As I take in the surroundings of my new office inside the Marcus Garvey House – home to McFarlane Media and Insight News – I oftentimes find myself staring at the walls in awe.
Aside from the ornately beautiful African art, one of the walls is adorned with what I feel is priceless memorabilia – past issues of Insight News. Staring back at me is more than 40 years of history. It’s the history of the company, but more importantly, it’s the history of the community.
When Prince performed his first concert at the Capri Theatre, Insight News was there. When Minneapolis elected its first Black mayor, Insight News was there. When Kirby Puckett led the Twins to victory in the World Series, Insight News was there. When Keith Ellison was making history by becoming Rep. Keith Ellison – the first Muslim elected to the U.S. House, Insight News was there. When the Riverview, South Beach, Quest and Glam Slam were “the spots,” Insight News was there. When this nation elected its first Black president, Insight News was there. More recently, when a broad and diverse coalition took to the streets to declare that police brutality perpetrated on people of color would no longer be tolerated and that “Black lives matter,” Insight News was there.
Insight News has established itself as a revered and respected voice of the community and in doing so has become the largest community newspaper in the state. With that understanding I treat my appointment as the publication’s new managing editor with the utmost respect for the groundwork that has already been laid. I truly stand on the backs of giants.
It is with that understanding and reverence of past excellence that I am charged in driving Insight News forward.
New and exciting change for Insight News is coming. With that being said, to our legacy or longtime readers, understand that we have not, nor will we ever, abandon coverage of the issues that are of most importance to the African-American community. Insight News was founded to give voice to a community that has historically been marginalized, demonized and underserved. It is with great honor that we serve our community. That service will never end.
With the wonderfully changing demographics of the Twin Cities, Insight News’ role is as vital as it has ever been. Within the Black community we are growing with transplants from other cities. I am one of those transplants. We are also growing in population and strength within our Somali, Liberian, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Nigerian and other communities of the African diaspora. Also, with the expanding diversity of the area, we recognize the many commonalities we have with our Latino, Asian, and Native brothers and sisters. We also recognize the differences and need for positive dialogue.
To continue our mission and to be of best service to the community we have to embrace change. Part of that change is recognizing the impact of social media and maintaining an adaptive digital presence. In the coming days and weeks, online readers and followers of Insight News will notice a dramatic increase in postings to our social media pages. We are also in the process of relaunching our website, www.insightnews.com. The new site will soon offer daily content in addition to the weekly content that mirrors our weekly print publication. We’re expanding our arts and sports coverage, while maintaining our commitment to news and community happenings. Once complete, our site will rival any news outlet for content and appearance. It will be a site that like our print publication already, we’ll all be proud to call ours. I’m honored to be one of the drivers of this new change.
Many years down the road when someone comes behind me, it is my hope that one day they’ll look at the wall, see a paper from 2016 and feel the same sense of awe that I feel every day when I come into the office.
For me, the work starts now.
