Black journalists arrested in Minneapolis, the decline in Black press, and how the National Park Service is deleting American history.

The series starts today! Join us for one newsletter each day in February that highlights a moment in Black history, aligned to this year’s theme: A Century of Black History Commemoration.

I absolutely loved reading through the hundreds of reflections from my digital detox email a couple weeks ago. Most of us are in the same practice, trying to balance connection and staying updated with the relief, peace, and groundedness that can come from being online. Some highlights:

I really love how many of you are used to having limited technology and never jumped on the hyperconnectivity train. You offered advice of finding creative practices and embracing boredom to stay offline:

“As a senior ( I remember when tvs only came in blk and white) my mother limited tv time (the 50's and 60's) so I am not a tv watcher I have a creative practice that takes up most of my time. My two grandsons also get free time   I have friends that interact with in person. I've often thought of the motivation that capitalism promotes that more is better but there is a limit.” –Laquita

Others mentioned the role that capitalism plays in disconnecting, which I think is worth underlying. Even now, our email inboxes are cluttered with ads from third-parties. A couple readers mentioned that disconnecting has a real financial return; it reduces shopping by limiting it directly, and reducing the FOMO that can yield to spending more.

“If I had to leave my phone I’d be excited to be without the constant ads! I’ve been trying to unsubscribe to any unnecessary emails - but it’s getting to the point where I want to just unsubscribe to it all. How I balance that with still being aware of the news etc I’m not sure yet. Ads are everywhere and they are suffocating - I feel like 95% of the emails I get are just ads or emails trying to sell me clothes, meat etc.” –Loren

A few of us are already offline, and recommended different products that have worked for you. Some are using the Brick to build stronger habits, and others have embraced the Light Phone, phones from Sunbeam Wireless, and got landlines installed. Others are being more diligent of leaving their phone at home when possible or in a different room while home.

“As a devout basic phone user, I feel that I have an advantage when it comes to ‘disconnecting’. I'm online all day for work, and in the evening for school, community work, and personal stuff. Though to be able to walk away from my laptop and not be tethered to internet access is a relief. It's tough in a world built for smartphone users. But I wouldn't have it any other way.” –LB

I think more time needs to be focused on addressing the grief and isolation that minimizing phone use can call. Many respondents named how reducing use has prompted difficult conversations with friends and colleagues and can shift relationships. I’m curious how that divide may deepen if daily phone usage rates continues to increase.

You can drop me a line anytime by replying to this email or emailing [email protected].

In scathing ruling, Texas judge orders 5-year-old boy and his dad be released. The federal judge’s ruling criticizes the Trump administration, orders Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and his son be released while the case proceeds. San Antonio Express News >

‘Does that mean my friends are gonna get taken?’ The children of Minneapolis grapple with ICE separating families. Some immigrant parents are avoiding seeking medical care for sick children, while other kids worry about their friends’ safety. Prism >

ICE is not the only problem. Border Patrol has acted with impunity for decades. Ending immigration agents’ abuses requires reckoning with a long history of cruelty at the border. Truthout >

At day cares in Minnesota, strangers are showing up at their doors as parents scramble to protect staff. The harassment comes as the primarily immigrant workforce is also under siege by ICE enforcement. 19th News >

A city-by-city breakdown of Trump’s immigration raids and troop deployments. The Trump administration deployed federal troops into at least 10 cities. Capital B News >

The farcical case against Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for protest reporting. The Justice Department is weaponizing a law intended to protect those seeking abortions to punish reporters covering anti-ICE activism. The Intercept >

Alex Pretti shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis prompts DOJ civil rights probe. The Civil Rights Division is investigating the Saturday killing of Alex Pretti federal agents in Minneapolis, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in Washington on Friday. NPR >

How the National Park Service is deleting American history. Philadelphia sued the Trump administration after it directed the Park Service to rip out a memorial to slavery. Elsewhere, materials about climate change and labor history were being removed. NYTimes >

In anti-DEI era, Black press loses 80% of its revenue. The nation’s Black press has experienced an 80% decline in revenue since the DEI backlash ramped up a year ago. Now, the percentage that Black journalists occupy in the nation’s newsrooms is roughly the same as it was 50 years ago. Journal-isms >

Ms. Shirley Raines, viral advocate for the unhoused and founder of Beauty 2 The Streetz, passes away. Through Beauty 2 The Streetz, viral philanthropist Shirley Raines offered care, dignity, resources, and hope to homeless communities. The Grio >

ENVIRONMENT

Climate news is written in a language most people can’t understand. A new report argues that English-only climate science and disaster alerts are excluding most of the world and putting Indigenous communities at greater risk. Grist >

New bills seek to rein in oil companies’ pollution of Oklahoma groundwater. The legislation comes after The Frontier and ProPublica found over 150 incidents where oilfield wastewater had gushed from the earth, releasing toxic chemicals — including some that cause cancer — near homes and farms and into drinking water sources. ProPublica >

She was a key voice of the 1990s labor movement in Nike’s Indonesia factories. Today, she relies on donations from abroad. In 1992, Cicih Sukaesih led fellow Indonesian factory workers in a strike, part of a movement that led Nike to create its first code of conduct. She reflects on her achievements and what’s happened since. ProPublica >

Migration Is Natural. Only Humans Criminalize It. More than lines on a map, a home is made by those who live there: citizens and neighbors, holding each other's sanctity hand-in-hand. Atmos >

CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM

Former Illinois deputy who killed Sonya Massey is sentenced to 20 years in prison. Sean Grayson, 31, could be sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison. Massey's killing raised new questions about U.S. law enforcement shootings of Black people in OUR homes. PBS >

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Two vague Florida bills seek to felonize giving gender-affirming care to trans kids. Both bills would charge any medical practitioner who “aids or abets” in the provision of gender-affirming care. them >

IN PROTEST

TikTok restricts Gaza journalist Bisan Owda’s account mere days after U.S. deal. Owda’s account had 1.4 million followers and has become a trusted space for updates from the frontlines for many Americans. Truthout >

Nurses saw themselves in Alex Pretti’s death. Now they’re demanding justice. Nurses have advocated for better working conditions for years. Pretti’s death elevated the ongoing challenges for a profession that is increasingly in the crosshairs of immigration enforcement. 19th News >

Berkeley students make 300,000 Wikipedia edits to preserve queer history against Trump. The assignment currently replaces a final paper in three of her classes: “Documenting Marginal Lives,” “Queer of Color Cultural Production,” and “Queer of Color Critique. them >

How artists can help get ICE out of Minneapolis (and everywhere). A few takeaways from a 500-person virtual workshop on how artists can show up and meaningfully support organizing in this moment. Convergence >

How two of this Oscars season’s buzziest films failed their Black heroines. A look at how Sinners and One Battle After Another both take a masculinist approach to their ideas around liberation. Hanna Phifer >

A Stunning Escape From Slavery Told on Tattered Pages. In the mid-1800s, before the Civil War, Thomas White fled his enslavement in Maryland for freedom. His tale of finding freedom is discovered more than a century after it was documented. Smithsonian >

From JFK to Trump: How the Insurrection Act shifted from Civil Rights to political combat. The military has been used domestically about 30 times since 1807, mostly to enforce civil rights and quell riots. Can they be used to quash political protests? Marshall Project >