National

Black Press Called ‘Essential’ to Future Progress

Published

9 years ago

February 5, 2015

From left to right: NNPA Convention Co-Chair Terry Jones; NNPA President Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.; Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister Philip E. Davis; Convention Co-Chair Karen Carter Richards and NNPA Chairman Cloves C. Campbell (NNPA Photo by Ann Ragland)

By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

NASSAU, Bahamas (NNPA) – A top Bahamas official praised the Black Press last week as essential to truthfully and creditably chronicling African American progress from one generation to the next.

Philip E. Davis, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development, commended the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) for 75 years of excellence.

“It goes without saying that your relevance, with time, is all the more important as the stories of struggle and sacrifice are passed on to each generation of Blacks,” he said in a speech at the NNPA mid-winter convention here. “This is essential so that our youth and future generations understand and appreciate the price of what they enjoy today.”

NNPA publishers were also greeted by Minister of Tourism Obediah H. Wilchcombe. A former journalist, Wilchcombe pledged to advertise in NNPA newspapers to help attract tourists, especially African Americans, to the Bahamas.

In his speech, Davis said, “No one has the authority to tell your story like you can so as to aptly illustrate in the words of an old African proverb: ‘Until the lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunters.’”
Davis urged publishers to continue providing robust coverage of their communities while embracing the technology favored by young people.

“As you move to celebrate Black History Month beginning early next week, I encourage you to continue as responsible generational leaders, being the critical voice that gives the perspective that others are simply not equipped to give,” he said. “I also entreat you to embrace the technology of youth. Arming yourselves in this way will allow you to exponentially contribute to nurturing hearts and enlightening minds throughout the world.”

Davis drew a direct link between the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and recent unrest across the nation when unarmed African Americans were killed by police officers who were never prosecuted.

“Today, history screams as loudly in Ferguson [Mo.] as it did in Mississippi during the 1960s,” he said. “We must, though, be careful that the ideologies which led to our bonded and disenfranchised forebears to unrest and uprising are not used to rationalize the actions of those who resist the necessary casings of law and order.

“As journalists, your role as peacekeepers, therefore, can never be overstated. You must do all that you can to continue to be forthright and objective truth-tellers, calming the waters, while providing an accessible resource for young emerging leaders.”

Like African Americans, Davis said, the Bahamas has had its own struggles with racial tension. He said that history is “painfully punctuated with accounts of bloodshed and death, poverty and provocative policemen, incited cities and solemn cemeteries.”

He explained, “Much as that history derives from the abominable Jim Crow that survives today dressed in the fabled emperor’s new clothes.”

###

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

New York Court Asked to Release Chokehold Death Details

Don't Miss

States Renew Push for Guns in Schools

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

23 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Commentary

Commentary: Republican Votes Are Threatening American Democracy

In many ways, it was great that the Iowa Caucuses were on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We needed to know the blunt truth. The takeaway message after the Iowa Caucuses where Donald Trump finished more than 30 points in front of Florida Gov. De Santis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley boils down to this: Our democracy is threatened, for real.

Published

4 days ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

It was strange for Iowans to caucus on MLK day. It had a self-cancelling effect. The day that honored America’s civil rights and anti-discrimination hero was negated by evening. That’s when one of the least diverse states in the nation let the world know that white Americans absolutely love Donald Trump. No ifs, ands or buts.

By Emil Guillermo

In many ways, it was great that the Iowa Caucuses were on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

We needed to know the blunt truth.

The takeaway message after the Iowa Caucuses where Donald Trump finished more than 30 points in front of Florida Gov. De Santis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley boils down to this: Our democracy is threatened, for real.

And to save it will require all hands on deck.

It was strange for Iowans to caucus on MLK day. It had a self-cancelling effect. The day that honored America’s civil rights and anti-discrimination hero was negated by evening.

That’s when one of the least diverse states in the nation let the world know that white Americans absolutely love Donald Trump. No ifs, ands or buts.

No man is above the law? To the majority of his supporters, it seems Trump is.

It’s an anti-democracy loyalty that has spread like a political virus.

No matter what he does, Trump’s their guy. Trump received 51% of caucus-goers votes to beat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who garnered 21.2%, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who got 19.1%.

The Asian flash in the pan Vivek Ramaswamy finished way behind and dropped out. Perhaps to get in the VP line. Don’t count on it.

According to CNN’s entrance polls, when caucus-goers were asked if they were a part of the “MAGA movement,” nearly half — 46% — said yes. More revealing: “Do you think Biden legitimately won in 2020?”

Only 29% said “yes.”

That means an overwhelming 66% said “no,” thus showing the deep roots in Iowa of the “Big Lie,” the belief in a falsehood that Trump was a victim of election theft.

Even more revealing and posing a direct threat to our democracy was the question of whether Trump was fit for the presidency, even if convicted of a crime.

Sixty-five percent said “yes.”

Who says that about anyone of color indicted on 91 criminal felony counts?

Would a BIPOC executive found liable for business fraud in civil court be given a pass?

How about a BIPOC person found liable for sexual assault?

Iowans have debased the phrase, “no man is above the law.” It’s a mindset that would vote in an American dictatorship.

Compare Iowa with voters in Asia last weekend. Taiwan rejected threats from authoritarian Beijing and elected pro-democracy Taiwanese vice president Lai Ching-te as its new president.

Meanwhile, in our country, which supposedly knows a thing or two about democracy, the Iowa caucuses show how Americans feel about authoritarianism.

Some Americans actually like it even more than the Constitution allows.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a mini-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1.