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Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and National Newspaper Publisher Association to Present Black Press Day Celebration, March 14

NNPA NEWSWIRE — the celebration of the birth of the Black press in the United States. 2024 marks the 197th year of the Black Press of America, with the first Black newspaper being published in 1827 called Freedom’s Journal.
The post Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and National Newspaper Publisher Association to Present Black Press Day Celebration, March 14 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 years ago

February 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Howard University’s Black Press Archives Digitization Project at Moorland-Spingarn Research Center receives a major grant from Google to support archival and preservation work.

Washington, DC – February 20, 2024 – On March 14, 2024, Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) and the National Newspaper Publisher Association (NNPA) will host a celebration in honor of Black Press Day, the celebration of the birth of the Black press in the United States. 2024 marks the 197th year of the Black Press of America, with the first Black newspaper being published in 1827 called Freedom’s Journal. Hosted by MSRC, a research center that has been preserving the Black experience since 1914 and is home to the largest private collection of global Black Press archives, the event serves to highlight the rich history and impactful contributions of the Black Press and celebrate the significant milestones achieved. The celebration will include an overview and tour of MSRC’s Black Press Archives Digitization Project, which aims to preserve and digitize a collection of over 100,00 individual newspapers by Black journalists, editors, and publishers from the United States, Africa, and the African Diaspora, donated to Howard University by the NNPA.

“The goal of Black Press Day is to celebrate and recognize the significant contributions of the Black press in journalism, storytelling, and cultural representation. We want our students to see firsthand the importance of the Black press in telling our stories across centuries and nations, and the continued importance of the Black press in the digital age,” said Dr. Benjamin Talton, Director of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., President and CEO of the NNPA emphasized, “We acknowledge our long-term partnership with the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. We are grateful that on the campus of the historic Howard University through the Center’s library, we continue to support the Black Press Gallery of Distinguished Publishers. This year in particular highlights the digital innovation and progress of the Black Press archives and the Gallery of Distinguished Publishers.”

Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and the National Newspaper Publisher Association have a long history of partnership, as the Black Press Archives Digitization Project began as a joint project between the two in 1973. Google recently awarded the Black Press Archives Digitization Project a $760,000 grant to support and continue the Project’s work in digitizing and preserving the collections of the Black Press Archives, which includes over 2,847 reels of microfilm representing more than 2,000 newspaper titles and over 100,000 individual newspaper issues. These newspapers span the United States, Africa, and the African Diaspora, demonstrating the truly global reach of the Black press. Google’s grant follows a $2M grant from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, which enabled the establishment of the Project.

“This grant will go a long way towards ensuring that the contributions made by the Black Press are not only well preserved and maintained, but also made accessible to anyone interested in viewing our collection, from anywhere in the world. The Black Press Archives is truly a global project, telling the stories of the Black experience across the African Diaspora, so we want to ensure that the Archives are readily accessible online,” said Brandon Nightingale, Project Manager for the Black Press Archives Digitization Project.

Karen Carter Richards, Chair of the NNPA Fund remarked, “As we celebrate 197 years of the Black Press, Google’s grant for the digitization of the Black Press is a commendable initiative that recognizes the importance of preserving and making accessible the historical archives of Black-owned newspapers. Digitization efforts not only ensure the preservation of valuable historical records but also make them more readily available for researchers, scholars, and the general public.”

The celebration will open with a ceremonial drum performance by Sadiki Lancaster, followed by remarks from the NNPA leadership. Brandon Nightingale will provide a detailed update on the state of the Black Archives Digitization Project, after which attendees will have the opportunity to tour the gallery of Black publishers as well as the University’s archival spaces, led by the MSRC’s student archivists.

About Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center

Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) is the largest and most comprehensive repository of books, documents, and ephemera on the global Black experience, including the personal and official papers of Kwame Nkrumah, Paul Robeson, Alain Locke, Mary Frances Berry, Dr. Benjamin Mays, Vernon Jordon, and Amiri Baraka, to name but a few from its over seven hundred collections. It was founded in 1914 as the Moorland Library and became a research center within Howard University in 1973, consisting of the University Archives Division, the Manuscripts Division, the Library, the Museum, and the Black Press Archive. MSRC’s mission is to provide access to history through diverse formats and to preserve it for generations to come. For more information, visit msrc.howard.edu.

About The Black Press Archives

Authorized in 1973, the Black Press Archives was a cooperative effort between Howard University and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), whose plan was “to develop an archive at a university where assembled documentation on the Black Press could be permanently preserved and made available to scholars, students, and the public.” A second component of the program to document the history of the Black press is the acquisition of the office files, personal papers, photographs, and memorabilia of outstanding journalists, cartoonists, editors, and publishers. Today, the Black Press Archives represents over 2,000 newspaper titles from the United States, Africa, and the African Diaspora. It is one of the most valuable research features, eagerly sought by visiting scholars and graduate students. The collection consists of physical and microfilm reels of newspapers, totaling over 100,000 individual issues of newspapers.

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced two Schwarzman Scholars, four Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows, and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit http://www.howard.edu.

About the National Newspaper Publisher Association

The National Newspaper Publisher Association is a trade association of more than 250 African-American-owned community newspapers from around the United States. Since its founding 84 years ago, NNPA has consistently been the voice of the Black community and an incubator for news that makes history and impacts our country. As the largest and most influential Black-owned media resource in America, NNPA delivers news, information, and commentary to over 20 million people each week. Americans from all backgrounds seek news from the Black perspective from the NNPA member newspapers around the country. In America, now among the most diverse countries in the world, the Black Press of America is more relevant than ever.

The post Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and National Newspaper Publisher Association to Present Black Press Day Celebration, March 14 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

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PRESS ROOM: NBA Hall of Fame Nominee Terry Cummings Joins 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to Launch Victory & Values Initiative

NNPA NEWSWIRE — NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

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Cummings becomes an honorary member, joining other role model sports stars

NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings has officially become an honorary member of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County, marking a powerful new chapter for the 100 Black Men and youth development across the region.

Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th. The moment signified more than membership — it marked the launch of the organization’s transformative new platform, the Victory & Values Initiative.

The Victory & Values Initiative is a groundbreaking youth development program designed to empower elementary and middle school students through a dynamic blend of sports, mentorship, and STEM exposure. The initiative focuses on building health, discipline, character, leadership, and access to opportunity — creating pathways for long-term academic and personal success.

“This is about more than sports,” said Cummings during the ceremony. “It’s about using the platform of athletics to teach life lessons, create access, and build the next generation of leaders.”

The induction ceremony also featured notable guests including NASCAR’s newest Star Driver, Lavar Scott and NASCAR Director of Athletic Performance, Phil Horton, who joined Cummings for a powerful Victory & Values Town Hall discussion. The Town Hall was moderated by renowned Sports Emcee John Hollins and focused on leadership, resilience, discipline, and the importance of mentorship in shaping young lives.

A “Day at NASCAR” for 75+ Youth

Cummings wasted no time getting to work. On his first full day as an honorary member, he joined his new brothers of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to host a “Day at NASCAR,” escorting more than 75 youth to a once-in-a-lifetime experience at EchoPark Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).

The youth participants received behind-the-scenes access including: an exclusive tour of Pit Row, access to the Garage Area and exploration of the interactive Fan Zone.

The experience culminated with a surprise meet-and-greet and Q&A session with NASCAR Superstar Bubba Wallace, who shared insights on perseverance, preparation, and breaking barriers in professional sports.

The day served as a living example of the ‘Victory & Values’ Initiative in action — exposing youth to new industries, expanding their vision for the future, and connecting them directly with high- level mentors and role models.

Building Leaders Through Access and Mentorship

The 100 Black Men of DeKalb County – a chapter of the largest, national mentoring organization in the county – continues to expand its footprint with programs focused on academic excellence, economic empowerment, leadership development, and health & wellness.

The launch of ‘Victory & Values’ represents a strategic expansion of the organization’s impact

intentionally integrating athletics and STEM to engage youth at an early age while reinforcing core principles such as integrity, accountability, teamwork, and perseverance.

“Our mission has always been to mentor the next generation,” said Vaughn Irons, President-Elect of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County. “With Terry Cummings joining the brotherhood, along with partners in NASCAR and professional sports, we are creating unprecedented access and exposure for our youth. Victory & Values is about turning inspiration into structured opportunity.”

By connecting elementary and middle school students to professional athletes, executives, STEM professionals, and community leaders, the initiative aims to:

Increase youth exposure to careers in sports business, engineering, and performance science
Strengthen mentorship pipelines
Promote physical wellness and mental resilience
Build character-driven leadership at an early age

Open Invitation to Youth and Families

All youth are invited to participate in the Victory & Values Initiative, along with the other countless, impactful programs offered by the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County.

Parents and guardians seeking mentorship, leadership development, academic enrichment, and transformative exposure opportunities for their children are encouraged to connect with the organization.

As NBA Legend Terry Cummings’ induction demonstrates, Victory & Values is more than a program — it is a movement designed to build champions in life, not just in sports.

For more information about the Victory & Values Initiative or to enroll a student, contact: 100 Black Men of DeKalb County at Phone at 404.241.1338, info@100bmod.org or Tee Foxx at 404.791.6525,