A year later in Altadena, Venezuela oil in Black communities, family of Keith Porter speaks
I'm sending the newsletter in bit late this morning — I was waiting to see if the Supreme Court would announce its decision on the future of the Voting Rights Act (It did not).
What I’m Reading
Last month, I was invited to participate in a forum with several leading national journalists and media leaders to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Bay State Banner, Boston’s historic Black newspaper. Held at the GBH News Feed Cafe in the Boston Public Library, we discussed the impact of print, broadcast, and digital media on the state of Black America.
This was not only my first time on GBH, the public radio station in Boston, but my first time in the city! I only spent a day there, so I’m hoping to get back soon and check it out further.
Venezuelan oil brought to the U.S. would be refined in Black Gulf communities, Capital B News
As Trump vows to control Venezuela’s oil “indefinitely,” Adam Mahoney spoke with the Black community advocates in Texas and Louisiana who say the heavy crude will worsen “environmental racism” along the Gulf.
Related: Nicolás Maduro, the recently deposed president of Venezuela, spent many of his past visits to the United States in Harlem, specifically in its Black churches, in an attempt to connect with Black Americans…
The end of (Black) music criticism as we know it, ChaoticGood
Clarissa Brooks wrote an informative essay about the collapse of Black music criticism and the factors that led to its decline.
“For the last few years, the varied world of Black music criticism has dwindled. Whether it be because the business of journalism and arts criticism in general is collapsing to sustain private wealth, or the way advertising has captured media to favor writing centered on selling a product, experience, or half-truth,” Brooks writes in ChaoticGood.
What’s In The News
Across America
California: One year after the Eaton fire, Black residents of Altadena are fighting to maintain what they have left…
Louisiana: Supporters of The Leah Chase School in New Orleans are currently organizing and fundraising to keep the elementary school open…
Maryland: The family-run Everyone’s Place Bookstore and African Cultural Center has operated in Baltimore for nearly 40 years…
Michigan: In one of her first official acts as mayor, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield introduced a plan to assist expectant mothers through a cash aid program…
Mississippi: LaWanda Dickens launched the Magnolia Literacy Project in 2020, which supports emerging Black authors and unites Black writers across generations…
Missouri: After more than four decades as the staff photographer for The St. Louis American, veteran photojournalist Wiley Price is hanging up his lens. Let him tell you how his journey began…
New York: Filmmaker Andre Gaines discussed his film “The Dutchman,” an adaptation of the play “Dutchman” written by Amiri Baraka…
North Carolina: Nina Simone’s childhood home in Tryon has received a long-awaited rehabilitation…
Ohio: Ryan James is the youngest Black man ever to serve on the Cincinnati City Council. What’s on his agenda?...
South Carolina: After a white county in Georgia rejected a data center, developers have set their sights on a Black community in South Carolina for a proposed data center complex the size of 1,200 football fields…
Tennessee: If you’re in Nashville, check out the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s new exhibit about the legendary music of Muscle Shoals…
Virginia: Jeffrey Smith, a longtime educator with over 32 years of experience in the field, will become the state’s next secretary of education…
What’s Happening
A Los Angeles family is seeking justice for Keith Porter, a Black man killed by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve. Here’s FOX 11 Los Angeles’s coverage on how those that knew him are grappling with his death…
This week marked three years since Keyana Dixon lost her brother, Tyré Nichols, when five former police officers killed him. Here’s how her life has changed…
Bloomberg Law: The Justice Department’s top civil rights enforcer is using social media to single out anti-DEI targets…
CNN: A federal judge has dismissed Louisville’s proposed settlement with the Justice Department over police reforms brought on by Breonna Taylor’s killing…
Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Melanie Burney’s brother recently graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock at 67 years old, proving it’s never too late to earn a degree…
The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University is one of the largest Black archives in the world. And now it has a podcast exploring its artifacts! You can listen to “On The Yard” on Spotify and Apple Podcasts…
A white man who was reportedly impersonating an ICE agent as he detained a Black motorist was arrested in Texas…
Stacey Abrams said that she will not run for governor of Georgia in 2026, stating she will focus on fighting “authoritarianism” instead…
The National Urban League is set to launch the Urban Civil Rights Museum in 2026, the first museum in New York City dedicated to the civil rights movement…
The 51st: Trump may take over D.C.’s golf courses. Black golfers are especially worried…
Maurice Taylor has been released from a Mississippi prison after he was forced to serve an illegal sentence…
Shoutout to Aaron Foley, who is stepping into a new role of Editor-at-Large at our hometown paper, the Michigan Chronicle...
Entertainment News
For Refinery29, Kathleen Newman-Bremang reviewed the best onscreen performances of 2025 by Black performers…
21-year-old Laila Edwards is set to join the USA’s women’s ice hockey team at this year’s Winter Olympic Games, becoming the first Black woman to do so. I will be watching…
Rapper Fetty Wap, known for “Trap Queen,” was released from prison 11 months early…
Trump said in an interview with the New York Times that he isn’t granting Sean Combs a pardon…
A new lawsuit alleges Donnie McClurkin sexually abused a young male congregant for years, claims a lawyer for the gospel singer says are “categorically false”...
Clover Hope chatted with “Moonlight” star André Holland about why he’s so selective about the films he appears in and how he has carved his own unique path in Hollywood…
“Reading Rainbow” host Mychal Threets is publishing his debut kids book “I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy”...
Marvel is trying something different with “Wonder Man,” starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, a struggling actor with superhuman abilities…
Angel Reese is one of the newest investors in the Black-owned skincare brand Topicals…
X users @YungYinkv and @Jani_Gee hosted their first Denzel Washington-focused virtual watch club this week, live-tweeting his 1995 film “Devil in a Blue Dress.” They plan to watch one of his films every Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on X…
For REVOLT, Ty Cole spoke with Debbie Allen about her sister, Phylicia Rashad, her honorary Oscar, Netflix’s “A Different World” spinoff, and more…
Variety: Tracee Ellis Ross and her production company have entered a multi-year deal at Fox Entertainment Studios…
For Andscape, Martenzie Johnson spoke with Black women NFL agents who faced sexism and microaggressions while working at predominantly white agencies, leading them to create their own…
Obituaries
Edith Renfrow Smith, the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College and a longtime educator, has died. She was 111…
Dr. Janell Green Smith, a midwife who advocated for Black maternal health, has died. She was 31…Read Kimberly N. Alleyne’s URL Media column about birthing while Black…
Lenwood Sloan, a Pennsylvania historian who preserved Black Harrisburg and Lancaster art, history and culture through storytelling, has died. He was 77…
Marckell Williams, a talented photographer who was passionate about capturing the lives of others with his camera, has died. He was 26…
Virginia Coles, Hampton’s oldest living alumna, who dedicated her life to education, service, and community, has died. She was 105…
James Bernard, the founding editor of The Source and co-founder of XXL, has died…
Elle Simone Scott, “America’s Test Kitchen chef, food stylist, cookbook author and Detroit native, has died. She was 49...
Lynda Blackmon Lowery, one of the youngest marchers in Selma on “Bloody Sunday,” has died. She was 75…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute, 32 seconds…
This year, I want to share more of the books I’m reading, so I’ll use this space for that. I just wrapped up Char Adams’ incredible book “Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore”...
Atlanta-based hip-hop label Quality Control is seeking interns who want to learn the behind the scenes of the music business. Apply here…
Have a high school or first-year college student interested in journalism in the DMV area? Please encourage them to apply for the Urban Journalism Workshop! The program is free, and the deadline is Jan. 12. I appeared on FOX 5 DC to discuss the program…
The Washington Informer is convening the Informer AI Community Conversation, a virtual discussion series focused on shared understanding, accountability, and real-world impact. The program is free for all. Register here…
P.G. has pulled together a Black Books of the Month list, featuring top books by Black authors. Check it out…
Richard Smallwood’s Celebration of Life will be held on January 24th at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden International in Maryland…
The Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore is celebrating King Day 2026 with provoking conversations, musical performances and more on January 19 from 11 am to 5 pm. Kids are free…
Thanks so much for mentioning my essay! It means a lot!
Thank you for wonderful collection of stories.