NJG Publisher Among Newly Elected Black Press Officers

By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Cincinnati, Ohio
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the national trade organization that represents African American newspapers and media companies, known as the Black Press of America, has elected new officers and a Board of Directors to guide the storied 79-year-old organization for the next two years.

The voting took place during the NNPA national convention in Cincinnati on Friday, June 28, 2019. In an overwhelming mandate from the publishers who voted at the convention, Houston Forward Times Publisher Karen Carter Richards easily won election as the organization’s new Chair.

The mandate extended to include the other newly elected officers:

• 1st Vice Chair: Janis L. Ware, Publisher of Atlanta Voice

• 2nd Vice Chair: Fran Farrer, Publisher of The County News

• Secretary: Jackie Hampton, Publisher of The Mississippi Link

• Treasurer: Brenda Andrews, Publisher of New Journal & Guide

• Directors At-Large: Sonceria (Sonny) Messiah, Publisher of the Houston Defender and James Washington, Publisher of the Dallas Weekly

“We are the Black Press of America, the National Newspaper Publishers Association, so when I ask are you down with O.B.P., I am talking about letting people know that we are the Original Black Press, and we aren’t going anywhere,” she said.

Since its founding, NNPA has consistently been the voice of the Black community and an incubator for news that makes history and impacts the nation.

As the largest and most influential Black-owned media resource in the world, the Black Press of America delivers news, information, and commentary to the more than 47 million African Americans and others from all backgrounds each week. Now in its 49th year, NNPA member resources, including newspapers, websites, digital assets and evolving social media presence are trusted information resources both domestically and internationally