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The Silence of Black Wealth: When the Billionaires Turned Their Backs on the Black Press

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — He hoped they would remember that the Black Press was not a charity case but a lifeline. Two months later, the silence has been deafening.

Published

9 months ago

October 28, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Two months ago, famed civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump stood before a ballroom filled with the echoes of history. He did not whisper. He thundered. “If you’ve been blessed,” he said, “you got to pass the blessing on. You just can’t keep it to yourself.” Then he pledged fifty thousand dollars to the Black Press of America. It was not an act of charity. It was an act of faith. A declaration that the oldest voice of Black truth must live to speak again. Crump said he made his gift public because he wanted others to follow. He said he hoped those who had been lifted by the love and loyalty of Black people would remember who gave them their first breath of recognition. He hoped they would remember that the Black Press was not a charity case but a lifeline. Two months later, the silence has been deafening.

Magic Johnson’s people said “no.” David Steward, founder of World Wide Technology, said “no.” Jay-Z’s team didn’t bother to return calls. Janice Bryant Howroyd of the Act-One Group did not respond. Richelieu Dennis of Sundial Brands did not respond. Daymond John, Thomas Moorehead, and Tristan Walker did not respond. Tyler Perry, Robert Smith, and Oprah Winfrey did not respond. Dr. Dre, Spike Lee, and Michael Jordan each have also ignored multiple attempts to have conversations. Even across the ocean, Africa’s wealthiest men—Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Patrice Motsepe, Strive Masiyiwa, and Abdulsamad Rabiu—have people working for them who won’t acknowledge the Black Press with a simple response. Let the record show what was asked of them. The Black Press did not beg for charity. The Black Press asked to advertise their companies, their products, and their services. We asked to build relationships that honor the communities they came from. Many of them, like Magic, Oprah, and Jordan, have foundations that could have given grants if their hearts were so moved. The Black Press only asked that they see its worth.

Even the Democratic Party, carried to power by Black faith and Black votes, has turned away. The same party that claims to speak for equality now walks quietly in step with Trump’s anti-diversity crusade. They have shut the Black Press out of advertising dollars while funneling millions into white-owned mainstream media. It is hypocrisy dressed in progress to preach inclusion while starving the very storytellers who gave them the language of struggle.

This abandonment comes at a time when Trump has declared war on the lives and livelihoods of Black people. His administration has terminated more than three hundred thousand Black women from federal jobs that once sustained families. His policies against diversity have closed doors for hundreds of thousands of other Black men and women. Companies, emboldened by his rhetoric, continue to lay off and fire workers, many of them Black. And in the middle of this storm stands the Black Press — the last institution that still employs and uplifts hundreds of Black men and women who have families to support. Each of the more than two hundred newspapers and media companies in the Black Press represents not only truth on paper, but food on a table, tuition paid, rent covered, and the dignity of work preserved. The Black Press has been here before. It has stood when Frederick Douglass told a nation built on lies that truth would not die. It stood when Ida B. Wells printed the names of the lynched. It stood when Mamie Till demanded that the world look at her child. It stood when Dr. King wrote from Birmingham Jail. It stood when Malcolm X spoke the raw truth America refused to face. It stood when the white press would not. And it still stands today, two centuries strong, built by two brave souls – John B. Russwurm and Samuel Cornish during slavery – and, now, carried mostly on the backs of Black women. The Chicago Defender. The New Pittsburgh Courier. EBONY. The Amsterdam News. The Philadelphia Tribune. The Afro American. The St. Louis American. The Los Angeles Sentinel. The Michigan Chronicle. The Washington Informer. These are not relics of a fading past. They are the pulse of a people who refuse to vanish.

Many of these newspapers live in the same cities that raised the icons now silent. Chicago, where Jordan and Oprah became legends. Los Angeles, where Magic Johnson built his empire. Brooklyn, where Spike Lee found his voice. Philadelphia and New York, where Jay-Z and Will Smith found theirs. The irony is sharp. These newspapers gave many of them their first headlines, their first interviews, their first measure of respect. Remember EBONY? JET? How about Right On! Yet now, as the Black Press struggles for air, those it once lifted act as if they never knew its name. So it is that in this moment of trial, a civil rights attorney and a white businessman stand nearly alone. Mark Cuban, through his Cost-Plus Drugs company, reached into his own pocket and gave one hundred thousand dollars to the Black Press without hesitation. He did not wait to be convinced. He saw the need and answered it. Two hundred years of truth are hanging by a thread. The presses still turn. The ink still flows. But for how long? If the Black Press falls, so does the record of our struggle, our triumph, and our faith.

And when that day comes, history will not say the Black Press was destroyed by white supremacy. It will say it was abandoned by its own.

“We are going to save ourselves,” Crump declared. “We are all we need.” His words were not sentimental. They were a warning. Because a people without storytellers are a people without memory.

Stacy M. Brown

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Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park

ATLANTA VOICE — A mural depicting late journalist Jovita Moore, painted on the exterior wall of a building now occupied by Bellwood Coffee in Grant Park, was painted over in April. Moore passed away in 2021 after decades of working in Atlanta television news. Bellwood Coffee owners stated in May they were unaware of Moore’s identity or significance to the community before painting over the mural.
The post Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 8, 2026

Oakland Post

At the corner of Boulevard, SE. and Rosalia St., SE., directly across the street from an abandoned home and a Methodist Church, is Bellwood Coffee. One of hundreds of coffee shops in Atlanta, this place of business would not be worth a solitary discussion if not for the way its exterior walls are currently painted. There was once a mural depicting the late Jovita Moore, a beloved journalist who worked in Atlanta for decades. Moore, who passed away in 2021, mentored many of the people you see on television newscasts today. Though her legacy will never be forgotten, it was the mural of her image that was erased.

In April, members of the Grant Park community voiced their disgust at the mural, which graced a side wall of the building now occupied by Bellwood Coffee’s Grant Park location, before it was painted over. In its place are the words “Bellwood Coffee; Cocktails, Biscuits, Dry Goods, Air Conditioning. *Heat Too”. In May, the business owners responded to the community pushback on social media by acknowledging they did not know who Moore was before painting over her image. And later admitted that they did not attempt to find out what she meant to the community.

On May 21, the Bellwood Coffee Instagram account had a post about being “in close contact with Jovita’s family and are actively working on next steps in this process.” Two months later, the mural has not been replaced, repainted, or repositioned on the property. Nothing has been done. Black history is often erased, most recently by the current Presidential administration, but oftentimes on a smaller, quieter scale. The mural was originally painted by muralist Tommy Bronx, who had been in contact with the business owners about repainting it. As of July 6, Tommy Bronx had responded to a direct message via his Instagram account from The Atlanta Voice about any updates on his plans to repaint the mural.

“We’re currently working on it. You should see some movement in the weeks to come,” he wrote in a response.

On Monday, July 6, the business had several patrons inside and was running smoothly with three employees manning the counter. The Atlanta Voice dropped by Bellwood Coffee to get a look at the exterior wall where the mural once stood as a memorial to a journalist and mother who lost her life to brain cancer at the young age of 54. Moore’s image added some color to the block. The grey wall in its place does not.

A direct message was sent to the Bellwood Coffee Instagram account, and there hasn’t been a response as of 7 p.m. on Monday.

The post Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.

Based on reporting by Atlanta Voice.

The post Jovita Moore Mural Still Has Not Been Repainted in Grant Park appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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‘Proud to Hang Her from a Tree’: Man Arrested for Threatening Black Senator

ATLANTA DAILY WORLD — A New York man faces felony hate crime charges for allegedly posting a threat against New York State Senator Lea Webb. James A. Crosby, 49, of Binghamton, was arrested by New York State Police after investigators determined he posted a threatening comment on a social media news post about a Juneteenth celebration.
The post ‘Proud to Hang Her from a Tree’: Man Arrested for Threatening Black Senator appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 8, 2026

Oakland Post

A New York man is facing felony hate crime charges after allegedly posting that he’d be “proud to hang” New York State Senator Lea Webb from a tree in response to a news story about a Juneteenth celebration.

James A. Crosby, 49, of Binghamton, was arrested June 23 by New York State Police after investigators determined he posted a threatening comment on a WBNG 12 News Facebook post. “I’d be proud to hang her from a tree,” Crosby wrote, according to WBNG.

Crosby was charged with making a terroristic threat as a hate crime, a class C felony, per the New York State Police. He is currently being held at Broome County Jail.

During the subsequent investigation, state police found Crosby was in illegal possession of firearms despite being prohibited from owning them due to a prior felony conviction. Investigators recovered a rifle, a large-capacity ammunition feeding device, and a firearm suppressor — all prohibited under New York state law, per the NYSP.

Crosby was charged with four additional counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, all class D felonies.

Webb, who represents New York’s 52nd Senate District, had been a featured speaker at a Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony at Binghamton City Hall, where the celebration included prayers and the singing of the Black national anthem.

Police said Crosby’s comment was posted in response to a WBNG news story covering the event.

The day before his arrest, Crosby posted a Facebook apology claiming the comment “was not intended to be racial in any way” and was made in reference to what he described as a “criminal,” citing criticism of Webb over her use of nonprofit legal aid in a foreclosure case — a matter state watchdogs said created an appearance of a conflict of interest, per the Ithaca Voice. He was arrested the following day.

Webb issued a public statement June 25 condemning the threat.

“It was extremely disappointing and hurtful to see the now-deleted threat and attacks on my life in response to a story about Juneteenth, a national holiday that recognizes the ending of slavery in America,” she said. “Feedback and thoughts on policy are one thing, but to make a public call for lethal violence is absolutely unacceptable and dangerous. We must recognize our shared humanity and reject violence in all forms.”

She thanked Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and law enforcement for their “swift response.”

Following Crosby’s comments, social media users called for a boycott of his contracting business, Crosby Home Improvements.

The Binghamton City Democratic Committee also called for an investigation into the incident before his arrest.

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The post ‘Proud to hang her from a tree’: Man arrested for threatening Black Senator appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

Based on reporting by Atlanta Daily World.

The post ‘Proud to Hang Her from a Tree’: Man Arrested for Threatening Black Senator appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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CARICOM: Strengthen Integration for Future Generations

NEW YORK CARIB NEWS — Outgoing CARICOM Chairman Terrance Drew called on regional leaders to build a stronger and more effective Caribbean Community that benefits future generations. Speaking at the 51st Regular Meeting, Drew urged modernization of governance structures and improved implementation of Community decisions to make CARICOM safer and more prosperous.
The post CARICOM: Strengthen Integration for Future Generations appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 8, 2026

Oakland Post

Speaking Sunday at the opening of the 51st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Saint Lucia, Dr. Terrance Drew said the region must modernize its governance structures, improve the implementation of Community decisions, and ensure CARICOM becomes safer, more prosperous, and more relevant to the lives of its citizens.

The meeting, being held under the theme “CARICOM: From Resilience to Renewal in a Changing World,” coincides with the Community’s 53rd anniversary. During the ceremony, Dr. Drew formally handed over the rotating CARICOM chairmanship to Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre.

Reflecting on his six-month tenure as chairman, Drew praised fellow regional leaders for maintaining their commitment to democracy, good governance, unity, and the rule of law despite mounting global economic and geopolitical challenges.

“Throughout these challenges, CARICOM chose engagement over isolation. Together, we reaffirmed our commitment to a fair and rules-based international trading system and ensured that the interests of small developing states continued to be heard.”
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He highlighted progress made in strengthening the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, including deeper trade cooperation, expanded labour mobility, and efforts to lay the foundation for long-term economic growth. Drew also noted the Community’s growing partnerships beyond the Caribbean, particularly with the African Union, while stressing that every international partnership should advance the interests of all parties involved.

The outgoing chairman also expressed appreciation to Dr. Carla Barnett and the CARICOM Secretariat for their professionalism and unwavering support during his tenure.

“Whenever I called, you answered. Whenever support was required, you and your team responded with diligence, competence, and excellence.”

Dr. Drew urged the Secretariat to continue preserving its impartiality while faithfully implementing decisions made by Heads of Government, saying that balance has helped strengthen the regional integration movement.

The conference continues in Saint Lucia with regional leaders expected to deliberate on key issues including regional security, climate resilience, trade, economic integration, food security, Haiti, reparations, and strengthening the CSME.

Based on reporting by New York Carib News.

The post CARICOM: Strengthen Integration for Future Generations appeared first on BlackPressUSA.