HARLEM COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
OP ED EDITORIAL
History of the Black Press and New York Black Media By Walter Smith, publisher New York Beacon
Harlem Community Newspapers | August 18, 2016
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n 1827 a group of prominent free African American citizens from states along the Eastern seaboard met in the New York City home of Bostin Crummell to discuss means to communicate their views on the various social, political and economic issues that commonly confronted them and their respective communities. Although Black citizens utilized the church and social and fraternal organizations as a means of collective expression and dialogue, the usual channels of public media — particularly newspapers — were denied to them. Exacerbating the problem was the fact that elements of the established press routinely denigrated African Americans in print, even to the extent of questioning both the integrity and morality of the entire race. The most significant outcome of the meeting at Mr. Crummell’s house in the winter of 1827 was the decision to begin pub-
lication of the first newspaper produced by Black Americans, Freedom’s Journal. Two attendees at the meeting, Rev. Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm, became the paper’s editors. Although well intentioned white citizens sometimes defended the honor of African Americans in public forums, the editors of Freedom’s Journal proclaimed in the first issue, “Too long have others spoken for us, we wish to plead our own cause.” In 1941, under the urging of John Sengstacke of the Chicago Defender, a meeting of leading Black publishers from across the nation were called in Chicago. Sengstacke said the meeting was designed for “harmonizing our energies in a common purpose for the benefit of Negro journalism.” At least one representative from 22 publications attended the meeting and the group decided to form the National Negro Publishers Association. In 1956, the trade association of the nation’s
Black Press was renamed the National Newspaper Publishers Association. As advertisers began to recognize the value of the Black Press readership, Black newspapers began to regionalize in order to collectively address regional issues and advertisers who operated in their region and not necessarily on a national basis. Most prominent among these regional publisher groups was the West Coast Black Publishers Association (WCBPA) founded in 1974. In 1990, under the leadership of Walter Smith, publisher of the New York Beacon, the Northeast Publishers Association (NEPA) was formed to include Black owned newspapers from Philadelphia PA to Providence Rhode Island. The group consisted of 17 member newspapers. In 2014, under the leadership of Patricia Stevens, publisher of Harlem Community News, the New York Black Media
was formed for many of the same reasons as were the regional newspaper groups but with a focus on local issues and state business. NYBM membership includes: Carib News – Publisher Carl Rodney, Christian Times – Publisher Dennis Dillon, Harlem Community News – Publisher Pat Stevenson, New York Beacon – Publisher Walter Smith. Our Time Press – Publisher David Greaves, and Westchester County Press – Publisher Sandra Blackwell. NYBM, in addition to its basic news coverage is providing blanket coverage to New York City’s premiere yearly Black festival, HARLEM WEEK and its sponsors and supporters. Thus, into the communication age of the new millennium NNPA, WCBPA, NEPA, and NYBM continue to fulfill the declaration set forth by Cornish and Russwurm: “We wish to plead our own cause.”
Vol. 21, No 33 August 18, 2016
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