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

On March 16, 1827, Samuel E. Cornish and John B. Russwurm founded the first Black-owned newspaper in the U.S.

They did so because there were no Black voices in the debate over the abolition of slavery.

In their first editorial, Cornish and Russwurm wrote: “in short, whatever concerns us as a people, will ever find a ready admission into the Freedom’s Journal.”

“One hundred and ninety-five years later, the mission of the Black Press has not changed,” Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes wrote in an editorial.

“No matter whether Black Press journalists are invited to a seat at ‘their’ table, the voices of those the Black Press represents will always have a seat at ours,” Rolark Barnes wrote.

From Freedom’s Journal to the North Star to John Abbott’s Chicago Defender, African American-owned newspapers have sparked fires for truth and equality that have burned with the passion of fighting for freedom throughout history.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022, marked the 195th anniversary of the Black Press of America, whose global impact remains undeniable. It all began with Freedom’s Journal.

On March 16, 1827, they announced its presence with a front page that contained these words:

“We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us.”

The 4-page edition included stories about the struggle to end the horrors of slavery, lynching, and social injustice.

It also informed the African American community of international news of particular interest like Haiti and Sierra Leone events.

Freedom’s Journal featured African American men and women biographies, schools, jobs, and housing opportunities.

For nearly two centuries, the 230 African American-owned newspapers and media companies, represented by the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), have proudly carried that legacy.

The bond between Black America and the Black Press remains strong.

“Relationships, which have been the cornerstone of the Black community and the Black Press for 195 years, have always been its messenger in cementing that bond,” remarked Westside Gazette Publisher Bobby Henry.

Dr. Toni Draper, the publisher of the 130-year-old AFRO in Baltimore and Washington, also noted the enduring value of the Black Press.

“The contribution of the Black Press is invaluable. If not for the Black Press, there would be a lot of things we would not have documented in terms of the African American experience,” Dr. Draper said.

“The Black Press was founded in 1827, and African Americans were not in any of the pages of the white-owned press unless there was an advertisement of our sale, of our resale, or us having run away from slave owners or plantations.”

Dr. Draper continued:

“The Black Press is one of the only places where you can find news and information and commentary about, by, and for African Americans across the spectrum. You don’t have to do anything wrong to make the pages of the Black Press; you don’t have to do anything famous. The Black Press covers the totality of the Black experience in the United States and beyond.”

The anniversary of the Black Press is a reminder of the contributions that remain indelibly associated with the fearlessness, determination, and success of the Black Press.

Those contributions include the works of Frederick Douglass, WEB DuBois, Ida B. Wells, Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, and former NNPA Chairman Dr. Carlton Goodlett.

Douglass, who helped enslaved people escape to the North while working with the Underground Railroad, established the abolitionist paper, The North Star, in Rochester, New York. He developed it into the most influential Black antislavery newspaper published during the Antebellum era.

The North Star denounced slavery and fought for the emancipation of women and other oppressed groups with a motto of “Right is of no Sex – Truth is of no Color; God is the Father of us all, and we are all brethren.”

Today, the Black Press continues to reach across the ocean where possible to forge coalitions with the growing number of websites and special publications that cover Africa daily from on the continent.

“The spirit of Black journalism, which Russwurm and Cornish inspired, found its way to Houston 128 years later through a vision given to a local Black businessman to birth a newspaper that positively reflected the Black community, while also reporting the hard truths happening in our communities on the local, state, and national level,” Houston Forward Times Associate Editor Jeffrey Boney declared.

The evolution of the Black Press, the oldest Black business in America, had proprietors take on issues of chattel slavery in the 19th century, Jim Crow segregation and lynching, the great northern migration, the Civil Rights Movement, the transformation from the printing press to the digital age and computerized communication.

With the Plessy vs. Ferguson Supreme Court ruling that said no Black man has any rights that a white man must honor, there came a flood of Black publications to advocate for Black rights and protest the wrongs done to Blacks.

Today, the Black Press continues to tackle domestic and global issues, including the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on all citizens – particularly African Americans.

“This is an important story about the history of the Black Press of America that has consistently been the freedom fighting voice of African people in America and throughout the world for 195 years without waiver or distortion of the truth,” stated NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.

“Today, in 2022, the Black Press remains the vital source of news and information for 50 million African Americans,” he added.

Chavis continued:

“On this momentous anniversary, the NNPA salutes all the African American-owned newspapers and media companies that are affiliated with the NNPA’s expanding network of over 230 media properties and channels.

The post The Black Press of America Celebrates 195 Years of Pleading the Cause of African Descendants Everywhere first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Jeffrey L. Boney NNPA Newswire Contributor

Houston Forward Times Associate Editor Jeffrey L. Boney, who serves as Mayor Pro Tem in Missouri City, has received appointments to two crucial national posts.

The award-winning journalist, author, and two-term councilmember earned an appointment to the National League of Cities (NLC) 2022 Community and Economic Development Federal Advocacy Committee (CED) and the 2022 Race, Equity and Leadership Council – or REAL.

Re-elected to a one-year term at CED, Boney, who just released his new book, “Don’t Argue With Me! A No-Nonsense Approach to the Issues in the Black Community,” Boney expects to provide strategic direction and guidance for NLC’s federal advocacy agenda and policy priorities.

NLC President, Mayor Vince Williams of Union City, Georgia, announced the appointment.

“I have been a member of NLC’s Community and Economic Development Federal Advocacy Committee for several years, and I am honored to continue working with my colleagues from across the country to make a difference while representing the city of Missouri City at the federal level,” Boney said in a statement.

As a member of NLC’s Community and Economic Development committee, officials said Boney would continue to play a vital role among a diverse group of local leaders in shaping NLC’s policy positions and advocating on behalf of America’s municipalities before Congress with the administration and at home.

“NLC’s federal advocacy committees are a key tool for gathering insights directly from the communities that our members serve,” Mayor Williams stated. “I am excited to have Mayor Pro Tem Boney serve on the Community and Economic Development committee again, and I look forward to working with him to fulfill the promise of America’s cities, towns, and villages.”

The entire leadership of this year’s Committee consists of Chair Sharon Weston Broome, mayor-President of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Vice-Chair Jamie Patino, Councilmember of the city of Union City, California; and Vice-Chair Richard Shaw, Councilmember of the City of Huber Heights, Ohio.

Boney’s new one-year appointment to REAL includes guiding programs among local elected officials from similar communities.

“I am extremely excited and humbled to have been appointed to serve on the Race, Equity, And Leadership Council this year,” Boney remarked. “This incredibly transformative council will allow me the opportunity to focus on issues that are important to me while working with my colleagues on the issues that matter most to cities, towns, and villages across the country.

As a member of NCL’s REAL Council, Boney expects to play a critical role among a diverse group of leaders to encourage collaboration, networking, and developing resources and programs beneficial to communities that share demographics, size, or location that can replicate across the country.

“Our member Councils are the voices of what’s happening on the ground in our communities,” Mayor Williams asserted.

“I am proud to have Mayor Pro Tem Boney join NLC’s REAL Council. “Together with a team of local leaders from around the country, we will work to solve the most pressing challenges facing our communities and help fulfill the promise of America’s cities, towns, and villages.”

The Committee consists of Co-Chairs: Councilmember Janice Zahn, Bellevue, Washington; Councilmember Casey Thomas, Dallas, Texas; Vice-Chairs Mayor Patrick Wojahn, College Park Maryland; and Mayor Steve Patterson, Athens, Ohio.

Sharon Weston Broome, Mayor-President and CEO of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will serve as the REAL Council’s liaison to the NLC Board of directors.

The post Black Press Journalist Appointed to Two National League of Cities Posts first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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The Red School House Chosen as Inaugural Recipient

NNPA Community Impact

By Jeffrey L. Boney, Associate Editor, Houston Forward Times

As part of the first phase of an established marketing plan for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the leadership of the storied organization announced the launch of their inaugural “NNPA Community Impact” initiative to kick-off the 80^th Anniversary of the NNPA.

This initiative was championed by NNPA Chair Karen Carter Richards, who believes the NNPA should regularly highlight organizations that are making an impact, or people who are making a difference, in their respective communities, but rarely get the recognition they truly deserve.

“We must leave a footprint in all of the communities where we have a presence and where we are making an impact,” stated NNPA Chair Karen Carter Richards. “As we visit different cities, we must connect with the communities we serve and leave a lasting impression. In doing this initiative, we must also highlight the newspaper(s) in those respective cities to make sure they’re included in the effort. We must work collaboratively together and make every community remember that the NNPA was on the scene and should never be forgotten.”

Just this past week, at the start of the 2020 NNPA Mid-Winter Conference that was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the NNPA put this initiative into action as they worked alongside local publisher Bobby Henry of The Westside Gazette to honor The Red School House as the “NNPA Community Impact” inaugural recipient.

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“The Red School House has served the Fort Lauderdale community for more than 52 years and has taught and developed many upstanding African Americans who have moved on to make their own impact in various communities around the nation,” said Bobby Henry, Publisher of the Westside Gazette. “I was honored to work with the NNPA to select The Red School House as the ‘NNPA Community Impact’ inaugural recipient in my city.”

The NNPA and The Westside Gazette saluted The Red School House by presenting them with a check for $500, as well as hosted a pizza party for the kids.

From vision to planning to becoming a reality in 1968, The Red School House has provided a safe, caring and learning environment for children whose parents were working, and has become a staple in the community for over 50 years.

Mrs. Julia was employed as a bus driver for the School Board of Broward County and was married to her husband, Mr. Harvey Shaw, who was employed as a Longshoreman for Port Everglades. The couple had 5 children and because everyone in her family found themselves working, Mrs. Julia recognized that there was no one at home to raise the children in the family.

After recognizing this dilemma, and to ensure the family’s children were properly cared for, Mrs. Julia declared “someone has to stay here and keep these kids.”

That is when and how The Red School House was birthed. It was the old-fashioned tradition of including the home, church and community that became the catalyst behind Mrs. Julia using her home as a primary place to start caring for her family’s children.

That house now stands as a legacy for the family and for the community.

In addition to caring for her own family’s children, Mrs. Julia also wanted to give back to the community in which she lived for so long. As a result, the doors of The Red School House were officially opened in September of 1968 with only 25 students. The early years of The Red School House were built on the shoulders of her family. Although the whole family worked at the school at one time or another, The Red School House was mainly run by the women of the family.

After the untimely death of an aunt who worked at the school, in 1983, Mrs. Julia asked her daughter, Ms. Gwendolyn Shaw, to come home in 1984 to take over operations.

At the time of her mother’s request, Gwendolyn was living in Chicago and was working at Jet Magazine and at Motorola Corporation. Because her mother wanted her to become the Director of The Red School House, Gwendolyn made the decision to move back home and honor her mother’s request. In 1986, they were able to renovate the school, which had previously operated out of two buildings. They consolidated the school into one building without ever closing their doors. In 1993, the playgrounds at the school were reconstructed to make them safer for the children and all of the teachers became CDA certified.

Mrs. Julia passed away in 1998, leaving Gwendolyn with the sole responsibility of running the business. As part of their regular school routine, every morning they start the day with devotion, with all children and staff front and center. Gwendolyn comes forth and sets the atmosphere for the day and afterwards, the students return to their classroom setting.

They are taught the basics of reading, writing and math skills; Black history; World History; geography; science; life skills; participation in events such as field trips to the laundromat to wash their clothes, to the grocery store to expose them to grocery shopping, to Wal-Mart for Back-to-School shopping; community clean-up; cooking; sewing; hygiene classes; Bible class; social skills and development; sign language; three foreign languages (German, Japanese and Spanish); performing arts; manipulative skills; and homework is sent home twice a week.

Outdoor play is part of their daily schedule (twice a day) and gymnastics (physical education) is every Friday at the community L.A. Lee YMCA.

The students also attend field trips to all Disney on Ice productions, circus performances, Sesame Street performances and any cultural and fine arts performances that will enhance their exposure to appreciate the world of fine arts, entertainment and community activities. Twice a year, the performing arts skills of the students (ages 2 thru 5) are displayed at their annual Christmas program in December and at the Graduation performance held in May.

In the month of April, they host a Kiddie Prom that is held at the Elegant Signature Grand in Davie, FL. In the month of November, they have an etiquette class for all the 4- and 5-year-old students, where they dress up (the boys in their dressy attire with a $2.00 tip in their wallet, and the girls in their dressy attire with a purse on their arms).

The Red School House students are picked up by limousine service and taken to the Cheesecake Factory in downtown Fort Lauderdale where they dine for lunch and are taught how to model good behavior and manners.

Since inception, The Red School House has grown from 25 students to over 160 students. Even more impressive are the number of former students who are now staff members and some staff members who have worked for The Red School House for up to 40 years.

The Red School House has been in business for 52 years and has never received any federal funding, primarily because they didn’t want to change their curriculum.

“We are still as strong today as we were on that September day in 1968,” Gwendolyn states. “Our purpose has become our passion, to make a difference in our community, to care for children in providing a safe and nurturing environment, to provide educational excellence for each child. We are a traditional school with traditional values and a whole lot of love.”

This is a monumental initiative for the NNPA and is consistent with its overall mission and vision. Since its founding exactly 80 years ago, the NNPA has consistently been the voice of the Black community and an incubator for the news that makes history and impacts the country today and tomorrow.

From delivering news, information and commentary to being the largest and most influential Black-owned media resource in America to reach local markets with African American consumers. From helping to shape ideas and opinion to shaping thinking. From thought leadership to leading change. Each week 20 million Americans from all backgrounds seeking news from the Black perspective turn to NNPA newspapers.

This initiative will expand the impact and reach of the Black Press across America and in local markets to ensure the mission and vision of the NNPA remains relevant.

To learn more about The Red School House or to make a donation, please call 954.249.2901 or send it to 1205 N.W. 4^th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312.

Jeffrey Boney is a political analyst and frequent contributor for the NNPA Newswire and BlackPressUSA.com and the associate editor for the Houston Forward Times newspaper. Jeffrey is an award-winning journalist, dynamic, international speaker, experienced entrepreneur and business development strategist. Follow Jeffrey on Twitter @realtalkjunkies.

Jeffrey L. Boney NNPA Newswire contributor

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