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IN MEMORIAM: Garth C. Reeves, Sr., Retired Miami Times Publisher, Dies

CHICAGO CRUSADER — Regarded as a titan in the Black Press, Reeves was widely respected in Miami for using his power and influence to advance the agenda of the city’s Black community. After experiencing the pain and humiliation of segregation in parks, schools and the U.S. military, Reeves grew into an uncompromising crusader who smashed racial barriers in some of the most prominent organizations in Miami and the nation.

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Retired publisher, Garth C. Reeves, Sr., of The Miami Times’, died on Monday, November 25. He was 100.

By Erick Johnson, Chicago Crusader

Garth C. Reeves, Sr.

Garth C. Reeves, Sr., The Miami Times’ retired publisher who became the enduring patriarch of a family newspaper dynasty after decades of fighting the political establishment and while guiding the Black community through the city’s racial problems, died on Monday, November 25. He was 100.

Regarded as a titan in the Black Press, Reeves was widely respected in Miami for using his power and influence to advance the agenda of the city’s Black community. After experiencing the pain and humiliation of segregation in parks, schools and the U.S. military, Reeves grew into an uncompromising crusader who smashed racial barriers in some of the most prominent organizations in Miami and the nation.

During his lifetime, Reeves’ newspaper got a police chief fired, ended the career of a a Miami Mayoral, supported a boycott that cost Miami Beach’s tourism industry millions, and unapologetically called riots “protests” or rebellions. He stared down Miami’s political establishment that for decades had been accused of shutting out Blacks in government as Hispanics rose to power in the city’s political and business establishments.

THE MIAMI TIMES became the “Voice of the Black Community” after publishing stories that advocated for people of color during the Civil Rights Movement. (Courtesy of the University of Florida/Miami Times Archives)

He urged his journalists to write from a Black perspective, one that saw the struggle through a different lens than white newspapers.

His newspaper career spanned at least eight decades. At the height of Reeves’ leadership, The Miami Times earned the name, “The Voice of Miami’s Black Community.” One of the last great Black publishers, Reeves’ death closes a significant chapter in The Miami Times’ illustrious history.

Reeves was born February 12, 1919 in Nassau, Bahamas. That same year, Reeves’ father, Harry Ethelbert Sigismund Reeves, moved to Miami where he founded the Magic Printing Company in Overtown, the city’s historic Black, once-thriving neighborhood near downtown. Harry Ethelbert Sigismund Reeves in 1920 founded the Miami Sun, which closed because of a paper shortage during World War I. In 1923, The Miami Times was founded. Reeves was just four years old.

Garth C. Reeves, Sr. was among many Blacks who attended Miami’s esteemed Booker T. Washington Senior High School, the city’s oldest predominately Black high school that was built when students of color were not accepted at white public schools. Black students at Booker T. were given secondhand text books and football gear that came from white schools.

THE MIAMI TIMES iconic headquarters. The newspaper moved four times before settling in Miami’s predominately Black Liberty City neighborhood.

In 1923, Harry Reeves started The Miami Times at NW 8th Street and 3rd Avenue. It would move four more times in the Overtown neighborhood. When Interstate-95 was built through Overtown, it displaced thousands of Blacks. Many fled north to the Liberty City community, where The Miami Times sits at its present location, 900 NW 54 Street.

In 1940, Reeves graduated from Florida A&M University, a major, historically Black school in Tallahassee, FL. In 1942, Reeves was drafted to serve in the Army during World War II. During an interview in 1999, Reeves recalled a trip on a train to the Pacific coast to go overseas. Despite repeated requests, a white train conductor refused to give Reeves something to eat in spite of him having meal coupons. Reeves went to the military police, who told him to do what the white conductor said, or face being locked up on the train. Reeves was forced to pay for his meal because he could not go into the segregated dining car.

Experiences like those would fuel Reeves’ passion for Black journalism’s role in exposing racial injustices while advocating for the needs of disenfranchised people of color.

After completing his service in 1946, Reeves returned to The Miami Times. By then, Blacks could not sit at segregated diners downtown. Members of the Klu Klux Klan would often parade through Miami’s bustling downtown. Parks and schools did not accept Blacks either and living conditions among Blacks worsened as slums in Overtown increased.

Reeves joined Reverend Theodore Gibson, the president of the local NAACP Chapter and began leading protests for better conditions for Blacks in Miami. Out of 28 beaches, only Virginia Key Beach was open to Blacks. On November 7, 1957, Reeves led a group of seven Black leaders to Crandon Park, a segregated white beach near Miami. Reeves and the men earlier talked to several county commissioners, saying that as taxpayers they had the right to frequent Crandon Park or any segregated beach. Wearing their bathing suits under their clothes, Reeves and the men took off their slacks and went into the water while several police officers watched. Blacks began frequenting other white beaches after the incident.

Blacks were not allowed to play at city-owned golf-courses in the 1940s. But that changed when Reeves and Gibson filed a lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a landmark case, Rice v. City of Miami, the Supreme Court ruled that the city could not continue accepting tax money to build and maintain golf courses while denying its use to all residents.

In an interview on the History Miami Museum website, Reeves recalled an experience he had when Dr. Martin Luther King came to Miami during the Civil Rights Movement.

“When Martin Luther King came down, I attended some of his meetings. My friend was a good friend of King’s and I used to attend meetings where he would preach to us about nonviolence. I remember talking to Martin a few times and I said, “Martin, you really believe that if I was somewhere and a white guy spat on my face, you think I would walk away from that? I said I’d try and kill that son of a b—-. He said, ‘That’s why you’ve got to try to learn to control yourself.’ I liked him.”

That was Reeves the activist.

GARTH C. REEVES, SR. in 1981 reviews the front page of The Miami Times with son Garth C. Reeves Jr., who died in 1982. (Photo Courtesy of History Miami Museum/The Miami News).

Reeves, as the publisher of The Miami Times, was just as fierce. It was the only job Reeves would have throughout his life. He worked his way up the ranks as columnist, reporter, managing editor, and editor. When Reeves’ father died in 1970, Reeves became publisher.

By then The Miami Times had established itself as the Black newspaper of record.

During the 1960s The Miami Times ran a front-page story advocating for the termination of Miami Police Chief Walter Headly, whose Stop and Frisk policy of searching Blacks lit up racial tensions in the city. Headly was eventually fired and the Times readership grew.

When four Miami police officers were acquitted in May, 1980 of killing Arthur McDuffie, a Black salesman, Blacks took to the streets. White newspapers and local television stations described it as a riot. With Reeves at the helm, The Miami Times called the incident a “protest.” When another Miami police officer was acquitted in 1993 for killing two Black motorists in Overtown, The Miami Times called the civil unrest a rebellion.

There were other highlights under Reeves’ leadership at The Miami Times.

In 1985, Mayor Maurice Ferre lost the Black vote and was defeated in his re-election bid after The Miami Times ran a series of editorials criticizing the mayor for firing Howard Gary, Miami’s first Black city manager.

In 1993, Reeves and The Miami Times published editorials and stories supporting a boycott of Miami Beach hotels that cost the tourism industry millions of dollars.

Black leaders accused county leaders of snubbing Nelson Mandela after they withdrew plans to give him a proclamation and key to the city when the anti-apartheid leader publicly expressed his support for Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro.

The National Bar Association and ACLU were among many organizations that did not bring their conventions to Miami Beach in support of the boycott.

The boycott lasted three years and cost the tourism industry between $20 to $50 million. Mandela was given an official proclamation and the hotel industry implemented programs to boost Blacks in its facilities. Miami Beach got its first Black-owned luxury hotel, the Royal Palm Crowne Plaza.

“It was important that we had a communication outlet to get our message out,” said H.T. Smith, a prominent Miami attorney who spearheaded the boycott. “The mainstream media would not give us any coverage. The Miami Times was essential to the boycott’s success. The boycott would not have been successful without The Miami Times. And our friendship grew as a result of this partnership.”

Former Miami Times executive editor Mohamad Hamaludin, who worked for 15 years at the newspaper, said, “Reeves was a fine gentleman. By the time I got to The Miami Times, he and the staff had already established it as a voice for people who didn’t have a voice.”

Reeves was the first Black to serve on the boards of the Miami-Dade College, Barry University, the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way of Dade County. He also served as organizing chairman of the board for National Industrial Bank, which was the first integrated bank in the State of Florida.

While serving on many of these boards, Reeves pushed them to hire more Blacks when they were reluctant to do so. As a board member of Miami-Dade College, Reeves threatened to lead a vote to stop doing business with the school’s law firm because it resisted his calls to hire Black attorneys in its offices.

Reeves assisted Crusader Publisher Dorothy R. Leavell in bringing the NNPA Annual Convention to Gary in 1983 after Black political power gained a foothold in the Steel City.

“He believed in the Black Press very deeply,” said Leavell who first met Reeves in 1962. “Whatever he did, he was always on the right side of the battle. He remained a forward thinker to the very end. He was truly one of the last of the great Black publishers from the old school in the Black Press.”

Today, The Miami Times is the oldest and largest Black newspaper in the Southeast. For the past two years it has been named Best Black Newspaper by the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which represents over 200 Black newspapers across the country. In 2011, NNPA named Reeves Publisher of the Year. In 2017, Reeves was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame.

In 2017, Miami recognized Reeves with an honorary street sign at 6 Street and NW 2 Avenue near the Black Archives History and Research Foundation of South Florida where he was a board member.

Reeves was a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and a founding member of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Miami, Florida.

He was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Miami, Barry University and Florida Memorial University.

For years, Reeves had provided scholarships to aspiring journalism students at his high school alma mater, Booker T. Washington.

Reeves served for 10 years as president of the Amalgamated Publishers Inc. in New York City, which represented over one hundred African American-owned newspapers throughout the United States. He was also elected to serve two terms as president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association.

He retired in 1994 and assumed the role of publisher emeritus but Reeves remained active as a prominent leader in the Black community.

Reeves outlived both of his children. In 1982, Reeves’ son, Garth C. Reeves, Jr., died of colon cancer when just 30 years old. This past September, Reeves’ daughter, Rachel died at 68. His grandson, Garth Basil Reeves now heads the family newspaper dynasty at just 29.

This article originally appeared in The Chicago Crusader.

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PRESS ROOM: The Allen Lewis Agency Named Ally Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year for 2024

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “This recognition from Ally is deeply appreciated,” said Chandra Lewis, co-founder and COO of TALA. “Receiving Ally’s Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year award is a testament to the strength of our team, our strategic approach and our ability to use relationships to deliver meaningful business results for our clients.”
The post PRESS ROOM: The Allen Lewis Agency Named Ally Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year for 2024 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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DETROIT– Ally Financial has recognized The Allen Lewis Agency, a full-service marketing and communications agency, as its Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year for 2024. The award was given at the Ally 4th annual Supplier Diversity & Sustainability Symposium, on Feb. 29 in Charlotte, N.C.

In 2023, TALA led media outreach and marketing efforts for the fifth anniversary of Moguls in the Making, Ally’s HBCU entrepreneurial pitch competition. It also introduced the brand to new opportunities such as the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), where Ally led a panel on financial education for filmmakers, and leveraged professional connections and years of experience in multicultural marketing to amplify Ally’s partnership with UnitedMasters.

“We are honored to work with Ally and its incredible team members,” said Jocelyn (Allen) Coley, co-founder and CEO of TALA. “The work Ally is doing to bring financial education to a more diverse, multicultural audience through outreach to the creator community aligns with our own passions and priorities. We’re proud to be part of programs such as Moguls in the Making, the American Black Film Festival, and Art Basel, raising awareness within a diverse, often underrepresented audience.”

Ally, the nation’s largest all-digital bank, started its supplier diversity program in 2020 to highlight its commitment to supporting the advancement of an inclusive and sustainable marketplace. The brand strives yearly to increase its spending with diverse suppliers – creating economic value, mobility, and a sustainable future for all.

“When Ally launched its Supplier Diversity program four years ago, our goal was to build an ecosystem of partners and suppliers who truly represented our communities,” said TJ Lewis, Ally senior director of Supplier Diversity and Sustainability. “From the beginning, TALA’s success in forging connections between Ally and minority-focused media has greatly expanded the visibility of our brand to the audiences we most want to reach. Their work is worthy of recognition.”

“This recognition from Ally is deeply appreciated,” said Chandra Lewis, co-founder and COO of TALA. “Receiving Ally’s Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year award is a testament to the strength of our team, our strategic approach and our ability to use relationships to deliver meaningful business results for our clients.”

About The Allen Lewis Agency:

The Allen Lewis Agency (TALA) is a full-service marketing and communications agency committed to helping clients build their brands and expand their business through a range of services including strategic brand development, media relations, diversity, equity and inclusion, advertising, events and reputation management. Founders Jocelyn (Allen) Coley and Chandra S. Lewis bring more than 40 combined years of corporate experience with a breadth and depth of services that are unmatched. Now in its eighth year in business, TALA is a certified Minority Business Enterprise, Women Business Enterprise, Women-Owned Small Business and a certified Association of National Advertisers diverse supplier that has employed a national team of experts who have decades of experience servicing major brands with positive measurable results. Learn more about The Allen Lewis Agency at https://www.theallenlewisagency.com.

The post PRESS ROOM: The Allen Lewis Agency Named Ally Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year for 2024 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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OP-ED: A Silent Killer No More

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Data from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City shows that more than 13 percent of African American men between the ages 45 and 79 will develop prostate cancer in their lifetimes. And Black men have a 70 percent higher rate of developing prostate cancer than White men. The American Cancer Society also shockingly predicts that Black men are more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than their White counterparts.
The post OP-ED: A Silent Killer No More first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Hamil R. Harris, NNPA Contributing Writer

Political provocateurs are determined to stir up controversy over Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s failure to tell President Biden about his treatment for prostate cancer. Yet, his desire to keep the matter private—and out of the public eye—is in line with what many men, particularly men of color, have done for decades. The reticence to share details of a medical condition is understandable, but prostate cancer is a silent killer in the Black community and the time has come to give it a voice.

In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose son Dexter recently passed from prostate cancer, I ask: How long? How long will Men of color suffer in silence and die alone? How long will too many brothers hide their plight?

When he finally commented publicly about his condition, Austin offered regrets about keeping silent and then made an important pledge. He said that by not initially disclosing his diagnosis, he “missed an opportunity to send a message on an important public health issue,” while noting the prevalence of prostate cancer, particularly among Black men. Encouraging all men to get screened, Austin promised, “You can count on me to set a better example on this issue today and for the rest of my life.”

Any cancer diagnosis is a private matter. But men like Dexter King and Austin can help so many others who are prone to prostate cancer. Keeping the surgery and treatment a secret would only have continued to add to the stigma surrounding prostate cancer. That would have been a disservice to the thousands of men of color diagnosed annually.

Indeed, data from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City shows that more than 13 percent of African American men between the ages 45 and 79 will develop prostate cancer in their lifetimes. And Black men have a 70 percent higher rate of developing prostate cancer than White men. The American Cancer Society also shockingly predicts that Black men are more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than their White counterparts.

These figures are appalling when considering that prostate cancer is one of the most treatable forms of the disease with the five-year survival rate for men diagnosed with it being greater than 99 percent if the cancer is detected during the early stage.

While there are numerous reasons for why this disparity between Black and white men exists – decades of structural racism, environmental issues, certain comorbidities, different molecular pathways in the body of Black men – a great deal of the reason comes down to the fact that Black men are disproportionately not being screened for prostate cancer as early or as regularly as White men.

A recent study published in JAMA Oncology by a team at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center found that Black men get fewer PSA (prostate specific antigen) screenings; they are more likely to be diagnosed with later stage cancer; they are less likely to have health insurance; and they have less access to high-quality care and other disparities that can be linked to a lower overall socioeconomic status.

Given his platform as Secretary of Defense, I am happy that Austin recognized his duty to be open and honest about his battle with this disease. And in doing so, he now joins groups and individuals who are already working on spreading awareness for prostate screenings who can act as guideposts.

For example, Mount Sinai Medical Center recently unveiled the Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit, which will visit New York City neighborhoods where men could be at a higher risk of developing prostate cancer.  The mobile home sized bus is named after the African American philanthropist and venture capitalist who donated almost $4 million to launch the program. Smith, who has led many philanthropic endeavors aimed at supporting the African-American community, obviously realizes that it takes a preemptive approach to combat the scourge of prostate cancer by going directly into the communities most affected by the disease. In announcing the prostate screening initiative, Smith tied it to larger inequities in our society that leave African Americans behind. “It’s unconscionable that in our great country and at this moment of technological breakthrough, Black Americans are still subject to staggeringly worse health outcomes,” he said. “We can fix this.”

Thankfully there are individuals like Smith and now Austin to use their platforms to spread awareness for this deadly – yet very treatable – form of cancer and ensure that more people don’t die needlessly.

Hamil R. Harris is an award-winning journalist and contributing writer for the NNPA

The post OP-ED: A Silent Killer No More first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Chevrolet and National Newspaper Association Offer Summer Internship: Discover the Unexpected Fellowship

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The importance of diverse storytelling has never been more evident, and Chevrolet, in partnership with the NNPA, is committed to empowering the next generation of storytellers. By offering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the DTU Fellowship seeks to make a lasting impact on both the individuals selected and the media landscape. The application window for the DTU Fellowship closes on April 1, 2024.
The post Chevrolet and National Newspaper Association Offer Summer Internship: Discover the Unexpected Fellowship first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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

In a bid to amplify Black voices and highlight diverse stories, Chevrolet, in collaboration with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), invites budding journalists, content creators, and communications enthusiasts to embark on the summer internship of a lifetime through the Discover the Unexpected (DTU) Fellowship.

The DTU Fellowship is geared towards students of historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who are passionate about storytelling and eager to contribute to the media landscape. This opportunity offers a platform for aspiring journalists and provides financial support in the form of a $10,000 scholarship and an $8,000 stipend.

One of the key aspects of the DTU Fellowship is the chance to collaborate with some of the largest and most influential Black-owned newspapers in the community. The collaboration aims to bridge the gap between emerging talents and established media outlets, fostering an environment of mentorship and shared knowledge.

The selected DTU fellows will embark on a transformative journey beyond conventional internships. This experience promises exploration, learning, and, most importantly, amplifying their voices. The fellowship recognizes the unique perspectives of HBCU students and aims to provide a platform for these voices to be heard.

What sets the DTU Fellowship apart is the hands-on guidance and mentorship provided by industry professionals who understand the power of diverse perspectives. Fellows can elevate content and gain career-building knowledge through interactions with seasoned journalists and media experts.

The importance of diverse storytelling has never been more evident, and Chevrolet, in partnership with the NNPA, is committed to empowering the next generation of storytellers. By offering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the DTU Fellowship seeks to make a lasting impact on both the individuals selected and the media landscape.

As the application deadline approaches, interested individuals are encouraged to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity. The application window for the DTU Fellowship closes on April 1, 2024. The tight deadline emphasizes the urgency and exclusivity of the opportunity, urging potential applicants to act promptly.

The Discover the Unexpected Fellowship by Chevrolet and the National Newspaper Association represents a unique chance for HBCU students to receive financial support for their education and gain invaluable hands-on experience in collaboration with influential Black-owned newspapers. By taking part in this transformative journey, aspiring journalists have the opportunity to leave a lasting impact on the media industry. Don’t miss out on the chance to elevate your content and amplify your voice – apply before the April 1, 2024 deadline!

The post Chevrolet and National Newspaper Association Offer Summer Internship: Discover the Unexpected Fellowship first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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