URL Weekly 6/2

Next-level reporting. Innovative Black & Brown publishers.

Friday, June 2, 2023

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Today is Friday, and we’re highlighting stories from across the URL Media network about the backlash behind a program allowing residents to share private surveillance footage with police, the campaign to sell Black New Orleans, and finding joy in wellness and movement.

Be sure to keep an eye on your inbox tomorrow to learn more about the latest state to legalize recreational marijuana.

— Alicia Ramirez

Uplift. 🙌🏼 Respect. 💯 Love. 💛

How should Rikers Island be remembered?: Rikers Island will no longer exist after 2027. By law, New York City will close Rikers and replace it with four borough-based jails. Some will remember Rikers by its headlines — deaths, negligence and failed attempts at reform. Epicenter-NYC has the story here.

Confusion around SafeCam programs concerns activists: A new program in Albany County, New York, that provides the county sheriff’s office voluntary access to personal surveillance footage is facing backlash from criminal legal advocates who say the program deputizes neighbors to spy on each other. Read more here from Prism.

One year in NYC: Migrants still fighting to leave shelters: Asylum seekers have been arriving in high numbers to New York City’s shelter system for more than a year now. As of last spring, more than 70,000 asylum seekers have come to New York, the City said this week, and over 60% of those who have already arrived are currently in the City’s care. Read more here from Documented.

Disaster capitalism, climate change, and the campaign to sell Black New Orleans: In a place at the brink of economic and environmental insecurity, the question of whose lives are defined — or erased — by the nebulous concept of making culture becomes the most important battleground in the story of New Orleans. Scalawag has the story here.

Catastrophic exposure: State Farm says no new property insurance policies: Although the risk of wildfire is present across California, there are large swaths of the state considered to be greater risks than other areas. Due to these risks, insurers like AIG and Chubb have already limited fire insurance coverage. And last week, State Farm announced it would no longer provide new property insurance policies in California. Read more here from Black Voice News.

Detroit’s Housing Commission is the landlord for thousands of renters, but it rarely answers calls: About 6,000 tenants live in more than 3,400 Detroit Housing Commission units across the city, with the DHC being the sole property manager of more than half of those houses and apartments. Tenants who have spoken to Outlier Media said it can often be difficult to get the agency to respond to their complaints and address issues. Read more here.

Haiti’s Bwa Kale claims 160 lives: According to a human rights organization, at least 160 suspected bandits were hunted down, lynched or burned alive across Haiti’s capital and provinces as the Bwa Kale movement took hold over the past month. Read more here from The Haitian Times.

ICYMI: Looking for a primer on the crisis in Haiti? Read last Saturday’s newsletter, The Intersection, here.

New legislation protects Hmong farming collective in Minn.: The Hmong American Farmers Association has been farming on land in Dakota County, Minnesota, since 2013. Recent legislation prevents the government from forcibly taking some of the land for use in a highway expansion project. Sahan Journal has more here.

Embrace the ‘good enough’ job: Work, life, and finding peace: In this week’s Immigrantly episode, host Saadia Khan talks with Simone Stolzoff, author of “The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work,” about how to find contentment in a job that sustains your life. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

This Black city outside of Africa teaches us an important lesson on liberation: More than 80% of the population in Salvador de Bahia, along Brazil’s northeastern coast, identify as Afro-Brazilian. But despite the city’s demographics, the cloud of anti-Blackness still haunts the city. Read more here from PushBlack.

‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ film about 1920 Osage Murders, receives a 9-minute standing ovation at Cannes: Since its premiere last month at the Cannes Film Festival, director Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” has been praised by both members of the Osage Nation and critics.

Native News Online has the story here

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7-year-old Oklahoman heads to the Tiny Miss Princess of America National Pageant: Paris Simone Sherra Epps and is a fun, loving and outgoing 7-year-old representing the State of Oklahoma in the Tiny Miss Princess of America National Pageant next month, but she needs help making her pageant dreams come true. Read more here from The Oklahoma Eagle.

One N.C. clinic takes a decolonized approach to improve immigrants’ mental health: At a health clinic in north Charlotte, N.C., staff are training to serve immigrant communities. That can mean speaking a common language, taking a culturally-informed approach, or reaching out to people who may be struggling to find adequate services. La Noticia has the story here.

Remembering Tina Turner: Tina Turner, known as the Queen of rock ‘n’ roll, died last week at the age of 83. In celebration of her life and legacy, WURD Radio has put together a short playlist of segments honoring the singer who was simply the best. 🎧 Listen to the segments here.

More: Scalawag takes a deep dive into Turner’s legacy here.

Finding joy in wellness and movement at every age: Host Farai Chideya speaks with two people who are helping their clients connect the dots between physical and mental health, while building their communities and businesses. 🎧 Listen to this week’s Our Body Politic episode here.

Black Maternal Mortality: How Do We Save Black Lives?

What is causing the Black maternal mortality epidemic, and what can be done to save Black lives? For URL Media’s monthly “Meet the BIPOC Press,” Laura Flanders and URL Media Co-founder Sara Lomax invite guests from Maternity Care Coalition and Capital B to unpack the issue and explore solutions. Watch the full episode here.

URL Media co-founder awarded honorary degree from Arcadia University, delivers commencement speech

URL Media Co-founder Sara Lomax delivered a moving commencement speech to the graduating students of Arcadia University last month after receiving an honorary degree from the school. Watch the speech here.

Scalawag welcomes new editor-in-chief

As a publication dedicated to liberatory media and a reparative and inclusive future for journalism writ large, URL Media partner Scalawag announced this week that Sherronda J. Brown (they/she) would join the outlet as its first-ever editor-in-chief. 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 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.