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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2021)
October 13, 2021 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 9 News CUNY Study Underscores the Enduring Vitality of the Black Press By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire T he racial awakening after the death of George Floyd didn’t prove as much of an arousal for mainstream media, after all. By contrast, Floyd’s murder and the global protests that ensued fur- ther espoused the impor- tance of the Black Press, and again revealed the dire straits of people of color face if there is no Black Press of America. A new study released by the City University of New York’s Craig New- mark Graduate School of Journalism found that Black media publishes as much as six times more coverage than main- stream outlets on issues of importance to Black communities, including racism, health dispari- ties, and voting access. Released on Wednes- day, October 6, the study, Why Black Media Mat- ters Now, found that nearly one in four arti- cles in Black media men- tioned racism or related issues, as compared with less than one in 10 in mainstream media. “Within coronavirus coverage, Black media wrote five times more on the disproportion- ate racial impact of the pandemic and nearly twice as much on front- line and essential work- ers,” CUNY researchers found. Lydia Pope Explains the Five Pillars of NAREB and the Importance of Black Homeownership By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire L ydia Pope counts among the fortu- nate, and she knows that. Pope also doesn’t pull any punches when advo- cating for African Amer- icans – particularly as it pertains to generational wealth. Her father worked throughout Cleve- land, Ohio, to help turn around the lives of gang members. Pope’s mother worked a lunch program that fed those individuals after her father tutored them about the impor- tance of homeownership and generational wealth. “My father passed away in 1991, and my mom told me that we were the sec- ond Black family to move onto our block when I was younger,” Pope, the president of the Nation- al Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), said during an interview inside the television studio of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) in Washington, D.C. “My mother told me about the real estate card she possessed that prompted her to own a home,” Pope reminisced during a conversation with NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. The entire conversa- tion will air this season on PBS-TV and PBS- World during a telecast of The Chavis Chronicles. Today, Pope’s brother owns the family’s Cleve- land home, which she said will eventually pass to his son. “It’s all about a succes- sion plan,” Pope stated. “This is how you build generational wealth.” NAREB offers five pil- lars to building Black wealth, Pope added. The five pillars include: • M ul t i - g e n e ra t i o n a l wealth. • Government relations and advocacy. • Diversity and inclu- sion for small busi- nesses. • Women’s initiatives. • Faith-based and civic engagement. “Even today, the rate of Black homeowner- ship is still at 46 percent. We have not moved the needle, so it’s important that as Black people, we have to fight for what we want,” Pope exclaimed. “When you talk about democracy and hous- ing, it’s important that we understand that we have to continue to fight for what we want. If that means going to our leg- islatures, that’s what we do. Our goal is to talk and advocate for the commu- nity, for those in need, for those who can’t speak for themselves. We can be the voice for them.” Pope counts as the third woman president in NA- REB’s 74-year history. She has worked in real estate since 1995 and serves as the owner and president of E&D Realty & Investment Compa- ny, Inc., and E&D Realty Property Management Division and E&D Con- struction Company. According to Pope’s biography, some of her past and current ac- complishments includ- ing Past President of the Women’s Council of NAREB, Mt. Pleasant Advisory Board, Ohio Housing Finance Agen- cy Committee, Cleveland Realtist Association Past President & Chair, and the Cleveland/Akron Legislative Committee. Pope also holds a long- time membership with the NAACP. Significantly, Pope de- clared that NAREB seeks Lydia Pope, President of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) ways to assist African Americans in wealth building and sustain- ability. Founded in Tam- pa, Florida, in 1947 as an equal opportunity and civil rights advocacy or- ganization for African American real estate professionals, consum- ers, and communities in America. According to its website, the purpose of NAREB is to enhance the economic improve- ment of its members, the community at large, and the minority community which it serves. To unite those engaged in the recognized branch- es of the real estate indus- try including brokerage, management, mortgage financing, appraising, land development, home building, and allied fields for the purpose of exert- ing influence on real es- tate interests. Although composed principally of African Americans, the REALTIST organization embraces all qualified real estate practitioners who are committed to achieving our vision, which is Democracy in Housing. “Our mission is to provide solutions to the various challeng- es Black people face,” Pope stated. “It’s not just increasing awareness of the barriers to home- ownership, but we want to provide solutions to all of the challenges, and educating our commu- nity is one of the biggest ways we at NAREB can have a positive impact.” The study concluded that Black media “stood out in its focus on a vari- ety of other health issues of particular relevance to Black communities, in- cluding maternal health, hypertension, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and sickle cell disease.” “It also led the way in coverage of voting ac- cess, racism, and stories that humanize the indi- viduals and groups in the news,” the authors wrote. They said Black media connects news events across subjects to cover wider issues of injustice, and it pro- vides historical con- text to present day challenges and break- ing news. The authors paid homage to the Black Press of America, whom the Nation- al Newspaper Pub- lishers Association (NNPA) has represent- ed for more than 81 years. “On March 16, 1827, in New York City, a group of free Black Black media center the humanity of people who are often dehumanized by society and not given that by mainstream media. men founded Freedom’s Journal, the first news- paper owned by, led by and for Black Americans in the United States,” the authors wrote. They noted that, in that inaugural four- page broadsheet, Samuel Cornish and John Russ- wurm, the editors and proprietors noted, “The peculiarities of this Jour- nal, render it important that we should advertise to the world the motives by which we are actuat- ed, and the objects which we contemplate. We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the publick been de- ceived by misrepresen- tations, in things which See PRESS on page 10
