#NNPA BlackPress
Motown Founder Berry Gordy Retires
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Berry Gordy paved the way for minorities in a way that had never been seen before. His Motown Sound is now known as the sound that changed America, helping to bring together the nation then divided by race and segregation. As an African-American leader, businessman, entrepreneur, and important and historical agent of change, Berry Gordy is an inspiration and role model especially for African-Americans like myself,” stated Music Producer Linnette A. Harrigan.
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
From the Miracles, Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie, and the shaping of the original Little Steven, to being the genius behind the launch of the man that would become known as “the King of Pop,” Berry Gordy long ago indelibly cemented his place as one of the true legends of popular music.
Known as “The Chairman,” Gordy is the founder and original architect of Motown Records — an American original that arguably featured the most exceptional assembly of talent in music history — has retired.
He announced his retirement during the 60th-anniversary celebration of Motown that took place in Detroit last month. “I have come full circle, and it’s only appropriate [to make the announcement] while here in Detroit, the city where my fairy tale happened with all of you,” Gordy said.
Sixty years ago, long before the lottery’s slogan of “A Dollar and a Dream,” was appropriated to describe “rags to riches” success, Gordy put up what little cash he had and launched Motown Records, forever and better known by its simpler singular moniker: “Motown,” out of his small Motor City home.
The determined businessman demanded the best from everyone passing through the illustrious halls of Motown.
Among his initial signings was The Miracles featuring Smokey Robinson. Smokey would go on to become a recording legend, but he is also the songwriting genius who penned tunes for artists like Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye.
In 2001, Gordy told this reporter that the secret to success was, in part, understanding who to trust. Gordy made no bones that the foremost person he believed in is himself. However, he also knew when to comply.
“Her recollection is absolutely correct,” Gordy said with a respectful laugh when relayed a story told by Lula Mae Hardaway. Hardaway, who died in 2006, said she was probably the most hardened person Gordy had ever negotiated with. The negotiation involved her young son who would soon become known to the entire world as Stevie Wonder.
“For a year, I refused to sign a contract to let Steve work for Motown because I wasn’t sure if they’d provide a proper tutor for him to get a good education,” said Hardaway, who penned her life story in the 2002 book, “Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway, Stevie Wonder’s Mother.”
“We were poor, but I wasn’t stupid, and I wouldn’t be taken advantage of,” Hardaway told this reporter.
“We could certainly use the money Berry was offering, which really wasn’t much, but it wasn’t about the money, even though when we did finally agree to sign, it was a whole lot more than what he originally offered,” Hardaway stated.
Gordy said he knew he was getting a genius in the young Stevie Wonder, and a decade after his initial signing, Gordy and Wonder would ink what at the time was the largest contract in Motown history.
Along with Robinson and Wonder, Motown would produce an extensive roster of hitmakers.
From Marvin Gaye’s groundbreaking “What’s Going On?” to the Diana Ross and the Supremes “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” the hits came nearly every day.
Perhaps Gordy’s most shrewd signing was that of the Jackson Five.
While the group never won a Grammy Award and enjoyed a handful of No. 1 hits, it was its lead singer that Gordy took a particular interest in.
“When people ask, ‘Did I know that Michael Jackson would become as big as he did?’ I tell them, ‘Why of course,’” Gordy stated. “Why wouldn’t I believe he’d break records and set new standards? No one worked harder, and no one worked as often as Michael Jackson.”
Even though his solo success came under a different record label, Jackson would rock the world with the ultra-successful “Off The Wall” album. The singer would then cement himself as perhaps the greatest pop music star in history with the release of his 1982 album, “Thriller.”
Two years after “Thriller,” Lionel Richie [former lead singer of the Commodores] released “Can’t Slow Down.”
The recording became the biggest selling album in Motown history.
It was the last major record under Gordy’s leadership.
He sold the label in 1988, and until this year, Gordy remained in the entertainment industry producing Broadway musicals and feature films.
“Motown records is one of the most successful Black-owned record labels of all time,” said Aaron Douglas of R.E.A.L. Music Entertainment.
“Its history is in concrete because of the mega artists and because Berry Gordy had an eye for up-and-coming talent. …a Black owner giving a Black up-and-coming talented artists a chance to show their talent to the world and to be a proven success over and over again. This would be a blueprint for other young aspiring Black people. Seeing is believing,” Douglas stated.
Gordy made a difference not just in the music industry, but also in the world, said music producer Linnette A. Harrigan.
“The Motown Sound has impacted millions worldwide, and it has influenced the popular music we hear even to this day.
“Berry Gordy paved the way for minorities in a way that had never been seen before. His Motown sound is now known as the sound that changed America, helping to bring together the nation then divided by race and segregation.
“As an African-American leader, businessman, entrepreneur, and important and historical agent of change, Berry Gordy is an inspiration and role model especially for African-Americans like myself,” Harrigan stated.
She added: “His legacy should and could never be forgotten.”
#NNPA BlackPress
Chavis and Bryant Lead Charge as Target Boycott Grows
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Surrounded by civil rights leaders, economists, educators, and activists, Bryant declared the Black community’s power to hold corporations accountable for broken promises.

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent
Calling for continued economic action and community solidarity, Dr. Jamal H. Bryant launched the second phase of the national boycott against retail giant Target this week at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Surrounded by civil rights leaders, economists, educators, and activists, Bryant declared the Black community’s power to hold corporations accountable for broken promises. “They said they were going to invest in Black communities. They said it — not us,” Bryant told the packed sanctuary. “Now they want to break those promises quietly. That ends tonight.” The town hall marked the conclusion of Bryant’s 40-day “Target fast,” initiated on March 3 after Target pulled back its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commitments. Among those was a public pledge to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025—a pledge Bryant said was made voluntarily in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020.“No company would dare do to the Jewish or Asian communities what they’ve done to us,” Bryant said. “They think they can get away with it. But not this time.”
The evening featured voices from national movements, including civil rights icon and National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President & CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., who reinforced the need for sustained consciousness and collective media engagement. The NNPA is the trade association of the 250 African American newspapers and media companies known as The Black Press of America. “On the front page of all of our papers this week will be the announcement that the boycott continues all over the United States,” said Chavis. “I would hope that everyone would subscribe to a Black newspaper, a Black-owned newspaper, subscribe to an economic development program — because the consciousness that we need has to be constantly fed.” Chavis warned against the bombardment of negativity and urged the community to stay engaged beyond single events. “You can come to an event and get that consciousness and then lose it tomorrow,” he said. “We’re bombarded with all of the disgust and hopelessness. But I believe that starting tonight, going forward, we should be more conscious about how we help one another.”
He added, “We can attain and gain a lot more ground even during this period if we turn to each other rather than turning on each other.” Other speakers included Tamika Mallory, Dr. David Johns, Dr. Rashad Richey, educator Dr. Karri Bryant, and U.S. Black Chambers President Ron Busby. Each speaker echoed Bryant’s demand that economic protests be paired with reinvestment in Black businesses and communities. “We are the moral consciousness of this country,” Bryant said. “When we move, the whole nation moves.” Sixteen-year-old William Moore Jr., the youngest attendee, captured the crowd with a challenge to reach younger generations through social media and direct engagement. “If we want to grow this movement, we have to push this narrative in a way that connects,” he said.
Dr. Johns stressed reclaiming cultural identity and resisting systems designed to keep communities uninformed and divided. “We don’t need validation from corporations. We need to teach our children who they are and support each other with love,” he said. Busby directed attendees to platforms like ByBlack.us, a digital directory of over 150,000 Black-owned businesses, encouraging them to shift their dollars from corporations like Target to Black enterprises. Bryant closed by urging the audience to register at targetfast.org, which will soon be renamed to reflect the expanding boycott movement. “They played on our sympathies in 2020. But now we know better,” Bryant said. “And now, we move.”
#NNPA BlackPress
The Department of Education is Collecting Delinquent Student Loan Debt
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — the Department of Education will withhold money from tax refunds and Social Security benefits, garnish federal employee wages, and withhold federal pensions from people who have defaulted on their student loan debt.

By April Ryan
Trump Targets Wages for Forgiven Student Debt
The Department of Education, which the Trump administration is working to abolish, will now serve as the collection agency for delinquent student loan debt for 5.3 million people who the administration says are delinquent and owe at least a year’s worth of student loan payments. “It is a liability to taxpayers,” says White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at Tuesday’s White House Press briefing. She also emphasized the student loan federal government portfolio is “worth nearly $1.6 trillion.” The Trump administration says borrowers must repay their loans, and those in “default will face involuntary collections.” Next month, the Department of Education will withhold money from tax refunds and Social Security benefits, garnish federal employee wages, and withhold federal pensions from people who have defaulted on their student loan debt. Leavitt says “we can not “kick the can down the road” any longer.”
Much of this delinquent debt is said to have resulted from the grace period the Biden administration gave for student loan repayment. The grace period initially was set for 12 months but extended into three years, ending September 30, 2024. The Trump administration will begin collecting the delinquent payments starting May 5. Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough, president of Talladega College, told Black Press USA, “We can have that conversation about people paying their loans as long as we talk about the broader income inequality. Put everything on the table, put it on the table, and we can have a conversation.” Kimbrough asserts, “The big picture is that Black people have a fraction of wealth of white so you’re… already starting with a gap and then when you look at higher education, for example, no one talks about Black G.I.’s that didn’t get the G.I. Bill. A lot of people go to school and build wealth for their family…Black people have a fraction of wealth, so you already start with a wide gap.”
According to the Education Data Initiative, https://educationdata.org/average-time-to-repay-student-loans It takes the average borrower 20 years to pay their student loan debt. It also highlights how some professional graduates take over 45 years to repay student loans. A high-profile example of the timeline of student loan repayment is the former president and former First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama, who paid off their student loans by 2005 while in their 40s. On a related note, then-president Joe Biden spent much time haggling with progressives and Democratic leaders like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer on Capitol Hill about whether and how student loan forgiveness would even happen.
#NNPA BlackPress
VIDEO: The Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. at United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
https://youtu.be/Uy_BMKVtRVQ Excellencies: With all protocol noted and respected, I am speaking today on behalf of the Black Press of America and on behalf of the Press of People of African Descent throughout the world. I thank the Proctor Conference that helped to ensure our presence here at the Fourth Session of the […]

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