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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2017)
Page 10 The Skanner April 26, 2017 News By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire F or 190 years, the Black Press has chronicled the spirit and resilience of the African American com- munity. “You can see it in the spirit of the process that we have [developed] in documenting our histo- ry — we are marvelous- ly resilient by nature, we are street fighters, guerilla fighters and re- silience defines us,” said NNPA Foundation Board Chairman Al McFarland. The National News- paper Publishers Asso- ciation (NNPA), a trade group of more than 200 Black-owned media companies in the Unit- ed States, also known as the voice of the Black community, has been the repository of Black history for generations, capturing that spirit and resilience through com- pelling journalism and Obituary: Henry Knight September 14, 1924 - April 19, 2017 H enry Knight was born September 14, 1924 in Col- bert, Oklahoma and passed away April 19, 2017 in Portland, Or- egon. Henry leaves to cher- ish his memory, sisters, Roberta Jackson, and Rosie Hughes; brother, Jordan K. Knight (Jean); special friend Margue- rite Moore; niece, Ola Mackey; nephew, A.W. Williams (Louise); God daughter, Sharon Hen- nessee; and a multitude of nieces, nephews and friends. There will be a public viewing held on May 1, 2017 from 4pm to 7pm at Terry Family Fu- neral Home followed by a public viewing May 2, 2017 from 9:30 Henry Knight am to 10:30 am at Van- couver Avenue First Baptist Church. Funer- al Service will start at 10:30 am at Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church. For more informa- tion see terryfamilyfu- neralhome.com or call (503) 249-1788. stirring images. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, the president and CEO of the NNPA, said that the strength of the Black Press has been widely demonstrated through decades of change. “Since 1827, the Black Press in America has been on the frontline of publishing in the inter- ests of freedom and jus- tice,” Chavis said. “Today, the NNPA continues to represent the resilient, trustworthy tradition of the Black Press that is indispensable to Black America.” Janice Ware, the pub- lisher of the “Atlanta Voice,” which was found- ed in 1966 by Ed Clayton and J. Lowell Ware, said that like other NNPA member newspapers, the Voice had a defined vi- sion and mission. “[The Atlanta Voice] has been the vehicle that has allowed the import- ant information [affect- ing African-Americans] to be captured,” Ware said. “I celebrate my father for his vision to start the publication and our motto, which is, ‘A people without a voice cannot be heard.’” The venerable, award-winning publi- cation was born out of the refusal of the White- owned majority Atlanta media to give fair and credible coverage to the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, the Voice TRAVIS RIDDICK/NNPA The Black Press Shows Resilience of the Black Community A display wall showcases the front pages of the nation’s Black newspapers. states on its website. “Our motto is still prev- alent today,” Ware said. “We’ve got to record our history; if we don’t, they will.” As the media industry continues to evolve, driv- en by advances in tech- nology, Black newspa- per publishers balance “click-bait” and quick- “ stream media ignores or underplays,” Perry said. “The Black Press cannot afford to be silent or not be certain to get the word out about them, whether it’s voter suppression or police misconduct and brutality.” In 1973, Howard Uni- versity, a historical- ly Black institution in We’ve got to record our his- tory; if we don’t, they will read content with longer, in-depth news articles. Rosetta Perry, pub- lisher of the “Tennessee Tribune” in Nashville, said that even though millennials aren’t read- ing traditional news- papers as much as past generations, news or- ganizations in the Black community — including newspapers, radio sta- tions, magazines and websites — are working together to ensure that critical information con- tinues to reach the mass- es. “There are many sto- ries about Black people both domestic and inter- national that the main- Washington, D.C., collab- orated with the NNPA, to establish the Black Press Archives at the school’s Moorland-Spingarn Re- search Center. The archives also in- clude a gallery of dis- tinguished newspaper publishers and histori- cal records related to the Black Press. Black newspapers are also collected and pre- served there for schol- ars, students and the public. “While some think that the Black Press is no longer needed, they need only to look at the newsrooms of the main- stream press — newspa- per and television — and see that when pressured after the Civil Rights Movement, they hired more Blacks,” in the past than they do now said Dorothy Leavell, the outspoken publisher of the award-winning Cru- sader newspapers in the Chicago area. Leavell continued: “And, most said the Black Press wasn’t needed. While they were em- ployed, the Black report- ers were not given the freedom to report sto- ries as they existed, often White editors changed the story with headlines that fit their perspective, not the essence of the sto- ry, if some of them rec- ognized their stories as submitted, it was rare.” Leavell said that when Black reporters were making good salaries at mainstream media outlets, they mostly re- mained silent. Many now want to speak up as their numbers are dwindling. “The Black Press is driven by a purpose and a mission to tell the truth and to stand up to those who would rob humanity of its fullness,” McFar- land said.
