The swift time changes throughout the seasons used to bother me. It can feel like jet lag. But this season, I’ve grown more accustomed to practicing gratitude. I am alive and well. I’ve fallen in love with Daylight Savings Time. Time seems to be moving at a lightyear’s pace and getting some extra sun in the late afternoon/evening is good for your girl, OK?

(I’ve also been on a Roy Ayers kick since he died last week, and it’s been positively impacting my mood).

How can you not smile and feel good knowing that spring is just around the corner?

Spring represents more than blossoming flowers like the California Lilac, it symbolizes new beginnings, renewal and growth.

Speaking of growth, AfroLA has been blooming lately. We just released our 2023-2024 Impact Report which features some amazing achievements these first two years.

Here are just five of the many things we are proud of.

1. Investigating L.A.’s thirst for water…and power

We partnered with The Guardian US and print weekly The Sheet to co-publish an investigation into the L.A. Department of Water and Power’s presence in the Eastern Sierra and its impact on rural Californians. As a part of producing the first stories in our Water and Power series, investigative data reporter Katie Licari made herself part of the community. She hosted office hours at a locally-owned coffee shop. An online voice mailbox was set up to engage with community members who weren’t able to attend or who wanted to leave an anonymous tip. The first story published in May 2024 reached the No. 1 spot on the entire Guardian site within hours of being published online, and reached 240,000 page views (and counting) within the first 24 hours.

2. Documenting environmental injustices ‘Next Door’

Last June, our Next Door photo and reporting project was displayed at the Los Angeles Center of Photography. Local high school students and professionals with Black Women Photographers were paired to document the impacts of environmental and racial injustices around L.A. They interviewed residents in predominantly Black and Latine communities more disproportionately impacted. Students produced mini-podcasts accessible in the exhibit by QR code to create an immersive experience.

3. Election 2024

   We provided necessary and in-depth coverage on key election issues and how these policies impacted Black communities in L.A. We partnered with the The Beta Psi Lambda Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the Alpha Gamma Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. for community engagement events on election night.

4. Kudos and awards

   In 2024, our first year of eligibility, we were nominated for 8 SoCal Journalism Awards from the Los Angeles Press Club. We brought home 5 awards!

   Expanding our reach

   In 2023 and 2024, our total Breakdown subscribers increased about 57%. That tells us that we have steady, incremental growth in our newsletter subscriber base (aka cool people like yourself).

   We have so many more wins to celebrate, and we’re already building upon successes in 2025. Help inform our next steps by answering below.

   What would you like to see from us?

Please let us know what you think. Email me at [email protected].

FEATURED STORY

What L.A.’s fading sno-ball industry tells us about local Creole culinary traditions

By Ural Garrett

SUPPORT AFROLA

Read through our Impact Report and you will see how far your donations go. In order for us to keep on blossoming, we need your help. Our reporters need you to support their continued hard work for the underserved communities in Los Angeles.
Help us continue to deliver quality journalism into your inbox.

We wholeheartedly appreciate your generosity.

 Donate to us today. We need your support to keep this momentum going.

THE ROUNDUP

Cory Booker breaks a 68-year-old Senate record with a 25-hour speech

By Rachel Treisman and Alana Wise

For 68 years, Strom Thurmond, an ardent segregationist who strongly opposed Black Americans having the right to vote, held the record for the longest filibuster speech in Senate history.

On Tuesday, just after 8 p.m. EDT, New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker surpassed his record by over an hour. In total, he stood up and spoke for 25 hours and 4 minutes. In his speech, he spoke about topics that ranged from health care to immigration. He also read some letters from constituents were impacted by Trump Administration’s recent policies.

What makes his senate floor speech unique is not only was it on traditional media like C-Span, but the speech was also live on TikTok where it received over 350 million likes. More than 115,000 people watched on his official Youtube livestream.

So why is this so important?

Well, many activists have articulated their frustration with the Democratic Party’s lack of actions against the Trump Administration. This was seen as an act of “doing something”. Even though he was not actually working to stop a specific legislation, his goal was to emphasize the threat that the Trump Administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE on the American and international population. Vox calls it “political theater” and a “protest”.

Read more.

* * *

Head of African American Museum on leave as Smithsonian faces Trump pressure 

By Kriston Capps and Sophia Nguyen (Washington Post)

According to an internal email obtained by the Washington Post, Kevin Young, the director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture has been on personal leave since March 14.

While there is no proof that his leave is tied to the recent Trump Administration’s executive order, the order did specifically mention NMAAHC and several other Smithsonian and national museums for what the administration calls implementing “historical revision”.

Read more.

* * *

Radical Change Isn’t Free

By Ed Pilkington (The Guardian)

* * *

MORE STORIES

How should Los Angeles rebuild? The answer may exist in our building codes.

by Elizabeth Moss

January’s wildfires, including the Palisades and Eaton Fires, leveled at least 10,000 homes. Now, many people are wondering, HOW do we rebuild?

One place to look for answers is California’s strong building codes, which address threats of wildfire to structures.

California's state codes, including Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) standards, ensure that homes built in wildfire high risk areas are armored with fire-resistant materials that can withstand encroaching blazes.

But here’s the rub: The most updated standards only apply to homes built after 2008, meaning much of L.A.’s aging housing stock is not up to code. Many of the homes that were engulfed in flames in the Palisades and Eaton fires were built more than 25 years ago. And even if homes are within the WUI standards, the law is not always enforced.

When the codes are enforced, studies show they work.

In a study of homes lost during 2018’s Camp Fire, which devastated the city of Paradise, researchers found that 86% of single-family homes were built before 1990. Of those, roughly 12% survived. The odds of housing survival jumped to 43% for homes built after 2008.

“The California Building Code wildfire provisions are state of the art. They are the best way to design a home to be resistant to fire,” said Ann Jeffers, an associate professor at the University of Michigan whose research focuses on fire safety engineering. While California has building codes to address risks to destructive fires like the distance between homes, defensible space and radiant heat, there’s still so much work to be done to research, update and enforce better codes for today’s standard. Read Elizabeth Moss’s latest story to read what experts consider the way to rebuild for California’s current reality.

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