The New Black Media vs The Black Press
The biggest story in college football – perhaps even in sports – is the success of Deion Sanders and the University of Colorado, which enters its top-20 matchup against Oregon with an undefeated record. “Coach Prime” and his recent history – for better or for worse – with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) is well-documented. When Sanders made his transition from Jackson State University to Colorado, a number of people questioned the financial solvency of HBCUs.
When it comes to land-grant HBCUs, I can tell you the problem – they’ve been robbed by state governments since they were established in the 1890s. Don’t believe me? Maybe you’ll believe the federal government.
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas
Vilsack sent letters to 16 governors emphasizing the over $12 billion disparity in funding between land-grant HBCUs and their non-HBCU landgrant peers in their states. You all’s favorite governor, Brian Kemp, had one of those letters sent to him as well.
That letter gave a specific amount for the underfunding of Fort Valley State University, the only land-grant HBCU in Georgia:
Using readily available data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Survey (IPEDS) that ranges from 1987 to 2020, we calculated the amount that these institutions would have received if their state funding per student were equal to that of 1862 institutions. Unequitable funding of the 1890 institution in your state has caused a severe financial gap, in the last 30 years alone, an
additional $603,156,480 would have been available for the university. These funds could have supported infrastructure and student services and would have better positioned the university to compete for research grants. Fort Valley State University has been able to make remarkable strides and would be much stronger and better positioned to serve its students, your state, and the nation if made whole with respect to this funding gap.
You read that correctly – over $600 million. I have a different name for what the federal government calls “underfunding” – theft.
Look at it this way – educating Black children in this country has always been a radical practice. In fact, the reason why a SECOND Morrill Act was needed to establish land-grant HBCUs was because Black folks were kept out of the colleges formed through
the first Act of the same name. From my viewpoint, the denial of funding of Black schools wasn’t an accident. It was intentional.
There’s a lot of talk about Black excellence, Black liberation, and so forth. Here’s my challenge to you, the reader. Does your idea of Black excellence and/ or liberation promote self, or community? By holding state governments – and yes, the federal government as well –to account, we encourage institutional uplift that can dramatically change our communities.
Ken Makin is the host of Makin’ A Difference and a freelance writer for ESPN and The Christian Science Monitor, among other outlets. Look him up on Facebook at Makin’ A Difference, and you can also send him an email with your thoughts at makinadifferenceshow@gmail.com.
(UPW) The final numbers have yet to be tallied and broadcast, but preliminary estimates suggest that this year’s Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival attendance number has matched, if not surpassed, last year’s record-breaking 100,000 attendees. And if that number holds up, it is a cinch that the economic impact on the city has likely exceeded $3.5 million — last year’s economic impact.
The annual festival was held in downtown
Augusta this year from September 15 – 17. With over 100,000 attendees, the festival has become the must-see, must-hear, must-dine festival. It boasted over 130 juried Fine Arts and Crafts artists and five stages of non-stop entertainment with everything from hip hop to jazz to rock. The Global Stage featured performances which included a diverse selection of cultural music and dance.
New performances for 2023 included Comedian Mario Tory, Ryan Abel and Friends
present Georgia Rock and Roll, Wayne Hoey Big Band featuring Russell Joel Brown and Joe Stevenson presents Southeastern Songwriters with John Krueger, Shaun Piazzaz and more. The global food village featured great international food with 19 authentic cuisine booths. The large Family Area featured interactive children’s activities, street performers, public art, and a Young Artists Market. Local artists painted live the new Authors Lounge will featured Georgia authors and book signings.
The Salvation Army of Augusta is pleased to announce that applications for the Angel Tree program will open on October 2 at 9 a.m. This program has been a beacon of hope for countless families during the holiday season, helping to provide Christmas gifts for hundreds of children in our community each year.
To apply for the Angel Tree program, interested individuals must visit saangeltree.org and complete the online application. The Salvation Army Angel Tree program ensures that registered children aged 12 and under receive gifts of new clothing and toys during the holiday season.
The Salvation Army collects information to determine qualification for participation in the program and details on each Angel. It’s important to note that no private information is shared with the public. Donors will only receive the first name and Christmas wish list for each Angel, respecting the
privacy and dignity of the recipients.
Major Amanda Raymer, Area Commander of the Salvation Army of Augusta, expressed her enthusiasm for the program, saying, As fall quickly approaches, we are gearing up for another Christmas season. Because of the support and generosity of many last year, The Salvation Army provided over 1,100 children with toys and winter clothing.” She added, “This Christmas season we anticipate the
need for a hand-up, to be just as great! If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, we are here to come alongside and help.”
The Salvation Army of Augusta serves residents in Richmond, Columbia, Wilkes, Burke, McDuffie, and Glascock Counties. For those interested in donating gifts or volunteering to support the Angel Tree program, please contact Major Amanda Raymer at amanda.raymer@uss.salva-
tionarmy.org.
This holiday season, join us in making a difference in the lives of children and families in our community. Help us bring smiles and warmth to those who need it most by participating in the Salvation Army Angel Tree program.
For more information about the Salvation Army Angel Tree program and how to get involved, please visit saangeltree.org. Salvation Army Angel Tree Program.
The Richmond County School System invites local business owners and community members to attend a Doing Business with the Richmond County School System workshop on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, at 6 p.m. in the Board Room Auditorium at 864 Broad Street. Purchasing and Procurement staff will be on hand to share information on:
· RCSS Policies and Procedures on Purchasing and Bids
· Identifying Potential Business Opportunities with RCSS
· Registering as a Vendor with RCSS
· Obtaining Information About Upcoming Bids and Quotes
· Submitting Formal Bids and Providing Quotes
· Obtaining Contact Information for Key Department Personnel
Registration is encouraged but not required for attendance. The link to register is rcboe.info/doing business. The event will be live-streamed at rcboe.info/rcsslivestream, the link will also be on our website.
The aroma of freshly grilled meats and veggies was just a part of the magic at the Global Village during the the Arts in the Heart Festival in downtown Augusta.
. . . and the perfomers were everywhere . . Musicians perform traditional Chinese music during The Arts in the Heart Festival in downtown Augusta.
Fields entertains
festival attendees with his drum skills during the Arts in the Heart Festival in downtown Augusta. (September 15, 2023 - Augusta, GA) -
This support group provides a place for men to gather together to share knowledge, encouragement, and emotional comfort on their prostate cancer journey.
Every man is born with a prostate a small but important gland just below the bladder. As men get older especially north of 40 years the prostate may start to act up. In some men the prostate if let alone without any annual checks by a doctor or urologist can lead to cancer. September is prostate cancer awareness month where men have a duty to know the status of their prostate.
Data from the American Cancer Society concludes that 1 in every 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetme. However, for Black/ African American men 1 in every 6 will be diagnosed and are twice more likely to die from the disease. For Black/ African American men it is important to take care of your prostate as if you do not it will take care of you and if let unchecked it will take you out!
The Zero Us Too Support Group Augusta Chapter is a group of men who are recently diagnosed, impacted by or survivors of prostate cancer. The local chapter is part of the natonal ZERO Prostate Cancer nonprofit whose mission is to end prostate cancer and help all those who are impacted htps:// zerocancer.org/.
The Augusta chapter meets for one hour at 6pm every third Tuesday of each month in the Georgia Cancer Center Outpatient Services Unit, 1411 Laney Walker Blvd, Augusta, GA 30912.
The support group provides a place for men to gather together to share knowledge, encouragement, and emotional comfort on their prostate cancer
journey. Men their spouses, partners or friends are always welcome.
For many Black/African American men maintaining the macho invincible image results in their personal health not being atended to or even talked about until it is often too late. Talking about prostate cancer, available treatments, and its potential to impact sexual performance and quality of life can be difficult and embarrassing. It is here where a support group can help as you are not alone on your prostate cancer journey.
Your local Zero Us Too support group provides camaraderie and support and men can obtain first-hand information about the different treatments (radical prostatectomy, androgen therapy, external radiation, seed implants, proton therapy, etc.) and resulting quality of life impacts from men who have no hesitation of sharing their experiences.
Medical and subject mater experts also speak at support group meetings enabling participants to hear about new cutting edge treatments and how men can live their best life post diagnosis.
Remember too that the local Zero Us Too chapter is a unique resource for all men in the CSRA as there is no other similar group within one hundred miles of Augusta.
Men, why not join us at our next meeting? Light refreshments are served and there is free undercover parking. For more information email zeroustooaugusta@gmail.com or call
706.305.4810. If you want to know more about your prostate and available treatments speak with your doctor or urologist. If you do not have a doctor atend one of our support
group meetings for information on possible next steps as you get to know the status of your prostate.
Oliver Page, Ph.D
Newsrooms nationwide are desperately searching for unique ways to attract new audiences as younger readers shift away from the news brand loyalty of older generations. Jay Taylor and Ryan Sorrell of the Kansas City Defender believe their outlet has “the sauce” that’s turning it into one of the fastest-growing news organizations for young, Black audiences.
The Defender, a Black-owned outlet founded in 2021, has made national headlines for the way it covers the Missouri city: unflinchingly and unapologetically. “We definitely don’t operate like legacy news outlets,” explained Taylor, a native of Kansas City and co-CEO of the Defender.
The website is perhaps best known for breaking the story about Ralph Yarl, a Black teen who was shot by a white man after he mistakenly went to the wrong home to pick up his two younger brothers. The story went viral on social media and was later picked up by major news organizations — even the BBC. The mayor of Kansas City heard about the shooting after being tagged in the comments on the Defender’s Instagram page.
The small staff are true digital natives — they’ve grown up with the internet and know how to package their stories online. “We are probably one of the only news outlets in the country, local news outlets specifically, that regularly reaches Gen Z because over 60% of our audience is between the ages of 13 and 30,” added Sorrell, the founder of the Defender. “We mostly use social media to inform our community.”
It feels as though hundreds of other Black and Black-focused media outlets are using social media platforms to share news. But in the proliferation of what is known colloquially as “Black media,” you’ll find no set of shared standards, ethics, or guidelines among the Instagram pages, influencers masquerading as journalists, or gossip websites that the average reader tends to lump into the category. The lack of standards was clearly evident during the trial of Tory Lanez, where clickbait and misinformation reigned supreme — and frustrated readers who were searching for accurate information.
The new Black press, however, is distinctly different.
Outlets like the Kansas City Defender, Capital B, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, The Black Wall Street Times, The Emancipator, Hammer & Hope, The Grio, Scalawag Magazine and more are using social media to grow their audiences and share their stories. But they pay homage to the old Black press, which captured the fight for civil rights, equality, and the everyday lives of Black people, accurately and fairly. These new Black press outlets have editors, style guides, a code of ethics, and issue corrections when something is incorrect.
But that’s not all that separates the
two. Whereas the topics Black media covers skew toward online discourse and trending topics, the new Black press is still in the community, the essence of what made Black newspapers and magazines of old so important.
That history isn’t lost upon Tiffany Walden, co-founder of The TRiiBE, a Black-owned digital media platform based in Chicago. Her outlet covered the campaign of Brandon Johnson, the current mayor of the Windy City, and pushed back against the disinformation surrounding it.
Soon after The TRiiBE was founded in 2017, Walden and co-founder Morgan Elise Johnson began hosting TRiiBE Tuesdays, monthly events to engage the community in the form of workshops and panels. In May 2018, they held “TRiiBE Tuesday: Protect the Hood at All Costs,” a panel discussion about home and business ownership, and protecting against gentrification in Chicago’s Black neighborhoods.
“It was our way of just getting people together. We would normally go to a bar or host it with friends who would own an establishment. We would have drinks, food, and we would invite people who we’ve interviewed in our stories to come and basically talk about their experiences that they laid out in the story,” said Walden, a Chicago native.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the events shifted online to Facebook Live and video conference calls. In September of that year, the outlet held a virtual town hall with then-mayor Lori Lightfoot, where she answered questions about her administration.
“We are very much in the community, and we’re also thinking from a multimedia point of view so that we can reach our audience where they are because
people don’t just get their news in one way,” Walden said.
“Some people are on Twitter; I’m a Twitter person myself,” she continued. “But at the same time, my mom is not on Twitter. My nephews aren’t on Twitter, so we have to meet people where they are. That’s really a big part of our mission at The TRiiBE.”
Nehemiah Frank shares that view. The founder and editor-in-chief of The Black Wall Street Times is unapologetic about his outlet’s involvement in civic engagement and social justice. It makes sense — he is a descendant of families that survived the race massacre that destroyed Tulsa’s Greenwood District in 1921. That history resonates today, as three of the last known living survivors of the massacre are still fighting for reparations.
Tulsa residents have long held a mistrust of the local newspapers that stemmed from the racist press coverage that blamed Black Tulsans for the destruction brought on by white mobs.
Frank sees it as his mission to ensure the Black community in Tulsa is fairly represented, from a digital lens. “We as Black people don’t have the luxury to be concerned about objectivity,” Frank explained. “Not when people are trying to create policies that are going to kill us and incarcerate us and suppress our voices.”
“Everyone wants their audience to be engaged, but we want our audience to be physically engaged with the events that are taking place in their community, whether it’s a school board or a protest. It’s the biggest thing that separates us from [traditional outlets].”
Accessibility also separates the new Black press from other outlets. A growing number of “news deserts” — communities where local newspapers have
shuttered — are disproportionately affecting urban and rural communities. And even though many get their news from social media and the internet, Black communities are hurt most by the “digital divide,” or the lack of internet access.
In Baltimore, residents can choose several news organizations to read, from the 186-year-old Baltimore Sun to newer digital outlets like The Baltimore Banner and Baltimore Brew. But Lisa SnowdenMcCray became editor-in-chief of the Black-led Baltimore Beat to ensure Black stories are being told and that Black readers are able to read them.
“Baltimore still has a very drastic digital divide. There are lots of folks that aren’t online. We have places like the Banner or The Baltimore Sun that are great at giving news, but a lot of their news is behind paywalls,” explained McCray, who has been reporting on Maryland’s most populous city for 20 years. “I wanted to make sure that our news is as accessible as possible to Baltimore’s black population.”
The news outlet created “Beat Boxes,” which are newspaper boxes placed in neighborhoods around Baltimore for residents to pick up a free copy. But they’re not just newspaper boxes. Beat Boxes also serve as community pantries, so people can place masks, COVID tests, feminine hygiene products, and more inside. Several groups recently came together to create care packages for the boxes. Readers can also publicize events, like renters’ rights meetings or other community organizing, in the outlet for free.
Despite all of these efforts, the Black press still struggles to find funding for its journalism. The news industry as a whole is under pressure after a noticeable downtrend in advertising dollars and subscription fatigue. The Beat, like other Black-centric outlets, receives funding from grants. But according to Snowden-McCray, any support can go a long way.
“People should just support. More than likely, if not a complete organization like the Beat, there’s probably a Black reporter somewhere working really hard to do the best they can. I know there’s always these conversations online where people are very frustrated with these outlets that are not actually journalism. But look out for the people instead,” said Snowden-McCray.
“Maybe it’s a Black reporter on your local station or maybe it’s the one at your local paper, but just support us. Like our stuff, share our stuff. If they’re a nonprofit and you have a little bit of change, chip in. Even if it’s not money, the support means something to [the editors of Black journalists] when they’re trying to get our stories told — even if they’re working in a traditional white newsroom.”
The Jessye Norman School of the Arts will host its 20th Anniversary Benefit Concert on October 8th at 4 PM, featuring four Rising Stars in the Opera World: Veronica Williams, Aslief Willmer, Andrew Gilstrap, and Dominic Armstrong. The rising talents will perform classical and contemporary favorites with featured performances by the Jessye Norman School’s students to benefit the school’s continued operations. The concert will be held at the Maxwell Performing Arts Theater on the Augusta University Summerville Campus.
The school began operating in the fall of 2003 as a response to budget cuts in the arts leaving the school district with only two, full-time art teachers serving nearly 35,000 students. Offering programs in Drama, Dance, Music, and Visual Art, the Jessye Norman School of The Arts may have been the only avenue to art enrichment for many students.
Founding Board Chair Dr. Linda Scales saw the need and acted along with Ellis Johnson and other
community members to reach out to Jessye Norman, asking for her support and to inquire if she would bring her values and lend her name to the organization. She enthusiastically agreed and helped to raise the first $50,000 to start the school.
Since 2003, JNSA has moved in to its own 18,000 sq.ft. building, donated by Peter Knox IV. The school renovated 9,000 square feet of the building,
and grew programming to serve more than 400 students in free programming every year and more than 2000 in all programs combined.
JNSA has developed programs serving students and adults in Aiken, Edgefield, Richmond, Columbia, and Burke Counties.
Beyond providing free arts education, the Jessye Norman School also offers services impacting the
entire community. The school offers ASL learning classes, home school enrichment, private music tutoring, and classes for local seniors. The school also hosts services for students in the foster care system and students of military families. The benefit concert helps support all of these services.
Tickets are available on the website, www.thejnsa.org.
Alex Foltz is a contemporary realist artist living in Augusta, Georgia. Foltz’s initial focus was on light and how it interacts with the world: how different light can convey a different mood. This shows in his conceptual work, which often depicts melancholy subjects with a more lighthearted tone. June Klement was born
in Knoxville, Tennessee and now calls Augusta, Georgia her home. Her work focuses on translating the emotions that she feels when exploring urban and natural environments into paint. Her impressionistic style of lively, vibrant, and bold brushstrokes highlights the ephemerality of color and light through textures on canvas.
