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‘Only Love Can Do That’  

This week marked five years since a 19-year-old opened fire at a high school in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 and wounding 17 others. That shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was the impetus for the March For Our Lives rally, where millions around the world came together in support of gun legislation in the United States.

It felt like a turning point, but five years later, not much has changed.

On the eve of the anniversary, a 43-year-old man fatally shot three students at Michigan State University and wounded five others. It’s the latest in a string of high-profile shootings that have marked the start of 2023. I’ve spent a lot of time this year writing about gun violence for this newsletter. At times, my sense of despair feels so overwhelming that I wonder how anyone is able to survive — let alone thrive — with everything that’s going on around us.

It’s in the depths of this darkness that a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. helps me find my way back: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

But finding that light on your own can be hard, which is why I want to share with you these three stories from URL Media partners Black Voice News, WURD Radio and Native News Online. They remind me that while we must reckon with the most critical issues in our society, we also need to surround ourselves with stories of love, community and connection.

1. Revolutionary romances: From Octavius Valentine Catto and Caroline LeCount to Michelle and Barack Obama, WURD Radio this week shared stories highlighting the long history of strong Black love and the power love holds when we transform it into action. You can read more here.

2. Celebrating 60 years of Black love: Cheryl and Hardy Brown, co-founders of Brown Publishing Company which publishes Black Voice News, recently celebrated 60 years of marriage. These two are the epitome of love as a practice, with Hardy telling folks that the secret to their successful partnership was demonstrating love and devotion to each other every day. Read more about their journey of love here.

3. How do you say ‘I love you’?: This year, Native News Online revisited a decade-old YouTube video of dozens of people saying “I love you” in their Indigenous language. It’s heartwarming and funny, and I couldn’t keep myself from smiling the entire time. Watch the video here.

Watching that video always makes me want to tell my friends and family that I love them, so I’m going to do just that. I hope you’ll do the same. —Alicia Ramirez

Uplift. Respect. Love.

 Uplifting our Communities 

Bronx street renamed for fire victims and Gambian icon: The street in front of the Bronx building where the devastating 2022 fire killed 17 residents and displaced many more has been renamed 17 Abdoulie Touray Way: "17" represents the number of lives lost in the tragic fire, and "Abdoulie Touray" pays homage to the first Gambian immigrant to move into the building. Documented has more here.

In times of emergency, vital information in Spanish remains scarce: The COVID-19 pandemic and a devastating fire at a fertilizer plant in North Carolina exposed an extremely dangerous problem: Authorities are not doing enough to get vital information in Spanish to Latino families in the state. Read more here from La Noticia.

Indigenous leaders on protecting Native rights, land & culture: Our Body Politic host Farai Chideya interviews Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on what she’s learning from the survivors and descendants of the Federal Indian Boarding School system. She then speaks with Deputy Director of Western Native Voice, Ta’jin Perez, on the fight for tribal sovereignty. The episode concludes with a 2014 interview featuring Bird Runningwater, co-executive producer of the television drama "Sovereign," which is currently being developed by Warner Bros. Television. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

FEMA’s failure to account for climate change leaves BIPOC communities on the brink of disaster: For generations, discriminatory housing practices and federal lending policies relegated BIPOC renters and homeowners to floodplains. With the added stress of climate change, which is the earth’s natural response to fossil fuel combustion, BIPOC residents face compounding challenges and little chance to catch their breath between disasters. Prism has the story here.

The food aisle is as expensive as ever: How to save on groceries: Inflation has everyone looking for ways to save some coins. With prices for kitchen staples like eggs, bread and milk skyrocketing, PushBlack offers four tips that can help cut your grocery bill. Read more here.

Black tech founders predict what’s ahead for the fintech industry: Black founders leading the financial technology revolution are proving to be indispensable to the financial industry and beyond. The Plug caught up with founders from the Mastercard Start Path In Solidarity program to uncover fintech trends in the year ahead. Read more here.

More Fla. men face charges in Moise assassination: U.S. federal law enforcement arrested four Florida men this week for their alleged participation in the assassination of former president Jovenel Moise, who was shot and killed in his home in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021. The Haitian Times has the story here.

Detroit’s megadevelopments continue to fall short of big claims: Detroit has announced yet another massive development project. Last week, Henry Ford Health Hospital said it would partner with Michigan State University and billionaire Tom Gores on a $2.5 billion development near New Center. Outlier Media has the latest on these developments here.

Valentine’s Day special: swipe left, swipe right: Between “ghosting,” “icks,” and the question of whether or not to swipe right, the dating world isn’t what it used to be. Forty-eight percent of adults aged 18 to 29 have used a dating app, according to the Pew Research Center. But how do we feel about swiping left on someone so quickly? And have dating apps actually made it harder to find meaningful relationships? 🎧 Listen as the Immigrantly team discuss the ooey-gooey details of modern dating.

 Respecting & Honoring Arts & Culture

How 'the shadow of state abandonment' fostered then foiled Atlanta’s YSL: Atlanta’s YSL (Young Stoner Life) record label has been about place-making as much as it’s been about making music. But what happens when the state interferes? Scalawag dives into the question here.

 Centering Love 

 What We're Loving This Week From Our Partners 

The URLs on URL

The Underground Railroad of Queens

In partnership with the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State, Epicenter-NYC will offer a tour of the Bowne House led by one of the museum educators on Feb. 26 from 11-12:30 ET p.m. The Bowne House is one of the few accessible abolition landmarks in NYC and also serves as a research library for that history.

The event is free for Epicenter-NYC members and $25 for non-members. Get your ticket here.

Immigrantly recognized at Anthem Awards 🎉

They Lied About This Massacre to Protect a Racist Myth

This was one of the bloodiest massacres in American history, but it has been mostly erased. Why? Because it reveals the truth about a terrible, racist myth we’ve all been taught.

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