For this week’s edition of The Intersection, we’re counting down the five most read issues and highlighting the stories that resonated with you, our readers.
5. Conservative politics have taken over the US Supreme Court
In just one week this summer, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority published three rulings that only served to further marginalize people from diverse backgrounds.
The court ruled that race-conscious admission policies violate the equal protection clause, effectively ending affirmative action; upheld the right of business owners whose services involve speech to refuse LGBTQ+ clientele; and struck down the Biden Administration’s student loan forgiveness plan.
This trio of rulings hit me like a ton of bricks, but being able to write about them through the lens of the URL Media network partners helped me to process my shock.
4. How you can be an ally to workers
When companies treat their employees poorly, the first instinct for a lot of people is to boycott the company. However, if workers have not called for a boycott, this action could end up doing more harm than good.
One way people can hold companies accountable is to repeatedly and publicly call them out to make other people aware of the situation. Another way people can get involved is to attend rallies held by workers.
Above all, any action being done in support of workers should amplify their voices, their experiences, and their efforts to hold employers accountable.
3. Anti-immigrant labor policies are backfiring
Since a law meant to crack down on businesses hiring undocumented workers went into effect, construction projects across the state have stalled due to a lack of workers.
This has caused an increase in prices for projects that have been able to find laborers and the fleeing of immigrants out of the state — regardless of status — out of fear of persecution.
And it’s not just immigrant communities and businesses that depend on immigrant labor. These laws negatively impact everyone.
2. Young people are begging for more mental health support, and we should listen
Earlier this year, URL Media partner Scalawag published its series on youth mental health, giving young people from the South a platform to “capture what’s on their minds in their own words,” as writer and youth journalism advocate Rainesford Stauffer, who curated the series, wrote.
In this series, readers are introduced to a number of youth who talk about how adults in positions of power are failing them when it comes to mental health. I hope every adult who works with youth reads this series and takes it to heart.
CW: This essay includes mentions of suicide.
1. ‘Blue Beetle’ let me be the hero for once
“Blue Beetle” is the first Latino superhero in the DC Comics universe, and the film was the first live-action superhero movie led by a Latino cast earlier this year. But “Blue Beetle” is so much more than that.
For once, Latino audiences got to see people who look like them, their friends, and their families save the day. They got to see their family dynamics up on the big screen reflected back to them.
And all of the Latinos involved, including director Ángel Manuel Soto, got a chance to share that part of themselves with audiences worldwide.
I want to end this newsletter by thanking all of you for taking the time to read and engage with my work over the past year. I’m wishing you all a very happy holiday season filled with love. — Alicia Ramirez
Uplift. Respect. Love.
