Black History
IN MEMORIAM: A Life of Impact — the Enduring Legacy of Rosetta Miller-Perry
TRI-STATE DEFENDER — Rosetta Miller-Perry, a prominent newspaper publisher, entrepreneur, and civil rights advocate, died on Friday, June 26, at the age of 91. Miller-Perry received over 500 local, state, and national honors for her contributions to publishing, journalism, civil rights, education, and economic empowerment within Nashville’s African American business community.
By Jackie Hampton and Wiley Henry
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Although she received more than 500 local, state, and national honors for her extraordinary contributions to publishing, journalism, civil rights, education, and for her support of economic empowerment within Nashville’s African American business community, Rosetta (Irvin) Miller-Perry sought only to help others succeed in life.
Miller-Perry was smart, relentless and unwavering in her pursuit of excellence while reaching the pinnacle of success. She was a preeminent newspaper publisher, entrepreneur, business owner, advocate, and a warrior for justice. On Friday, June 26, she rested from her labor. She was 91.
Though hearts are heavy, Miller-Perry’s legacy endures. What she accomplished in her lifetime is etched into the annals of history.
Born in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, on July 7, 1934, to her parents Anderson Irvin and Mary Hall Irvin, Miller-Perry understood that her life would be dedicated to something greater than herself. The Spirit moved her to reach for the brass ring in life and to help aspirants along the way.
Her journey began in the classrooms of McKinley Elementary School, Coraopolis Junior High School, and Coraopolis Senior High School, where she graduated in 1952. She would later matriculate at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Herzl Community College in Chicago.
In 1955, Miller-Perry enlisted in the U.S. Navy. But she did not stop there. She went on to work at the Pentagon and for the Adjutant General’s Office in Germany.
In 1956, she graduated from the University of Memphis with a B.S. in chemistry, and in 1957 from the John A. Gumpton School of Mortuary Science with her D.M.S. In 1958, she attended Tennessee State University and Meharry Medical College for nurse training while working at Southern Funeral Home in Nashville.
While Miller-Perry was pursuing an education, the Civil Rights Movement was teetering on the edge of uncertainty. The Klan was on a warpath across the South and hellbent on maintaining the status quo. Shejoined the fight for justice in the fury that divided the nation, working in the trenches in Nashville alongside giants like Z. Alexander Looby, Reverend Kelly Miller Smith, Curley McGruder, and countless others who risked everything in their pursuit of justice.
Miller-Perry moved to Memphis and worked closely with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., serving first as a clerk typist for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in 1960. She was a field representative and a trusted observer monitoring Civil Rights activities during the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike in 1968.
While the struggle for freedom was ongoing, Miller-Perry remained vigilant. The fight in her never waned. In 1975, she took a job as director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for the Nashville area and challenged an unjust system that discriminated against African Americans and other marginalized communities.
After retiring from government service, the entrepreneurial spirit in Miller-Perry tugged at her, and she answered the call. In 1990, using her own money, she and her husband, Dr. L.O.P. Perry, who was recognized as the first black gastroenterologist in Nashville, founded and launched Contempora, a Tennessee-focused African American magazine.
In 1991, Miller-Perry recognized a void in positive media coverage of the African American community, and The Tennessee Tribune was born. Miller-Perry poured all her resources into this new weekly newspaper to ensure that African Americans’ voices would no longer be silenced by neglect from mainstream media.
She refused to allow others to define the narrative. For more than 35 years, Miller-Perry built a media empire without shrinking from her vision and provided a vehicle for others to tell their stories. She also gave young journalists opportunities to work under her tutelage when the doors at white newspapers were seldom open for upstarts.
As a member of The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the largest and most influential Black-owned media resource in America, Miller-Perry served several terms on the Board of Directors of the association and the NNPA Fund.
NNPA President/CEO Dr. Ben Chavis stated, “The living legacy of Rosetta Miller-Perry is vital to the future sustainability and progress of the Black Press of America. As Queen Mother of the Black Press, Rosetta Perry exemplified the Black Press’s genius and conscious commitment to freedom, justice, and equality, as NNPA. We pledge to keep Rosetta’s memory alive as we approach the 200th Anniversary of the Black Press in 2027.”
For her work in media and community service, Miller-Perry received the NNPA Lifetime Achievement Award on January 25, 2019, during the NNPA Mid-Winter training conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.It was at that gathering that she earned the title of “Queen Mother of the Black Press.” Bobby Henry, a former chair of NNPA, recalls roasting her during this event. “I teased her about being a mortician and how she could do away with people who did not treat her right and nobody would ever know,” Henry said. “She smiled and gave me a look that said it was possible.”
“She had a good sense of humor, but along with all her business savvy, she was a loving, private woman. She had the genuine sweetness of your favorite aunt and the wisdom and sage of your gangster uncle. She was just a well-rounded person full of love and wisdom,” Henry stated.
Never one to rest on her laurels, Miller-Perry established the Greater Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce in 1998 and that same year created the Anthony J. Cebrun Journalism Center in partnership with Dell Computers to prepare young people for careers in journalism.
“She had a good sense of humor but along with all her business savvy, she was a loving, private woman. She had the genuine sweetness of your favorite aunt and the wisdom and sage of your gangster uncle. She was just a well-rounded person full of love and wisdom.”
Bobby Henry, a former chair of The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA),
Miller-Perry also founded the Nashville chapter of the Coalition of 100 Black Women, Les Gemmes, Inc., Nashville Chapter, and the National Council of Negro Women. She was also instrumental in building the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., meeting facility in Nashville and in countless initiatives dedicated to service and empowerment.
Even in her later years, Miller-Perry continued to climb the proverbial ladder of success. She was still making headway in journalism and business until an illness slowed her stride. Despite her health challenges and eventual transition, Miller-Perry lives on through her family, friends, business associates, and those she helped to succeed in their respective careers.
Calvin Anderson, president of the Tri-State Defender board of directors, said Miller-Perry was a highly respected publisher who cared deeply about her publication and the Black press overall.
“Rosetta collaborated with the Tri-State Defender and other NNPA publications to advance the Black press and inform its readers and subscribers,” said Anderson, who also counted her as a friend. “Her contributions will be lasting, and her friendship will be missed.”
Dr. John Warren, NNPA chairman and publisher of the San Diego Voice, called Miller-Perry’s passing “one of the great losses of our time and our century.”
“In every respect, she was the virtuous woman that Proverbs spoke about in the Bible. She was a woman who lived a life of service to the community, to government, the military, to business and to the people around her,” Warren added.
“She reminds me of the poet Samuel Longfellow, who said: ‘Lives of great ‘women’ remind us we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.’”
Celebration-of-life services for Miller-Perry will be held on Friday and Saturday, July 10-11, in Nashville. Visitation will be at 4-6 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, 625 Rosa L. Parks Blvd. Nashville, TN. Viewing begins Saturday at 10 a.m., followed by the funeral at 11 a.m. at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, located at 2261 Murfreesboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37217. Lewis & Wright Funeral Directors has charge.
Jackie Hampton is publisher of The Mississippi Link newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi, and vice president of The National Newspaper Publishers Association.
Wiley Henry is a journalist, visual artist, and photographer, having worked as deputy editor and senior writer of the Tri-State Defender.
Based on reporting by Tri-State Defender.
Black History
Oakland Protesters Rally to Defend Haitian Immigrants and TPS
The Haiti Action Committee traces its roots to the international movement that emerged following Haiti’s 1991 military coup, which overthrew the nation’s first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Political violence sent thousands of Haitians fleeing the country, while U.S. policies resulted in refugees being intercepted at sea, repatriated, or detained at Guantanamo Bay.
Protesters gathered in downtown Oakland near City Hall at 14th Street and Broadway on Thursday, Aug. 13, calling for protections for Haitian immigrants and an end to deportation policies affecting Haitian communities across the United States.
Organized as a call to action by the Legalization for All Network and supported by the Haiti Action Committee and other community organizations, the demonstration carried a clear message: “Defend TPS! Legalization, Not Deportation!”
Participants focused attention on the termination of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haiti and immigration policies protesters described as continuing attacks on Haitian immigrants under the Trump administration.
Haitian Romaine Charite of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization urged demonstrators to stand with Haitian families and led chants:
“When Haitians are under attack, what do we do? We fight back.”
Injustice to one is an injustice to us all.”
“Dump Trump!”
Charite and other protesters condemned the federal government’s treatment of Haitian immigrants, describing the policies as an attack on a population already facing extraordinary hardship.
Haiti’s TPS designation was terminated effective July 27, 2026, removing temporary deportation protections and work authorization for hundreds of thousands of Haitian beneficiaries who lacked another legal basis to remain in the United States.
Gerald Smith, a protester and former member of the Black Panther Party during the 1970s, said Haitians were being unfairly targeted and warned that ending TPS would have a devastating impact on Haitian families and communities.
“These policies are racially motivated and unfair,” Smith said. “Everyone deserves the right to self-determination and protection from persecution.”
The Haiti Action Committee cited the continuing political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Haiti as evidence that returning large numbers of immigrants to the country could place already vulnerable people at greater risk.
The Oakland gathering, which drew about 20 participants, reflected a decades-long history of Bay Area activism surrounding Haitian democracy, refugee rights and U.S. immigration policy.
The Haiti Action Committee traces its roots to the international movement that emerged following Haiti’s 1991 military coup, which overthrew the nation’s first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Political violence sent thousands of Haitians fleeing the country, while U.S. policies resulted in refugees being intercepted at sea, repatriated or detained at Guantanamo Bay.
Those policies sparked protests involving Haitian communities, Black activists, artists, college students, churches, labor organizations and human rights advocates. Prominent figures, including dancer and activist Katherine Dunham, tennis champion Arthur Ashe, and TransAfrica leader Randall Robinson, joined campaigns challenging the treatment of Haitian refugees.
In 1992, Haiti Action Committee joined other Bay Area organizations in a dramatic demonstration on San Francisco Bay. Boats carrying Haitian participants were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard while supporters gathered along the waterfront and reportedly chanted, “Let Them Land!”
More than three decades later, protesters have returned to the streets of Oakland, centering on protecting Haitian immigrants, opposing deportation and pressing for immigration policies that provide families with a pathway toward permanent legal residency.
For more information, visit Haitisolidarity.net.
Black History
NABJ Convention Brings Black Journalists, Civic Leaders Together in Atlanta
Among the conference’s most closely watched sessions was Thursday’s Newsmaker Plenary, where House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries discussed the national political climate with NABJ President Errin Haines. Journalist Joy-Ann Reid later led a fireside conversation with legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, creator of the term “intersectionality,” and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 Project.
ATLANTA—The 52nd National Association of Black Journalists conference brought thousands of journalists, students, media executives and civic leaders to Atlanta Aug. 12-16 for its 2026 Convention and Career Fair, a five-day gathering centered on the theme “Our Revolution: Truth, Power and Black Journalism.”
Among the conference’s most closely watched sessions was Thursday’s Newsmaker Plenary, where House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries discussed the national political climate with NABJ President Errin Haines. Journalist Joy-Ann Reid later led a fireside conversation with legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, creator of the term “intersectionality,” and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 Project.
The plenary also turned toward grief, accountability and justice as the parents of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, appeared with civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Crump was also the attorney for Trayvon Martin’s, Michael Brown’s, and Tamir Rice’s families. Moderated by journalist Tiffany Cross, the Wells family’s appearance focused on unanswered questions surrounding Nolan’s July death in Mississippi and calls for a federal review.
Reid and journalist Don Lemon also joined a separate discussion with Cross, columnist Michael Harriot and journalist Chandra Whitfield about career disruption, resilience and building independent platforms as Black journalists face layoffs and wider media industry upheaval.
Across generations, attendees exchanged ideas about sustaining careers and serving Black communities.
The gathering reflected NABJ’s long-standing role as both professional home and public forum for Black journalists. For Black-owned legacy newspapers, including ours, the Atlanta convention reinforced a familiar mandate: defend truth, elevate Black voices and connect national debates over politics, justice and media power to the communities most affected.
Black History
$5 Billion Coliseum Vision Puts Oakland Jobs, Businesses at Center
Reynolds said Black and Brown contractors have historically lacked the bonding, insurance, equipment and staffing required to compete for large contracts because they were denied opportunities to expand.
OAKLAND – A sweeping, multiphase redevelopment of the Oakland Coliseum site led by Ray Bobbitt, president of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), and businessman James “Jim” Reynolds Jr., could eventually attract between $3 billion and $5 billion in investment.
Reynolds said the first phase, estimated at $1 billion to $1.5 billion, could include housing, hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, open space and opportunities for local small businesses.
“We are going to transform the entire area with housing, hotels, with an infrastructure that benefits the community,” Reynolds said.
He also wants to attract major entertainment partners and position Oakland to compete with venues in San Francisco and San Jose. Reynolds said the city already possesses natural assets that other cities spend fortunes trying to create.
“One of the most naturally beautiful cities I’ve ever been to,” he said. “In Oakland, if you do nothing, it’s beautiful naturally: lakes, the mountains, the scenery, the open space, the weather.”
Reynolds’ vision, however, extends beyond buildings and entertainment. He is also focused on which businesses receive contracts and which residents benefit from the jobs and economic opportunities the project creates.
Reynolds said Black and Brown contractors have historically lacked the bonding, insurance, equipment and staffing required to compete for large contracts because they were denied opportunities to expand.
“Why would you build a big business when you know no one was going to hire you to do the job?” Reynolds asked.
He recalled working with longtime business partner Earvin “Magic” Johnson to encourage minority-owned firms to compete for larger contracts. About 1,000 businesses attended one outreach event after receiving assurances that opportunities to serve as prime contractors were real.
Reynolds wants to bring the same approach to Oakland.
“I don’t need goals and set-asides to figure out how to give Black companies a chance to be a prime,” he said.
He also wants Black businesses to move beyond seeking only small portions of projects or subcontracting roles.
“When we run the concessions, we pick who has a concession,” Reynolds said, citing partnerships involving Johnson, LL Cool J and Stephen A. Smith.
The same principle should apply to construction, entrepreneurship and workforce development, he said.
“Job training and opportunities to have Blacks lead something like this matter,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds also wants young Oakland residents connected to the jobs and career pathways created by the redevelopment.
“They’re going to have jobs, job training, and opportunities to work,” Reynolds said.
He rejects assumptions that Black youth and Black-owned companies cannot manage major responsibilities.
“I’m not going to sit here like others who have been in positions like this and doubt that Black people can do certain things,” Reynolds said.
For Reynolds and Bobbitt, the Coliseum redevelopment is an opportunity to create more than a replacement for the professional sports teams Oakland lost. Bobbitt contributes deep Oakland roots, community relationships and years of persistence, while Reynolds brings capital-market experience, global business relationships and a record of structuring enormous transactions.
Together, they envision a destination that attracts visitors while creating jobs, businesses and ownership opportunities for Oakland residents.
“Thank you, Jim, for believing in Oakland and investing,” Bobbitt said.
CEO of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce Cathy Adams, who wrote a letter of support for AASEG at a time when many doubted the feasibility of their goals, said the Coliseum area development plan will become the example of how Black-owned businesses and contractors can help close the disparity gap in Oakland.
Next week, Part 2: Len Turner and local business owners can benefit.
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