loved Alsuma,” Lloyd McMann told The Oklahoma Eagle. Read more here.

University of Minnesota committed genocide against Native peoples, new report shows: For seven generations, the University of Minnesota profited off Indigenous land and perpetrated genocide against the land’s original inhabitants, according to a new report. That report has led Minnesota’s 11 federally recognized tribes to ask the university for land back, representation among administrators and the student body, and a commitment to “repatriations in perpetuity.” Native News Online has the story here.

This Iowa school replaced police with restorative practices and saw impactful results: In an effort to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, educators at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa have provided restorative practices facilitators who work with students to solve problems like attendance and fights. Read more here from PushBlack.

How are teachers serving BIPOC student populations faring with pandemic learning loss?: Last fall, a nationwide evaluation found that students across the country had suffered drastic learning loss following school disruptions during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact on low-income BIPOC students, many of whom were already struggling prior to the pandemic, has put their teachers in a difficult position. Prism has the story here.

Reproductive justice and the ‘Captive Maternals’: In Part IV of The Captive Maternal Roundtable by Scalawag, Black feminist and writer Breya M. Johnson reflects on the reproductive justice movement, Black maternal and infant mortality rates, and the ways in which Black bodies, labor and caretaking are used to “sustain the state.” Read more here.

April is National Minority Health Month: Dr. Samantha Butts, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Penn State College of Medicine and chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Penn State Health, recently joined WURD Radio to talk about healthcare disparities impacting Black women in America. Listen to the full interview here.

Jelani Cobb on rebuilding trust in the media: At the 2023 Just Economy Conference in Washington last month, writer, historian and scholar Jelani Cobb sat down with Our Body Politic guest host and Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah to discuss the challenges journalists of color face in the media environment today. Listen to the full conversation here.

The stories that find us: In the sixth installment of Así Fue, a podcast by palabra. and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Adriana Gallardo joins her longtime friend and producer Luis Gallo to explore how their immigrant experiences prepared them to become journalists and writers. Listen to the full episode here.

Queens Night Market returns this Saturday: John Wang, the founder of the Queens Night Market, said the market’s mission was always to create “the most affordable and diverse community space” that reflects the most diverse audience in New York City. The event will take place every Saturday until Oct. 28 at the New York Hall of Science in Corona Park, Flushing Meadows.

Epicenter-NYC has more here

.

Haitian artists mourn critic who became an icon: Mireille Pérodin Jérôme, an art critic, gallery owner, art curator and teacher died April 8 just days shy of her 71st birthday. The Haitian Times honors her legacy here.

Celebrating joy during Black Maternal Health Week: Chloé Solorzano is a mom to seven-year-old James Liam, five-year-old Katileia, two-year-old Phoenix and one-year-old Xolani. As a doula and student midwife, Solorzano said she finds joy in being a parent and raising her kids with the knowledge that “Black is beautiful.” Read more here from Black Voice News.

‘Keep the Meter Running’: Series creator Kareem Rahma’s “Keep the Meter Running” features him catching a taxi in New York City while telling the driver to take him to their favorite place — all while keeping the meter running. This week, he joined Immigrantly to talk about his other ventures, creative process, motivations and personal life. Listen to the full interview here.

A ‘Reality Check’ on health: A farewell from Charles Ellison

Almost a month after being struck with a sudden seizure during a live broadcast of Reality Check on WURD Radio, host Charles Ellison returned to the airwaves on April 4 for his final show after receiving a diagnosis of epilepsy. 

Read more here about Ellison’s diagnosis and his decision to take a step back from the program

.

Epicenter-NYC is hiring a freelance health reporter

URL Media partner Epicenter-NYC, a multiplatform community journalism initiative, is looking to hire a designated health reporter who will cover ongoing health equity issues in and around New York City. Learn 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 currently a JSK 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.