Howdy friends! It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? We took a short little break from the newsletter. SO much has happened.

Yesterday was the first day back for thousands of L.A. Unified students. Unfortunately, federal immigration enforcement also showed up. LAUSD has implemented policies to protect students and their families: altering bus, creating safe zones around schools to sideline ICE, and distributing preparedness packets with know-your-rights info, emergency contact updates and tips on designating a backup caregiver in case a parent is detained to kids to share with their families.

There are also protocols to lock down schools when there is an ICE raid nearby and a “rapid communication task force.” and resources for families. It’s a new reality in America, and LAUSD officials are trying to figure out ways to keep kids safe.

I believe that the most important thing we all can do in times like this is build our community and ensure that we are not alone. Who are the people in your community that you can rely on? Think on that.

In our recent story on immigration as a Black issue, L.A.- based Community Coalition’s senior communications director said it well:

This month is also Black August, a time to commemorate the political prisoner movement and honor Black political prisoners who were killed by state-sanctioned violence. It is also a time to bring attention and awareness to current prison conditions, anti-Black state violence and systemic oppression.

This weekend, I think I might check out the new Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time docuseries on Hulu and Katrina: Come Hell and High Water documentary on Netflix. Both premiered in time for the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina which Black communities in New Orleans. Many people didn’t survive, and some of those who did continue to rebuild their lives.

For something lighter, maybe I’ll watch Love Island or The Gilded Age for the first time. What are you watching this weekend? Email me at [email protected].

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Take 5: Profiles of Black creatives, community change makers and cultural tastemakers in L.A.

Take 5 is a culture series from AfroLA that explores the lives and works of Los Angeles-area creatives, community change makers and cultural tastemakers. We ask them five (sometimes more!) questions about what makes their work impactful and important in L.A. Our goal is to allow Black Californians to tell their own stories, share their work and describe how they see themselves as part of L.A.’s social and cultural fabric

For our latest edition of Take 5, we interviewed L.A.-raised educator Miles Goodloe, a proud graduate of Crenshaw High School and UCLA. He’s ensuring that young people know as much as they can about finances so that they can attend college and accrue as little debt as possible. Watch our IG clip below (and our 5 minute YouTube video) to see why this young Black man from South Central still thinks it’s important for kids like him to go to college.

If you or someone you know has a compelling story to tell, email [email protected].

FEATURED STORY

LAUSD is sitting on millions in state funding for greening schools. Why are projects stalled for years?

By Maylin Tu

Stephanie Maynetto-Jackson's son was in preschool at Buchanan Street Elementary in Highland Park when she got involved with their schoolyard greening project. 

His school had an ambitious plan: The nonprofit North East Trees would remove 22,000 square feet of asphalt and replace it with trees, meadows, outdoor classrooms, bioswales, and a food forest.

But North East trees wasn't able to break ground until Maynetto-Jackson's son was finishing the third grade.

To parents, advocates, and experts, removing blacktop and replacing it with trees and natural materials is a no-brainer.

Many Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schoolyards resemble parking lots or prison yards, with students huddled on the edges during hot days in the little shade available from trees planted on the perimeter or under building overhangs.

As thousands of LAUSD students gear up for another scorching hot fall semester, there's one issue that persists year after year: slow progress because of district officials' red tape.

Maylin Tu reported on the politics of shade equity and the tug-of-war between LAUSD officials and local nonprofits, advocates & community members who feel mistreated and unheard. Read the story here.

Where in the world is AfroLA (and its leader) now?

It’s been quite a year…and I have spent a lot of it on the road reppin’ AfroLA. Here’s where I have been, what I’ve learned, and how I’m leveraging it for AfroLA.

• April in New York City: AI ethics in news. My hot take? We need to be more skeptical, cautious, thoughtful—and regulatory—as we integrate AI more into our lives. (Check our AfroLA’s policies to see how we approach using AI.)

• May in Denver: Collaborative journalism. I had the opportunity to moderate a conversation I wish we had more widely: What journalism can learn from mutual aid? It may sound like a stretch, but when you really think about it, it’s what journalism should be if we are fulfilling our mission as a public service. The community-building behind accessible disaster relief and building a community from scratch in the desert for Burning Man (IYKYK) aren’t as far removed as you might think.

• June in Kansas City: Rethinking audience engagement. How do we use the right tools (not the flashiest) to reach and engage audiences?

• July in Minneapolis: Convergence of news and technology. News nerds, get in formation! Beyoncé aside, this is one of my favorite conferences. Lots on AI — tools, tech and use cases — but some really thoughtful convos about “hearing the news” (literally) and organizing youth to use journalism as a tool of change. (Disclosure: I know both of these presenters.)

• In September, it’s two-fer. AfroLA is a finalist for LION’s Sustainability Award for Community Engagement for: “Internships that prioritize close mentoring, reporting project collaborations, and additional support for students and student journalists are part of what has made AfroLA so successful.” (ICYMI: We hosted 12 summer interns, from L.A. to NYC.)

  From LION in St. Louis I’m headed straight to New Orleans for INN’s annual awards and conference. We are nominated for explanatory journalism for our investigative series Water and Power, and for a recent collaboration with LARC, LA Reporting Collaborative to mentor and publish the work of early-career audio reporters. Wish us luck! 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾

  —Dana Amihere, founder/executive director

We are passing the collection plate. 🙏🏾 (It’s 100% tax-deductible.)

THE ROUNDUP

What federal control of D.C. police could mean for overpolicing in Black communities

By Christina Carrega (Capital B)

It’s been a tumultuous time in United States history as President Donald Trump decided to seize control over the state’s capital, even though crime has reached a 30-year low.

He deployed 800 National Guard members in a city that has a significant Black population, claiming that Washington, D.C. was “taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals”.

As Trump sets his eyes on deploying National Guard members to other cities with Black mayors and significant Black populations like Baltimore, Chicago and New York (Los Angeles and D.C. also have Black mayors), Capital B’s Christina Carrega reported on the harm that this could cause to a community of people who have historically and disproportionately been arrested, harmed and killed by law enforcement more than their white counterparts.

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Before Trump’s efforts to make kids healthier, there was Michelle Obama 

By Barbara Rodriquez (The 19th)

It seems like former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign to promote healthier diets for children was decades ago, doesn’t it? While she was heavily criticized for her initiative enforcing exercise and healthier school lunch standards at the time, Republicans are now embracing similar standards with the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ initiative. Even though the Trump Administration has new standards similar to Obama’s, it doesn’t look like a collaboration would be in the works anytime soon. Barbara Rodriquez wrote about that racial and gender aspects of this particular political arena and how much influence Obama was able to make in the country before Trump Administration took over. Kind of reminds me of this scene from Dreamgirls.

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Other stories I’m reading…

This photographer preserved life in New Orleans before Katrina — with a polaroid camera (Capital B)

Judge strikes down Trump administration guidance against diversity programs at schools and colleges (Associated Press)

‘Everyone is so scared’: Inside the Smithsonian as Trump attacks art, history (HuffPost)

Wilmington residents, plagued by oil industry, just want clean air (Los Angeles Public Press)

A few L.A. area things to do for a little palate cleanser:

Love, Peace and Spades to host competitive tournament at Compton Fest 2025 (LA Sentinel)

Blue Note LA opens (LAist)  

(Keep scrolling…It’s worth it.)

ICYMI: MORE AFROLA STORIES

New generation of Black percussionists takes center stage 

By Sage Swaby 

While classical music remains predominately white, the Alliance of Black Orchestral Percussionists (ABOP) is taking more Black percussionists under its wing.

London Johnson is just one of many protégés (as the program calls them) with the local non-profit organization. He and his family specifically moved to L.A. from Mississippi so that he could pursue music. Now, he envisions himself being a freelance musician who picks up studio gigs.

Johnson and other Black students in L.A. have two organizations to thank for his development — ABOP and the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA), the largest Black-majority youth orchestra in the country. ICYOLA’s full student orchestra accompanied the ABOP protégés in their repertoire performance. (Trust us, this is a BIG deal.)

Read AfroLA reporting intern Sage Swaby's story to learn about how these two organizations create musicians who can not only play instruments, but also teach skills that will last a lifetime.

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Helpline provides counseling to address — and prevent - relationship violence

By Elizabeth Moss 

In a time when federal funding for domestic violence services is being cut by the Trump administration, the Call for Change helpline allows callers to be honest about harm in relationships.

The helpline, which is completely confidential and free, provides 90-minute counseling sessions to people who want to reframe or interrogate violent thoughts or behavior without involving police.

Many calls come from men who admit to being violent toward a loved one and want to work through their behavior. Repeat calls are encouraged.

The Alliance engages community groups to advocate for policy change that reverses systemic racism. Read more about how the helpline works and the threats from the federal government in Elizabeth Moss’s latest story.

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Black immigrants navigate dual identities and erasure as ICE crackdowns continue 

By: Aaricka Washington, AfroLA and Michelle Zacarias, CALÓ News 

Conversations around immigration, especially in Los Angeles, have long centered on Latine communities. But Black communities aren’t outsiders to the immigration struggle — they are central to it.

"The reality is, within Black America, immigration has always been an issue, but it has never been part of our identity," said Guerline Jozef, the co-founder and executive director of San Diego-based nonprofit Haitian Bridge Alliance.

And as the Trump Administration ramps up efforts to crack down on immigration, fears of deportation are heightened in Black immigrant communities.

In July, a federal judge in New York blocked an attempt to end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which offers relief as raids increasingly target Black and Afro Caribbean immigrants in California and across the country. The more than 4 million Black immigrants living in the United States, about 15% of which are undocumented, face disproportionate rates of detention, deportation and criminalization.

In Los Angeles, one in five Black Angelenos are either immigrants themselves or have at least one immigrant parent.

"Being Black in America as an immigrant is a trifecta — criminalized, over-policed, and then deported,” Jozef said.

Read the story collaboration from AfroLA’s Aaricka Washington and Michelle Zacarias of CALÓ News detailing how Black immigrants are fighting for visibility and some Black communities are showing their support amid continued ICE raids.

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