Our Black Press, Our Communities, Our Collective Survival

By Dr. John E. Warren
Publisher, San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper
Chairman of the Board of Directors, NNPA

Let it first be said that this commentary is not intended as a criticism of any person or organization, but a gentler reminder of who we are, what we are confronting and how we survive.

First we must remember that we have been telling our own story for 198 years. That means through slavery, Jim Crow lynchings, segregation and every human horror you can think of, we have been successful because we have worked together, the Black Press and our communities.

The big difference today is not the President, his MAGA efforts, anti-DEI (just another term for anti-equality, anti-Affirmative Action, etc.), but our efforts to attempt to deal with the issues as individuals and organizations. Simply stated, we have a generation that has grown up on Social Media instead of remembering the Black Press is still our “Trusted Messenger. Some of the blame rests on our papers, many of whom are struggling to keep up and survive in a rapidly changing time.

The attack on our people, organizations and institutions is just as real as the raids on immigrants. The attack is on the funding of programs and services that so many of us have come to rely upon. Along with that has come a corporate reduction in ad revenue for our newspapers.

Over the past 198 years, when we didn’t have ads, we had the support, often financial, of our people and our communities. Our communities supported our papers with their personal interest and support of what we did as well as their few dollars.

Today we the collective African-American population have more income than ever before and often fail to see the importance of maintaining the Black Press as one of the two most important institutions in our lives, the second one being the Black Church, which is another story.

This week the National Urban League is meeting in Cleveland, Ohio and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. The National Urban League President, Marc Morial, is on board with the importance of the Black Press. He addressed the topic at the recent annual meeting of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). It is important that all our organizations restore the Black Press as a key partner in this battle for survival that we all are engaged in.

The Black Press publishes the press releases and events of our organizations, but do we encourage those corporations and businesses that we give our hard earned dollars to, to advertise their products and services in our media outlets when they spend billions of dollars each year on mainstream media and now social networks, but give nothing back.

Case in point, this week as our two oldest and largest Civil Rights organizations meet in the cities named above, have they encouraged their corporate sponsors to advertise their meetings in the local Black newspapers and media outlets since we are both print and digital? Why are we still talking about getting business with Target when too many of us are still giving our dollars to Target as well as Marshall’s which is owned by Target.

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African-Americans spend approximately 4 trillion dollars a year, which is larger than some world economies. Why are we still meeting and holding panel discussions on problems we already know how to address?

Solution. Remember that corporate America and business only respect three things: (1) loss in profits, (2) bad publicity and (3) votes cast against their interest. We have the ability to influence all three without calling for a “boycott” or “fast.”

Instead of rhetoric, we should be demanding that a “paid” presence in our newspapers becomes the first indicator of appreciation and value for our business. But we can never demand that others respect us more than we respect ourselves.

Our Churches, fraternities and sororities, businesses and non-profits that our papers report on week after week providing a tangible record of their events and activities, must return to both financially support our paper and insisting that those we spend money with do the same.

After you read this, please find at least 5 people who you know would not read this without your making it available to them and discussing it with them.

Remember, our survival depends on God and us, not those who appear to be in control.

A Luta Continua! The Struggle Continues. Where do you stand?