By Aswad Walker | Houston Defender | Word In Black
This post was originally published on Defender Network
(WIB) – In 1827 the Black Press was founded with a clearly defined challenge and directive: “Too long have others spoken for us… We wish to plead our own cause.”
In other words, Blackfolk were tired of people who didn’t have our best interests at heart, along with those who paternalistically thought they knew what we needed better than we did, making their misguided declarations to the world.
And today, nearly 200 years after that first Black newspaper (Freedom’s Journal) broke onto the scene, other folk still think they know what’s best for Black people. And still, we, the Black Press, “wish to (and need to) plead our own cause.”
This most certainly includes the Defender, which is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year. It was founded in 1930 by C.F. Richardson Sr.
There are several reasons why the Black Press is needed now. Please read below to find out what some of them are:
Media Portrayal
A 2024 Pew Research study revealed what most Blackfolk already knew – the “mainstream” press inundates the airwaves and online spaces with grossly distorted, inaccurate and negative portrayals of Black people. These disingenuous, belittling caricatures of Black people have a negative impact on Black people’s psyche. They also convince the general public, lawmakers, police, judges and others that Black people are rightfully declared guilty before being proven innocent.
On the flip side of that reality, author and entrepreneur Lacey Tezino knows personally the impact images in Black Press publications can have.
“I love the Defender so much,” said Tezino. “It sits on a stand in front of my kid’s school. And one of the most beautiful things is for my kids to see Black and Brown faces on the cover week after week. Representation truly does matter. For them to be able to see those in the community working hard, making a difference, Defender, you have all of my admiration for what you do.”
Political Impact
In addition to ministering to the Black psyche, the Black Press has forever spoken truth to power, holding governmental institutions (local, state and federal) accountable.
The Black Press, led by Ida B. Wells Barnett, kept the insidious crime of lynching in the public consciousness in spite of monumental efforts by local, state and federal governments to ignore, dismiss and even deny the murderous crime was a reality.
The Black Press, in the form of the NAACP’s “Crisis” magazine led by WEB DuBois, not only chronicled white domestic terrorist attacks (ex: the Camp Logan Rebellion of 1917), it empowered Black communities to form self-defense groups and take other safety precautions.
The Black Press, for decades, has been front and center in the movement to get Blacks registered and voting.
Additionally, the issues the Black Press has highlighted have become the issues around which Black movements have organized in order to fight for change (healthcare apartheid, environmental racism, voter suppression, segregation and many more).
So many Black Press members were/are not only paper owners, publishers, writers and editors but also activists.
Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, WEB DuBois, Ida B. Wells Barnet, David Walker and countless others known for their activism were members of the Black Press. And CF Richardson Sr. and son, CF Richardson Jr., the Defender’s first two leaders, were just as much activists as they were media members.
The 1930 Defender 14 Point Platform, for example, reads like a Black social action to-do list.
Educational Impact
The Black Press, since its inception, has been a teaching tool, sharing our history often ignored in K-college classrooms. Marcus Garvey’s paper, “The Negro World,” employed some of the world’s greatest historians. These scholars provided “The Negro World” readers with university-level information about Black people’s contributions to world history.
Also, issues of educational injustice have for decades gained momentum in large part because of the advocacy of the Black Press (SEE Defender history)
Economic Impact
The Black-owned media companies are businesses. Hence, the Black Press is a living example of promoting the well-being of Black businesses.
Black Press spotlights Black-owned businesses like no other via spotlight articles and utilizes Black business owners as interviewees for business-related articles.
From advocating for emancipation to calling out the “War on Drugs” as a war on Black people to demanding accountability for ongoing voter suppression efforts; from chronicling the deaths of Emmett Till, Medgar Evers, Fred Hampton and others, to keeping Black communities abreast of modern-day injustices, all while celebrating Black excellence and ingenuity, the Black Press remains essential.
And with the all-out assault on Blackness in 2025, the Black Press is arguably more important now than it ever was.