Thanking the Black Press

Today is Thanksgiving. For many folks this means family gatherings that help us to remember the blessings and good fortune in our lives. I am appreciative of many things, my loving family (those with me in flesh and those with me in spirit), good friends and generous mentors. I also want to remember and appreciate those fearless people who paved the way for Black folks. One of those people was Frances L. Murphy III, former publisher and chief executive of the Afro-American Newspapers who died yesterday at age 85.

Black newspapers get a bum rap today. In an age of 24 hour news, the weekly cycle of many of these newspapers puts them at a severe disadvantage. By the time that they come out, the news that they are reporting is stale. Moreover, lack of resources often means that they rely heavily on wire services rather than on reported pieces. There are other things to nitpick about---regular typos, a tendency not to rigorously scrutinize Black officials and an advocacy of Democratic rhetoric that leaves no room to consider other, perhaps more viable points of view. The reality is that most Black folks do not bother to read Black newspapers anymore. While some people point to the decline of the Black press as progress---evidence that Blacks are now "mainstream," we should not forget that newspapers such as the Afro-American, Amsterdam News, The Chicago Defender and the Pittsburgh Courier for decades were sources of news for Black citizens who were ignored by the White press. They also transmitted crucial information about what was going on in our communities.

Black newspapers not only reported on events, but also served as catalysts to events by informing their readers how issues impacted their lives and how they could get involved to make change. Black newspapers also had a mandate set the record straight and give an honest and balanced account of what was happening to Black Americans in this country. We know that too often the mainstream media gets stories about Black folks wrong. Today, in many cases the bad reporting is the result of laziness or a lack of understanding---however in prior decades, wrong reporting was frequently intentional the result of racism that could not fathom Blacks as anything but criminal, evil, and ignorant.

Personally, I think that we still need a Black press, but one updated for the 21st century. In the age of the Internet, the most popular Black websites are focused on entertainment and sports. In a time when the world is getting more complex and the need for substantive information is more necessary it is problematic that there are not strong and diverse media voices out that are targeting Black Americans. Granted, there are a few shows on local newspapers and television programs that are still keeping up the fight, but their effectiveness and appeal is stymied because they are underfunded and seem to be stuck in the 1960s and 1970s, in terms of how they view the world and its relation to Blacks Americans. Most of these show fail to talk about improving our circumstances in a pro-active way that depends mire on our intellect and collective resources and less on making White folks see the error of their ways. For instance, what can Black communities and Black leaders be doing to stem the number of high school drop-out and close the achievement gap? What knowledge do we already have to accomplish this and what networks already exist to disseminate the necessary information? What would be a 10 year "Education Plan," created by a coalition of civil rights organization look like and how could it operate?

So today, I thank people like France L. Murphy III who were about the business of empowering Black folks long before we used terms like "empowering." To France L. Murphy, a member of Delta Sigma Theta and the daughter of Delta Sigma Theta founder Vashti Turley Murphy, I say a heartfelt, "Skee-Oop."