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Marcus Garvey, Frances Murphy Enshrined into Black Press Gallery of Distinguished Publishers

NNPA NEWSWIRE — 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.

Published

5 years ago

March 23, 2019

Oakland Post

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

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.

Garvey was also a noted figure in the publishing world where for five-cents, readers of his newspaper received a front-page editorial written by him along with poetry and articles of international interest to people of African ancestry.

Murphy, a graduate of Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore, who received her bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Wisconsin and degrees from Coppin State College and Johns Hopkins University, believed the AFRO belonged to the community. As its publisher, every year she would invite readers to write their family histories and send them in along with historical pictures.

“My mother wrote a column called ‘If you asked me,’ so I believe if my mother was here today she would say, ‘if you asked me, it’s certainly a privilege to be honored by the National Newspaper Publishers Association,’” said the Rev. Dr. Toni Draper, Murphy’s daughter, who accepted the enshrinement on her late mother’s behalf.

“I think she’d say that ‘I’m grateful that I’m chosen for this honor and even more grateful that I’m chosen on this platform with the honorable Marcus Garvey,” Draper said.

Garvey’s son, Dr. Julius Garvey, accepted the honor on behalf of the late civil rights leader.

“My dad developed his oratorical skills in large part through his work in newspapers, other publications and speeches,” Garvey said. “He used the dictionary and would read through it learning new words every day and, at one point, his words reached between 6 and 11 million people around the world,” he said.

The Black Press Archives was founded in 1973, as a joint project of Howard University and the NNPA, and established at the University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.

According to the Houston Forward Times, the idea of establishing a Black Press Archives and Gallery of Distinguished Newspaper Publishers was that of William O. Walker, editor-publisher of the Cleveland Call and Post, who first articulated the need for an academic institution that would provide a setting in which historical records related to the Black Press, as well as the newspapers themselves, could be collected, preserved and made available to scholars, students and the public.

Walker also envisioned a gallery in which the photographs and accomplishments of Black Press notables would be on permanent display.

The idea was developed by the NNPA under the direction of Carlton B. Goodlett, NNPA president and editor-publisher of the San Francisco Sun-Reporter, and welcomed by James E. Cheek, then president of Howard University.

In March 1977, during the sesquicentennial celebration of the founding of Freedom’s Journal, the first African American newspaper, the Black Press Archives and Gallery of Distinguished Newspaper Publishers were dedicated in ceremonies at Howard University.

Garvey and Murphy join dozens of others to receive enshrinement.

Born in 1887 in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, Garvey counted as one of 11 children – only Marcus and one of his siblings survived into adulthood.

Garvey received an education in London that would likely have not been available to him in the Americas because of the color of his skin.

He later returned to Jamaica and started the United Negro Improvement Association and he went on to create thousands of jobs for Black people in America and abroad through his many enterprises under the umbrella of the Negro Factories Corporation.

At the ceremony held inside DC’s historical Metropolitan AME Church, a contingent of Garvey family and friends included the chief of the mission of the Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Ambassador Sidique Abou-Bakarr Wai.

Family and friends and AFRO employees were on hand to witness Murphy’s enshrinement.

Born in 1922, Murphy enjoyed two professions for most of her life – working at the AFRO, which was founded by her grandfather, John H. Murphy Sr., in 1892 and teaching.

From 1958 to 1964, she taught third grade in the Baltimore City Public Schools and also taught at Morgan State College where she headed the news bureau from 1964 to 1971.

She also taught at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and at the State University College at Baltimore, where Murphy headed the journalism sequence from 1975 to 1985.

Both inductees were further honored with video tributes and salutes from NNPA Foundation Chair Amelia Ashley-Ward; NNPA Association Chair Dorothy R. Leavell and NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.

“If my mom were here today, I think she’d say, ‘if you ask me, I could have told you years ago that the Black Press would still be alive and well,” Draper said.

For a complete list of all of the NNPA publishers enshrined and a special edition on the 192 years of the Black Press, click here.

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IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, activist Ramona Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as colored people, or Negroes. That is until Ramona Edelin came along. The activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform, and community empowerment, died at her D.C. residence last month at the age of 78. Her death, finally confirmed this week by Barnaby Towns, a communications strategist who collaborated with Dr. Edelin, was attributed to cancer.

Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.

Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s.

Jackson had announced the preference for “African American,” speaking for summit organizers that included Dr. Edelin. “Just as we were called Colored, but were not that, and then Negro, but not that, to be called Black is just as baseless,” he said, adding that “African American” “has cultural integrity” and “puts us in our proper historical context.”

Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage.

“Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.”

The HistoryMakers bio noted that Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.

Transitioning from academia to advocacy, Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition in 1977, eventually ascending to president and CEO. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives such as the “Say Yes to a Youngster’s Future” program, which provided crucial support in math, science, and technology to youth and teachers of color in urban areas. Her biography noted that Edelin’s efforts extended nationwide through partnerships with organizations like the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.

President Bill Clinton recognized Edelin’s expertise by appointing her to the Presidential Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1998. She also co-founded and served as treasurer of the Black Leadership Forum, solidifying her standing as a respected leader in African American communities.

Beyond her professional achievements, Edelin dedicated herself to numerous boards and committees, including chairing the District of Columbia Educational Goals 2000 Panel and contributing to the Federal Advisory Committee for the Black Community Crusade for Children.

Throughout her life, Edelin received widespread recognition for her contributions. Ebony magazine honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, and she received prestigious awards such as the Southern Christian Leadership Award for Progressive Leadership and the IBM Community Executive Program Award.

The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Tennessee State University (TSU), the state’s only public historically Black college and university (HBCU), faces a tumultuous future as Gov. Bill Lee dissolved its board, a move supported by racist conservatives and MAGA Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly, who follow the lead of the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, alleged sexual predator former President Donald Trump. Educators and others have denounced the move as an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and a grave setback for higher education.

Critics argue that TSU’s purported financial mismanagement is a manufactured crisis rooted in decades of underinvestment by the state government. They’ve noted that it continues a trend by conservatives and the racist MAGA movement to eliminate opportunities for Blacks in education, corporate America, and the public sector.

Gevin Reynolds, a former speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizes in an op-ed that TSU’s financial difficulties are not the result of university leadership because a recent audit found no evidence of fraud or malfeasance.

Reynolds noted that the disbanding of TSU’s board is not an isolated incident but part of a broader assault on DE&I initiatives nationwide. Ten states, including Tennessee, have enacted laws banning DE&I policies on college campuses, while governors appointing MAGA loyalists to university trustee positions further undermine efforts to promote inclusivity and equality.

Moreover, recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.

The actions echo historical efforts to suppress Black progress, reminiscent of the violent backlash against gains made during the Reconstruction era. President Joe Biden warned during an appearance in New York last month that Trump desires to bring the nation back to the 18th and 19th centuries – in other words, to see, among other things, African Americans back in the chains of slavery, women subservient to men without any say over their bodies, and all voting rights restricted to white men.

The parallels are stark, with white supremacist ideologies used to justify attacks on Black institutions and disenfranchise marginalized communities, Reynolds argued.

In response to these challenges, advocates stress the urgency of collective action to defend democracy and combat systemic racism. Understanding that attacks on institutions like TSU are symptomatic of broader threats to democratic norms, they call for increased civic engagement and voting at all levels of government.

The actions of people dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusivity, equity, and justice for all will determine the outcome of the ongoing fight for democracy, Reynolds noted. “We are in a war for our democracy, one whose outcome will be determined by every line on every ballot at every precinct,” he stated.

The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy

May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …
The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.