When mainstream media largely ignored the Black community, or positioned us in an unfavorable light, the Black press has been the lighthouse that has illuminated our paths.
From the Freedom’s Journal to the Chicago Defender, and of course, the Los Angeles Sentinel, Black publications and journalists have been on the frontlines fighting for social justice, equality, and basic human rights for Black communities. With the recent killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Black America is reminded of the power the Black press holds. The rage, the protests, the tears, and the chants screaming, “Black Lives Matter,” inspire Black newspapers and digital media outlets to keep advocating for change.
Black Americans have to be involved at all levels of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. We cannot afford to be silent, detached, denied, or prevented from being at the decision-making tables in terms of COVID-19 public health policies, research, clinical trials, remedies, and vaccine development. Our lives and future are at stake.
“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.
This is a direct appeal to Governor Newsom, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez and our entire state legislature. I’m writing this on behalf of the more than 20 African American-owned newspapers that operate in cities and towns across California.
This is a direct appeal to Governor Gavin Newsom, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez and our entire state legislature. I’m writing this on behalf of the more than 20 African American-owned newspapers that operate in cities and towns across California. As the leaders we’ve elected to represent and protect the interests of all Californians, we are asking each of you to search your hearts, look beyond blind spots, step in, and do the one thing that will prevent Assembly Bill 5 from putting the Black press in California out of business. That is: Exempt the contract couriers who deliver our newspapers
After 114 years of using ink on paper to deliver news that informs, educates and empowers the African American community throughout the Windy City, Real Times Media, parent company of the Chicago Defender, has announced that the Chicago Defender will move to a digital-only format with its July 11 edition. The final printed edition will be delivered Wednesday, July 10.
Nationalist, Pan-Africanism movement leader and Negro World newspaper founder Marcus Mosiah Garvey and Washington AFRO-AMERICAN publisher emeritus Francis L. Murphy II, were enshrined into the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Gallery of Distinguished Publishers during Black Press Week in Washington, D.C.
“The Black Press is an aspect of the fabric of the Black existence in America that is not getting enough attention or support from the community,” Kisha A. Brown, the founder and CEO of Justis Connection, told NNPA Newswire.
The Black Press remains resilient and powerful with NNPA members providing excellent reporting from a Black perspective for more than 75 years while celebrating 192 years of the Black Press in America.
It’s vital that the Black Press continue to focus on telling the stories that are relevant to the Black community and recording Black history