When Dr. Calvin Rolark founded The Washington Informer on October 16, 1964, there was pivotal political and civic action happening for Black people in America and the fight for racial equality.
During the civil rights movement, The Washington Informer became indispensable in preserving and promoting the Black Press’ mission to advocate for Black communities.
“The Washington Informer will be dedicated to news of the total community,” Rolark wrote in the first edition of the publication. “In this bi-racial city all citizens should develop a greater awareness of the Negro’s rich heritage and his important role in making ours a great national capital.”
Founded three months after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and in business about 10 months when the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, The Informer’s first year was full of critical moments in the U.S. and the fight for equality that shaped the modern Black experience.
1964: The Year of The Informer
- Feb. 25: Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammed Ali) wins his first World Heavyweight Championship title after defeating Sonny Liston through a technical knockout after six rounds.
- April 13: Sidney Poitier wins the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in “Lilies of the Field,” making him the first Black man to win an Oscar.
- July 2: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, outlawing public racial discrimination and encouraging integration in public institutions.
- Oct. 14: By maintaining a serious commitment to nonviolent resistance against racial discrimination, Martin Luther King Jr. wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
- “I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice. I accept this award on behalf of a civil rights movement which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- Oct. 16: Dr. Calvin W. Rolark Sr. establishes The Washington Informer intending to deliver news for Black audiences by Black writers.
- “If it is to be it, it is up to me.” – Dr. Calvin W. Rolark Sr.
- Nov. 3: Under the jurisdiction of Constitutional Amendment 23, Washingtonians participate in their first presidential election since 1800. While this was a great feat for the city’s residents, Black people across the nation were still not allowed to vote.
1965: The Informer’s First Year
- Feb. 14: Despite surviving an assassination attempt the night before where his New York City home was blown up, Malcolm X delivers one of his last speeches at Ford Auditorium in Detroit, acknowledging how the struggles faced by Black Americans intertwine with those faced by the global Black community, emphasizing the need for a unified diaspora. His last speech was on Feb. 18 at Barnard College in New York City.
- “[Take] our problem out of the civil rights context and place it at the international level of human rights, so that the entire world can have a voice in our struggle. If we keep it at civil rights, then the only place we can turn for allies is within the domestic confines of America.” – Malcolm X, February 14, 1965.
- Feb. 21: Shortly after going onstage at the Audubon Ballroom to give a presentation, Malcolm X is killed by three gunmen in front of his wife, Betty Shabazz, and their four daughters. Seen as an attack on the Black community, his assassination was a catalyst for increased racial tensions causing a more militant approach within the Civil Rights Movement.
- March Marches: In a series of three marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, the activists protest the systemic restriction of Black Americans’ right to vote during segregation.
- March 7: During the first march, led by John Lewis, protesters are met with violence from state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, often known as Bloody Sunday.
- March 9: The second march, led by Martin Luther King Jr., consists of 2,500 people. Under the law of a court order, they turn around after reaching the Pettus Bridge.
- March 21-25: With protection from policemen and Army troops, protesters successfully march to Montgomery and present Gov. George Wallace with a petition. On the steps of the capitol building, on March 25, King delivered his famous address: “How Long, Not Long.”
- Aug. 6: The Voting Rights Act is passed to eliminate race-related discrimination regarding voting, promising to uphold the Fifteenth Amendment’s assurance that all U.S. citizens are granted the right to vote regardless of race or color.
- Aug. 11-16: The Watts Rebellion takes place in southern Los Angeles as a result of police brutality against Black residents and discriminatory regulations regarding housing and employment, catalyzed by the arrest and beating of Marquette Frye. Demonstrators were met with force from the police and the National Guard, and after six days, the Watts neighborhood suffered 34 casualties and more than 1,000 injuries.
- Aug. 28: This year marked the 10th anniversary of Emmet Till’s lynching in Mississippi after a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, falsely accused him of flirting with and touching her inappropriately, though decades later she admitted to fabricating her story. Till’s gruesome death opened the nation’s eyes to racially-based violence, propelling the Civil Rights Movement.
In addition, while it did not happen within The Informer’s official first year, there was more progress toward racial equality in 1965.
- Dec. 21: The United Nations adopts the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination– the international law outlining and forbidding racial discrimination and prejudiced policies.
The Informer’s founding came at a crucial time for Black America and continues to create a voice for Black Washingtonians today. The weekly newspaper remains an essential platform as it advocates for racial justice and equity and through news and storytelling, highlights and preserves Black history.
“Our every effort will be directed toward,” Rolark wrote in the October 16, 1964 edition, “raising the economic, cultural and spiritual level of citizens as they fulfill their obligations of first class citizenship.”