Celebrates the 190th Anniversary of the Black Press During Black Press Week
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) will honor veteran Democratic strategist Donna Brazile with the 2017 Torch Award for Outstanding Leadership and Achievement in Political Empowerment during Black Press Week 2017 (March 22-March 24) in the nation’s capital.
Brazile, who is also an author, syndicated columnist and television political commentator, will receive the award at the 2017 NNPA Torch Awards Dinner on Thursday, March 23 at The Dupont Circle Hotel. The NNPA will also honor Wade Henderson, the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the Leadership Conference Education Fund, and Roy Lewis, an award-winning photographer for The Washington Informer.
NNPA members, partners and sponsors from across the country travel to the nation’s capital for the annual celebration of the Black Press. This year, the trade group will commemorate the 190th anniversary of the launch of the Black Press. On March 16, 1827, John Russwurm and Reverend Samuel Cornish, published the first edition of the “Freedom’s Journal.”
Black Press Week 2017 will feature a joint welcome reception hosted by the NNPA and the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), an enshrinement ceremony honoring the memory of Lenora ”Doll” Carter, meetings with members of Congress on Capitol Hill, and a public education workshop on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
The public education workshop will take place on Friday, March 24 from 8am-10am at The Dupont Circle Hotel; the event will also be livestreamed.
The NNPA recently received a media grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to create a public awareness campaign about ESSA, the education law signed by President Barack Obama in December 2015.
Black Press Week attendees will also participate in panel discussions on advertising, brand development, and ethnic media and politics in the age of President Trump.
Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., the president and CEO of the NNPA, said that the NNPA convenes Black Press Week 2017 with a strong sense of cultural and business pride during the 190th anniversary celebration of the Black Press in America.
“Today, our print and digital businesses continue to be the authentic and trusted voice of Black America,” said Chavis. “We publish truth to power. We articulate the aspirations of 47 million African Americans and others who cry out for freedom, justice, equality, and empowerment.”
Chavis thanked NNPA partners General Motors-Chevrolet, Ford Motor Company, Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Chavis also recognized NNPA sponsors Volkswagen, Ascension, Coca-Cola, the American Association for Cancer Research, and Honda for supporting the NNPA’s mission during 2017 Black Press Week.
Follow Black Press Week 2017 events on social media using the hashtag “#BlackPress190Yrs.”
