URL Weekly 9/15

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Friday, September 15, 2023

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Today is Friday, and we’re highlighting stories from across the URL Media network about the risk of being incarcerated in Florida during natural disasters, why Latino men have leaned into conservative politics, and a candid conversation on sexuality and identity.Keep an eye on your inbox tomorrow for an essay centering the nation’s first East African magnet elementary school in Minnesota. — Alicia Ramirez

Uplift. 🙌🏼 Respect. 💯 Love. 💛

🇺🇸 The ‘forgotten heroes’ of 9/11: In the months following the 9/11 attacks, an estimated 2,000 undocumented immigrant workers assisted with cleaning up Ground Zero. Yet, for more than two decades, many have languished on the margins of society without legal residency or citizenship. Documented has their story here.

Heads up: In tomorrow’s essay we dive into 9/11, the immediate backlash of Islamophobia that followed and its connection to today’s rise of right-wing extremism.

🎙️ What’s up with Latino men and conservative politics?: After last month’s Republican presidential primary debate, The Pulso Podcast interviews two Latinos about their take on why some Latino men are leaning to conservative politics. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

🌾 Longtime activist named Detroit’s first director of urban agriculture: Longtime urban farming activist Tepfirah Rushdan is Detroit’s first director of urban agriculture. Rushdan said her first priority is to improve the process of purchasing land in the city. Read more here from Outlier Media.

🗣️ Minn. activists take a stand on homelessness: Residents and activists are demanding Minneapolis officials adopt a transparent policy on homelessness after state troopers closed “Wall of Forgotten Natives,” an encampment of more than 140 — mostly Indigenous — people. Read more here from Sahan Journal.

⛓️ Fla.’s prisons are putting incarcerated people at risk: Ahead of Hurricane Idalia last month, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department ordered a mandatory evacuation of residents near the coast. However, those incarcerated at the county jail in the evacuation zone remained in place. Read more here from Scalawag.

📚 How SCOTUS’ recent rulings impacts the nation’s racial wealth gap: This summer, the Supreme Court put an end to affirmative action and rejected President Biden’s student debt cancellation program. These two decisions will have a lasting impact on Black and Brown borrowers who bear the brunt of student loan debt. Read more here from Prism.

More: PushBlack highlights a number of new options available to help borrowers as payments resume this fall.

🕯️ Eugene ‘Buzzy’ Peltola, husband of Rep. Mary Peltola, dies in plane crash: Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola died Wednesday morning at the age of 57 in a plane crash in southwestern Alaska. His wife, Rep. Mary Peltola, made history last September when she became the first Alaskan Native to serve in congress and the first female representative elected by her district. Native News Online has the latest here.

👀 Is former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo jumping back into the gubernatorial game?: Two years ago, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned following allegations of sexual harassment. For a while it seemed he would quietly disappear from public life. But the once-popular state executive is planning to make a comeback. Epicenter-NYC has more here.

🇩🇴 Tensions rise at Haitian-Dominican border: Dominican President Luis Abinader said he would permanently close the two nations’ Ouanaminthe-Dajabon border if Haitians do not stop building a canal they say is necessary to survive. The Haitian Times has the story here.

🏈 NFL kicks off season with record breaking Black starting quarterbacks: Nearly half of all NFL teams started the 2023 season with a Black starting quarterback — 14 in total. John Eisenberg, author of “Rocket Men: The Black Quarterbacks Who Revolutionized Pro Football,” recently joined WURD Radio to talk about the history of Black quarterbacks in the NFL. 🎧 Listen to the full interview here.

🤫 Exploring sexuality in a world where sex is taboo: Immigrantly host Saadia Khan speaks with British Indian writer and comedian Sadia Azmat about how cultural norms can hinder one from exploring their sexuality. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

👩🏽‍🎓 Cultivating student triumph and community unity: Last year, Dr. Gwendolyn Dowdy-Rodgers made history as the first African American woman on California’s San Bernardino County Board of Education. Her election has already led to transformative change, including the recognition of racism as a public health crisis. Read more about her work from Black Voice News.

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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