“We wish to plead our own cause; For too long others have spoken for us, now we speak for ourselves.”—John Brown Russwurm and Samuel Cornish, Freedom’s Journal, 1827
The struggle for Black self-determination in the United States has been long, arduous and dangerous. Central to that struggle has been our need for information and the ability to define ourselves.
It led to the credo of the Black Press: “We wish to plead our own cause; For too long others have spoken for us, now we speak for ourselves.” These words were written by John Brown Russwurm and Samuel Eli Cornish, who established Freedom’s Journal, the first Black-owned newspaper in America, in 1827.
So, when I was invited by the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists to join a discussion about the Black Press in Chicago, I agreed to join the forum at Navy Pier.
I was on a panel with Myiti Sengstacke Rice of Chicago Defender Charities, Melody Spann-Cooper of WVON-AM, and Noel Bentley of DePaul NABJ was our moderator.
Chicago Defender Charities help support the newspaper, which is digital only. Ms. Spann Cooper is chair and CEO of Midway Broadcasting Corporation, whose flagship station is WVON-AM 1690, Black talk radio Chicago.
Both of these entities have incredible histories: The Chicago Defender, founded by Robert Abbott in 1905, helped drive the Great Migration of Blacks in the South to the North in search of brighter days that changed the country.
Spann-Cooper’s father made WVON into a powerhouse for Black news, thought, expression and action that reverberated throughout the Windy City and into the rest of the country. WVON went on air in 1963.
The Final Call started publishing in 1979 as the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan started rebuilding the Nation of Islam and has maintained longevity as an award-winning publication.
But times are hard now with some outlets closing. And, diversity, equity and inclusion which primarily benefited White women, just like affirmative action, is dead.
Like others, Blacks are in an “entrepreneurial” journalists’ space, working to capture their audiences, followers and their financial support. Since we are all in the position of “doing for self” perhaps we can work better together.
Corporations and companies are not our friends. You can have a strategic relationship, business relationship or personal relationship with them. But don’t ever confuse somebody who isn’t even your friend with somebody that loves you.
Robert Abbott and Pervis Spann loved Black people and wanted to see us progress and prosper. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has the mission of his teacher the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad to resurrect the mentally, morally, economically and spiritually dead Black man and woman. That is the mission of The Final Call.
Minister Farrakhan loves Black people and has devoted over 70 years of his life to our complete liberation and freedom, justice and equality. He has been under constant condemnation, attacks, lies and plots from the enemy. But he has never wavered in his commitment to us. He has only gotten stronger.
Black people need someone who loves them and who is eager to fight for them. This isn’t the time to be afraid or a sell out when our people are suffering, confused and under vicious assault from within and from without our community. Our people need help. Our people are brilliant, and our people are in the crosshairs of our enemies.
Minister Farrakhan once told me The Final Call is to be a watchman on the wall, scanning the horizon for threats or anything that could endanger our people.
Mainstream media today are not good watchmen. Many are bought out by corporations, biased, and afraid to seek and speak the truth as the country goes further and further into hell.
With mainstream media losing public confidence and trust, the Black Press isn’t dead if we do our job. Our job is serving the interests of our people. We are only a relic if we are out of step with the time, which requires building and acting based on our agenda and not someone else’s.
By Allah’s (God’s) Grace, The Final Call will outlive White outlets Blacks once took pride in working for.
Black buying power is projected to reach $1.98 trillion by 2025 and could reach $2.5 trillion to $3 trillion by 2030. The Selig Center for Economic Growth estimates Black buying power accounts for nine percent of America’s total buying power.
If we as a people focus on capturing our part of the trillions of dollars we spend, we have enough to sustain our operations and fund the survival of an independent Black nation. But we must be bold and constantly working to master what we do.
Capturing our niche of our market in order to serve our people must be what we are committed to. We don’t worship at the altar of the almighty dollar; the dollar is a tool used to preserve, protect and defend the people we love.
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