Black Media in Minnesota: Tradition, Practice & Vision

BLACK MEDIA IN MINNESOTA

Tradition, Practice, and Vision

An Anthology

Edited by Al McFarlane

Forward by Mahmoud El-Kati

Contrary to what mainstream media would have us believe, Black media has been and will continue to be essential to proper representation of our community. It is here that our stories are told. It is here that our authentic truths are shared. Such is our past, present, and future as illustrated in the anthology Black Media in Minnesota: Tradition, Practice, and Vision.

First and foremost, I give a hat tip to the contributors—Al McFarlane, Tracey Williams-Dillard, Dr. Mahmoud El-Kati, Donnie Nicole Belcher, Daniel Pierce Bergin, Georgia Fort, Dr. Robin P. Hickman-Winfield, Lissa Jones-Lofgren, Jasmine Snow, Dr. Catherine R. Squires, Dallas Watson, and Henry Banks. They represent the generations of Black journalists in our community in their diversity and history, and their voices serve to encourage us to support the Black press in all its forms.

Their stories take us back to 1827 and the first Black newspaper to be published in the U.S., the Freedom’s Journal in New York. Since mainstream newspapers denigrated African Americans and generated misinformation and disinformation, the Black press met a definite need as they developed over the 19^th and early 20^th centuries in terms of getting accurate news out. White supremacists did their best to prevent the newspapers from being distributed among African Americans, but the news quietly got though anyway—through the powerful network of Pullman porters.

With coverage of the Black community by mainstream media being mediocre at best, stereotypical and incendiary at its worst (followed by a lack of fact-checking, framing, and reliable sources), from slavery to George Floyd, from Frederick Douglass to Kamala Harris, the Black press has provided an authentic picture of who we are as a community and the place to share our stories—our successes, our ongoing struggles, and the issues important to us and our lives. Here in Minnesota, we have notables in the field such as Cecil Newman, Gordon Parks, Carl Rowan, Roy Wilkins, and Henry Banks (As descendants of Newman and Parks, Tracey Williams-Dillard and Robin Hickman-Winfield continue to pay it forward).

We have shared our stories through media outlets such as the Minnesota Spokesman Recorder (the oldest Black-owned business in Minnesota), Insight News, public broadcasting (Black Voices was the first program to do so in 1968), radio (e.g. KMOJ, KFAI), film, and now, live streaming shows, podcasts, and community programming.

Though there were Black newspapers that folded or were bought out, those that remain serve as vital a purpose today as they did back in the day. Our contributors offer solutions on how to support the Black press/media, plus a directory of Black media outlets here in Minnesota.

In the words of Al McFarlane, “The Black press began with the sole intention of being a contrast to what was in the White press. The single focus was to present the Black community in a dignified manner and to shine a positive light on its members’ lives. Freedom’s Journal and the hundreds of Black newspapers that followed it in the 20^th century affirmed Black people’s existence. Births were announced, deaths were mourned, marriages were celebrated, and achievements were showcased.

In the early days of the Black press, journalists who were shunned by mainstream media gained celebrity status. They have been referred to as ‘soldiers without swords’ because they used their pens, typewriters, and cameras to give voice to the voiceless. The pay was low and the work was hard, but it was more than just a job.”

Black Media in Minnesota is available through In Black Ink.

The voices and experience of these contributors is priceless, and I acknowledge each and every one of them for knowing and understanding the power of the pen, and celebrating who we are.