URL Weekly 9/22

Next-level reporting. Innovative Black & Brown publishers.

Friday, September 22, 2023

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Today is Friday, and we’re highlighting stories from across the URL Media network about the new COVID-19 booster shots, a new World Heritage Site in southern Ohio, and one actress's journey from Google to the stage. 

Be on the lookout for tomorrow’s newsletter where we uplift the voices of young people as they talk about the youth mental health crisis. — Alicia Ramirez

Uplift. 🙌🏼 Respect. 💯 Love. 💛

✊🏾 Thousands march in NYC to end US reliance on fossil fuels: This past Sunday, around 75,000 people from over 700 organizations gathered in Midtown Manhattan to raise their voices for the most important global issue of our time — the climate crisis. Epicenter-NYC has more from the march here.

💉 Updated COVID-19 booster shots available soon: With school back in session, and COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on the rise, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a new booster earlier this month could not come soon enough. Read more here from Black Voice News.

🎭 From algorithms to emotions: Aizzah Fatima’s journey to rom-com stardom: Actress and filmmaker Aizzah Fatima has toured her one-woman play about stereotypes faced by Muslim American women in the U.K., Canada and Pakistan. But before her time wowing audiences on stage, Fatima was once an ads engineer at Google. 🎧 Hear more about her journey on this week’s episode of Immigrantly.

🏛️ Detroit City Council has limited power says council members: To help Detroit residents better understand how their city works, Outlier Media’s Detroit Documenters have set out to talk with all nine of the city’s council members. Their biggest takeaway: The council’s power is relatively limited. Read more here.

⚖️ Atlanta is repeating history with ‘Stop Cop City’ indictments: Dozens of people arrested in connection with the “Stop Cop City” protests are facing racketeering charges for protesting, bailing people out of jail and distributing flyers — a tactic long used to criminalize Black activists. Read more here from PushBlack.More: Critics view the indictments as a massive escalation in an ongoing police retaliation campaign to criminalize public dissent and discourage protesters. Prism has more here.

🎓 Is higher education facing a reset?: After 2030, projections show nationwide college enrollment will decline, leaving colleges to find new ways to attract students in a changing world. Read more here from La Noticia.

🙏🏽 Acting Temple University president's sudden death: During a memorial service earlier this week, acting Temple University President JoAnne Epps suffered a medical emergency on stage, and later died at a nearby hospital. Professor Aaron Smith of Temple University’s Department of Africology and African American Studies recently joined Evening WURDs to discuss her sudden passing. 🎧 Listen to the full interview here.

🗳️ Whose vote counts?: Our Body Politic host Farai Chideya speaks with former elected Florida State Attorney Monique Worrell about being suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis this summer, and her plans to run for office again. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

🇸🇴 Somalia prime minister to visit Minn. this weekend: Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre is expected to address the Somali community in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area Sunday following his address to the United Nations tomorrow. Read more here from Sahan Journal.

⛑️ Biden calls for urgent action in Haiti: U.S. President Joe Biden this week called on the United Nations Security Council to swiftly authorize the deployment of a multinational force to help Haiti fight off criminal gangs terrorizing residents. The Haitian Times has the story here.

🥟 You don’t want to miss these 4 NYC Chinese restaurants: Documented recently asked members of New York City’s Chinese immigrant community to share their most beloved restaurants in the city. They then whittled that list of 51 down to four different kinds of Chinese restaurants across the boroughs. Read more here.

🚸 A Houston neighborhood in mourning unites after tragedy: After 11-year-old Josué Flores was stabbed and killed on his walk home from school, the Houston neighborhood of Northside rallied together to create a neighborhood watch program ensuring children and their parents have a safe route to and from school. palabra. has the story here.

🌎 UNESCO names Ohio’s Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks a World Heritage Site: This week, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee named the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in southern Ohio a World Heritage Site. The ancient earthworks were built 2,000 years ago by Native American communities. Learn more here from Native News Online.

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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