It not only marked Trump’s first time on the network but also his initial interview with any African American-owned media. The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of 230 Black-owned newspapers and media companies that comprise the Black Press of America, has repeatedly requested interviews with the president throughout his nearly four years in office.
The Biden Campaign will also spend on ad buys with African American-owned media, including the NNPA, TV One, Roland Martin Unfiltered and others. Campaign officials said they will continue to add other media outlets targeting African Americans as the campaign moves forward.
Sentinel Managing Editor, Brandon I. Brooks joins the interview
On Wednesday, May 6 at 1PM ET, four publishers from across the country, including Bobby Henry of Florida’s Westside Gazette, Sonny Messiah Jiles of the Houston Defender, Hiram Jackson of Real Times Media (whose publications include the Chicago Defender and five other regional weeklies in the U.S.) and Larry Lee of the Sacramento Observer, will participate in a special livestream broadcast to discuss the status of their operations as the global COVID-19 pandemic rages on.
NNPA Sr. Correspondent Stacy Brown is joined by Dr. Leigh-Ann Webb, MD, MBA, Assistant Professor, University of Virginia, Dept of Emergency Medicine and Reggie Swift, Founder of Rubix Life Sciences for a wide-reaching discussion on COVID-19 testing, treatment and impact.
During a visit to the infirmary at SCI-Phoenix for high blood pressure issues, Mr. Cosby was informed that the carotid arteries on the right and left side of his neck had 90% blockage due to plaque build-up (the carotid arteries are the major blood vessels in the neck that supply blood to the brain, neck and face).
“People are stressed and worried, not only about caring for themselves but protecting and caring for someone in the home or someone long distance,” Choula stated.
“It’s very important that there is increased conversation with nursing facilities through virtual visitation and phone calls, which is what AARP is advocating.”
“We are the number one target for this disease. We have pre-existing conditions, and yet we’re told to go home when we visit the emergency room. We know that there must be some form of regulation in place for testing and getting testing sites and equipment into the community,” said Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Michigan).
“As we deal with some of the most challenging times in modern history, it is important that we understand the significance of the Black Press in reporting on and recording our history,” said National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Chair, and publisher of the Houston Forward Times, Karen Carter Richards. The NNPA is the national trade association representing America’s Black Press.
Only journalists of color received an invitation to the event, which included remarks from Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), and several others.
“I got started in the African American community. I got involved in the Civil Rights Movement when I was a kid. I helped de-segregate a movie theater, that kind of thing,” Biden noted. “I was the only guy who worked in the projects on the East Side who was White. That’s how I got started, and the Black community is the community that, as we say, brung me to the dance. That’s how I got elected.”
“The Bloomberg campaign’s initiative is groundbreaking, and it goes to significantly increasing the economic health of African Americans by tripling their net worth,” said Columbia, South Carolina Mayor Steve Benjamin, who co-chairs Bloomberg’s campaign. “The Bloomberg model is intentionally focused on creating a million new African American homeowners, 100,000 new African American-owned businesses, and $70 billion in federal capital to go in the 100 most challenged neighborhoods across the country.”
An annual highlight of the conference was the 2020 NNPA Publisher Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to The Dallas Examiner’s distinguished publisher, Mollie Finch Belt.
Following the Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court case, which gutted key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, 14 states had new voting restrictions in place before the 2016 Presidential election, and there were 868 fewer polling places across the country, according to the Poor Peoples Campaign.
“It is with great pleasure that the NNPA Executive Committee has selected Mollie Belt for the honor of the Publishers Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the NNPA for so many years,” stated NNPA National Chair and Houston Forward Times Publisher Karen Carter Richards.