The collective power of the Black Press starts with a vision set by the founders of Freedom’s Journal 198 years ago: to tell truthful, reliable stories with the goal of positively enriching African Americans and people worldwide.
“We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us,” said John B. Russworm and Samuel E. Cornish, who first published Freedom’s Journal March 16, 1827.
Today, despite President Donald Trump’s elimination of federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming and threat to pull funding for teaching parts of African American history (also called critical race theory), The Black Press stands as a trusted and valuable source of journalism and preserving narratives.
“We have to continue ‘to plead our own cause,’ and that cause today includes confronting and challenging the rampant contradictions of the far right who are trying to usher in American fascism,” said Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), during his “State of the Black Press” address on March 13. “The Black Press of America is needed today more than ever before.”
Often called the Black Press of America, NNPA is a trade organization with 245 print publications and 13 digital and online outlets, all Black-owned.
“There’s no other national news reporting organization that has the local, national, and global reach of the Black Press,” Chavis said in his address, delivered at Howard University’s Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library as part of Black Press Week (March 12-16) celebrations.
With a longtime reputation of highlighting stories of marginalized communities and the change makers often ignored by mainstream media, the Black Press serves as an ever-evolving platform to combat misinformation and preserve history.
Without the Black Press, the characters in the book and movie “Hidden Figures,” highlighting the Black women who contributed to NASA and the Apollo 11’s moon landing, might still be widely unknown. Margot Lee Shetterly, author of “Hidden Figures: On The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race” used articles from the Pittsburgh Courier, Chicago Defender and 132-year-old Afro-American Newspapers (Afro) in order to dig into these barrier-breaking Black women who worked for NASA.
“This book would not have been possible in the same way without the Black Press, who covered these women, these communities in detail and in full and preserved it for people like me to go back and pick up,” Shetterly told the Afro in 2016, ahead of the release of the celebrated film inspired by her book, starring Janelle Monáe, Octavia Spencer and D.C. native Taraji P. Henson.
Then, there are groups such as the Sylvia Ruth Foundation, an organization that promotes reading and literacy across District of Columbia Public schools, which has been exclusively covered in The Washington Informer.
“The Sylvia Ruth Foundation is dedicated to serving children who do not have access to rich literacy and higher education,” said Stephanie Byrd, a principal, founder of the foundation and daughter of the organization’s namesake. “The Informer has been essential in our efforts to share our work.”
Now, with more than 250 Black-owned publications in NNPA, the Black Press has no plans of slowing down and still wishes to deliver diverse news that promotes equity, inclusion and justice for all.
“In an era when our stories are often marginalized or overlooked, the Black Press remains an essential resource amplifying the voices and experiences of Black individuals and communities across the nation,” said NNPA Fund Chair Karen Carter Richards.
Vision for the Future of the Black Press, The Informer
In his “State of the Black Press” address on March 13, Chavis did not mince words in addressing the urgency of the times, while also looking to the future.
He warned of the condescending weaponization of terms like “high and woke” to incite fear, hatred, and social regression, emphasizing that the Black Press must remain steadfast in combating misinformation and right-wing efforts to dismantle democracy.
Chavis, a longtime civil rights activist, author and faith leader, rejected the narrative of “fake news”and “alternative truths,” pledging that Black-owned media would persist in exposing lies and amplifying the voices of Black communities nationwide.
Beyond reporting, he stressed that Black media’s role extends to influence and advocacy, describing it as “a syndicate, a collaboration, and a togetherness of not only the production of news but its distribution and its impact.”
While the Black Press has immediate plans such as “targeting Target”—supporting and covering national boycotts of the company after it reneged on its pledge to DEI funding and programming— the work doesn’t end at financial boycotts.
The ultimate goal is true freedom and overall equity.
“We just can’t react to oppression,” Chavis said during his address. “We need to be planning our liberation, planning our progress, planning our advancement as a people.”
Speaking at the Trice Edney News Wire Stateswomen for Justice Luncheon at the National Press Club on March 19, Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes emphasized that the Black Press is a valuable platform for uniting and furthering efforts to combat discrimination and uplift justice.
Although advertising dollars might be diminishing in the age of DEI cutbacks and rising tariffs, and while journalists have faced attacks from the Trump administration for their unwillingness to deny truths, Rolark Barnes said she is prepared for the work ahead.
Encouraging the crowd to do their parts to effect change, she explained taking action includes mobilization, supporting Black-owned businesses, engaging in efforts to uplift the entire African Diaspora and promoting positive narratives, just as she does as publisher of The Washington Informer.
”I’m not fearful. I am excited. I am determined. I’m ready for the fight,” said Rolark Barnes, whose father founded The Informer in October 1964.
As the publication commemorates 60 years of publishing, overcoming obstacles, growing and thriving, Rolark Barnes said she is inspired by the strength and resilience of her ancestors and motivated to further the legacy of The Informer and Black Press as a whole.
“My daddy did not do this for me to shrink and say, ‘Oh woe is me.’ I’ve been through some hard times with this newspaper,” she said, before emphasizing she’s up to tackle any obstacle that tries to get in the way of her work and mission. “It has been tough. Bring it on.”