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