The Pain of Losing Les Payne

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

The shock of losing the immortal Les Payne, the consummate journalist, is hard to bear. I consider Les a friend and a colleague. I had the distinct pleasure of having worked side by side with him on several assignments – though I wrote for predominantly Black publications and he wrote for what was then New York Newsday.

Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Les Payne 

We always ran in concentric circles throughout the Black communities covering the stories relevant to Black people. Les was always to the point – where I was basically emotional when it came to covering Black stories and Black issues. I always admired him his ability to cut through the codes and the BS foisted upon us by the meanstream.

I admired the fact that he walked the fine line of writing for a white-owned newspaper and still say what he had to say. At the time the New York Newsday, not to be confused with Newsday (Long Island), had more of an Urban (read Black) slant, hence a fairly large Black readership; and Les was one of their best, and most highly regarded writer.

Les, Gil Noble and Bill McCreary were the three men I admired most among Black journalists. All three were out in the trenches, and each had their own mission to make sure that Black people had as much of the truth about what was going on as they could possibly provide.  And this was by no means easy. 

However, Les was the brother who,  at the end of the day, would hang with you at the Black clubs and talk about what was really going down – stuff you couldn't put in the papers. Les had the inside track on what was happening behind the scenes. We could laugh at the lunacy of Rudy Giuliani,  talk at length about his gestapo/il duce behavior and his insults to former mayor David Dinkins,  and the  impending demise of the Black community in New York, as we knew it, started under the Giuliani administration, and completed under Bloomberg.  We looked at the paucity of  quality education and educators in the schools and the political pawn that the chancellors of education turned out to be.

Our combined mission was to keep Black people informed and involved – and Les was the perfect reality check. However, as editor of the New York Newsday, he faced stiff competition because the paper was not allowed to be circulated in Manhattan – and primarily covered and circulated n  Brooklyn and Queens. Having a wider circulation would most likely have given them the revenue to continue publication.  But it was clear to him that there was a shift in the winds when that was not forthcoming.  He often thought they were planning for it to fail.

So, the New York Newsday shut down in 1995, under what Les considered specious circumstances. He had actually gone before the board with a proposal to open it up to NYC,  bring in more African American and Latino journalists, reflective of the diversity of New York; but the concept was “shot down.” It appeared, according to Les, there was just too much Black view for the comfort of the owners, whose main offices were on the left (west) coast.

I remember the night of the final edition of the paper, we all stood at the bar at our favorite gathering place in Harlem, Perks,  and toasted the demise of one of the finest publications for the people. Les was visibly shaken, upset, yet philosophical. “Well, I got to have a job. I don't know what's next – but I guess Brooklyn won't be my beat anymore.” he joked. I half offered him an opportunity to write for the Daily Challenge – the paper I writng for at the time, and he gave me the “Are-you-for-real?” stare, and started laughing. Okay, so I was a little naive at the time – there was no way the Daily Challenge could match the major salary he had been receiving at New York Newsday. It became one of our standing jokes when we would run into each other in later years.

My other joke would be to say, “I want “Less pain” from Les Payne!"  Or, “I need more of Les!” With big hugs and looks into each others' eyes – and the resigned shaking of our heads, as if to say nobody know the trouble – because the world was getting progressively crazier and crazier – the trick was how to write about it and not become infected and affected by it!

I was always awed by the fact that Les had won a Pulitzer Prize but still chose to hang with us. To me that was the mark of a true Black man – a true brother. He could take conversations so far into the intellectual stratosphere you'd need an oxygen mask to breathe the rare air. Other times we'd compare notes on who had the craziest what and when. Of course there was no way I could ever outdo him - he had been to South Africa during apartheid at a time when he could have easily lost his life under their racist regime. He was also the first Black investigative reporter I knew – actually the only Black investigative reporter I ever knew.  I was in awe!

While he was talking and or commiserating with you, his eyes would be subtly scanning the room to see who was on scene and what was going on. He would spot political figures and synopsize something they were involved in and make predictions about where they'd end up, and pick up the conversation you were having without missing a beat. Les was always looking up just above the crowd slowly making his way through the room.  But then, that was the advantage of being one of the tallest guys in the room.  Then that ready smile would break out on his face when he saw someone he liked; or a slight look of wary seriousness if it was someone he didn't quite trust.  He dressed in a style that I called medium cool - just enough to pass for business attire, but casual enough to hang out.  

I had asked him on several occasions to write the definitive book on Les Payne and how to be a real BLACK journalist. He shared my views on those among us who wanted to be accepted by the meanstream (my term for the white media), but who would never take a stand for Black people. And there were several who had already sold their souls to do so. Les was definitely not one of them.

Few journalists had the courage to write it like it was in meanstream newspapers – he was a advocate for Black people who spoke Truth to power without beating you over the head with it.

My condolences to his family, fans, friends and colleagues and the readers who have gained so much from his insight and wisdom over the years. 

There actually ought to be a course taught on the Les Payne methodology of investigative reporting; followed by Les Payne Black Journalistic Style 101 and 201; to break the cycle of wannabe journalism and begin a new era of those Black journalists who speak truth power the Les Payne way.

Funeral Arrangements for Les Payne are as follows:  Viewing will take place at Abyssinian Baptist Church, Monday, March 26, from 5pm to 8pm; services will be held Tuesday, March 27 at 10:00 am at Abyssinian Baptist Church.

Our brother is now with the Ancestor/Angels, making sure that all the news he writes from now on is good news 

Stay Blessed &

ECLECTICALLY BLACK

Gloria

-->

Our Dear Brother Elombe Brath is now an African Ancestor Angel Activist

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson



It is with great sadness that I announce the transition of our dear, valiant, courageous, creative, talented, brother Elombe Brath, who made his transition earlier today, May 20, 2014.

Elombe Brath Champion of Beauty, Justice, Independence for Black People The World Over

I have nothing but praise and admiration for this wonderful brother and his family, whom I have known since 1966.  And yes, I'm crying - but these are as much tears of gratitude as they are of sorrow, because that was such a long, wonderful, beautiful, blessed friendship.



I think, spiritually, Elombe had already moved forward - but has just finally released himself from his physicality -  He was always, always so far ahead of us in so many ways. The strokes he had begun to suffer in 2009 necessitated his being in a nursing home where he could receive contiuum of care. During that time, his wife and mother of their seven children, the lovely Nomsa Brath, was likewise facing challenges of her own. She has, however, managed to rally and was a participant at the recently held 2013 tribute to his life and times in Harlem.

Kwame Brathwaite, Elombe's Brother at 2013 ELOMBE TRIBUTE

Nomsa Brath, Elombe's Wife and Lifemate at 2013 ELOMBE TRIBUTE

My knowledge of, and friendship with,  Elombe might not ever have happened had it not been for Sam Anderson, my Lincoln University Classmate, who brought Elombe (then Cecil Brathwaite) and the Grandassa Models to Lincoln, at a time when we were all wallowing in our "negative negroness."  Elombe was the first ever to assemble Black female models with natural hair, modeling beautiful rich African colors and designs, and walking to African music.  This was at a time when you'd rather be caught dead than to have nappy hair. This was Spring, 1966!!  Along with Elombe was his brother, Kwame, then future wife, Nomsa, producer Frank Adu of AJASS (African Jazz and Art Society Studios), and a host of African (American) drummers and dancers under the personage of Gus Dinizulu!

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY ARCH

We were thrilled.  Elombe was the master of ceremonies.  He taught us our heritage and love for our natural beauty and Blackness.  And if you have ever heard Elombe give you a standing lesson on Black people, you know it's long, detailed, animated and unforgettable.



At the time Naturally 66 came to Lincoln University, in spring 1966, there had been a horrible schism between African and African American students on Lincoln's campus. The friction led to arguments, disrespect, and bordered on physical confrontations. This and more were issues that were healed and rectified as a result of that one program!  It helped form a bond between Black African and African American that probably had not existed since the mid to late forties.  Lincoln University has always had a large African population - but prior to Naturally 66, AJASS and Black power, there had been very little real positive, cohesive interaction between African and African American students.



I have to smile when I think about the fact that there were only 16 coeds at Lincoln U on a campus of 600 males at the time, and all our male classmates were falling all over themselves as they watched those beautiful Black sisters - the Grandassas - (deep dark chocolate as opposed to the almost pass for white variety that had heretofore been the standard), walk - no, undulate - across the stage.
Elombe's words of wisdom that day to this have never been forgotten, and were the catalysts for so many of us who on that very evening were reborn from being "negro" into being Black and Beautiful.



Then, later in the year, Fall, 1966, Stokely Carmichael came and made us Black and Proud as he enunciated the principles of BLACK POWER.  As a result of those two catalysts, and the prodding of Sam Anderson, Tony Montiero, and Paul Moore, I and a classmate, Maxine Steward (deceased) became the first two coeds at Lincoln University, to wear naturals.  Maxine was subsequently named Homecoming Queen, and was the first Homecoming Queen in the US to have an “Afro.”

Stokely Carmicahel of SNCC Enunciating the Principles of BLACK POWER

Of course, subsequent to that time, the majority of coeds on Lincoln's campus wear some form of natural hair style.  But back in the days when it was better to be found walking down the street naked, than to have "nappy" hair, it considered was a bold move.  One that almost had me exiled from my family.  And, proudly, I've never processed (straightened) my hair since.



The pride Elombe engendered among my fellow classmates, was replicated world wide as his Grandassa Models became the new standard for Black beauty.  And as we began to embrace and appreciate our African heritage, it opened up the flood gates for contemporary studies on all that had been held away from us for hundreds of years about our ancestry.  Elombe spawned such an outpouring of self love and unity, that magazine covers of Ebony, Jet, Tan and other Black publications began to be reflective of the teachings.  It spawned beauty and hair care products especially designed for natural hair, as well as a fashion industry trying to outdo one another in the design of then popular African clothing styles.  Black studies flourished in the classrooms and churches; Black people began to greet each other as "brother" and "sister" - something that I continue to do til this day. Ajass, Grandassas, and Naturally 66 (67, 68, 69, etc., became the standard bearer of things Black and Beautiful).

This was all thanks to the vision of Elombe Brath, who dared to break a tradition founded on the brainwashing Blacks had suffered as a result of enslavement and hostile self destructive messages.



Throughout the decades following, Elombe has been friend, educator, activist, creator.  A graphic artist by trade, he was the light behind brother Gil Noble, who had been tagged by ABC-TV in NYC, to do a lightweight TV show geared to us then emerging Black revolutionaries.  The show later emerged to become LIKE IT IS, and was the greatest source of Black information and issues ever.  Elombe not only served as the graphic artist, he was the behind the scenes conduit for those great interviews that Noble was able to bring to the forefront.  I used to run into Elombe, and he would give me an earful of how ABC had been trying to control, and/or eliminate him from the show.  They had had no intention of LIKE IT IS becoming such a seminal success, and when they found that Elombe had been the conduit for many of the guests, as well as many of the on location programs, they first sought to curtail it by removing him from the show and putting him in another department.  When that didn't work, they eventually found a way to terminate him completely.

The Late, Great Gil Noble of Like It Is

When I asked him what he was going to do, he just said "What I always do, my sister.   I needed the job, but they can't stop me from spreading the truth. Gil and I will be alright."  It was following that that Elombe formed the Patrice Lumumba Coalition and began holding forums at the Harriet Tubman School in Harlem.  And, while he never looked back, and never went after ABC for wrongful termination, his relationship with Gil Noble remained as strong as ever.



Always in the background, but ever at his side, was his brother/partner, Kwame Brathwaite - photographer and quiet activist in his own right.  It was Kwame who quietly chronicled all that happened via his ever ready camera, preserving history for posterity.

Kwame Brathwaite, in a tribute to his brother that appeared in the Black Star News, 11-16-09, writes:

"Elombe was one of the founders, and the lifetime president of the African Jazz-Arts Society & Studios, (AJASS) a cultural group which had been founded during the summer of 1956 in the South Bronx but moved to Harlem in 1961. The group was a collective of Black artists, photographers, performers, and students (including Kwame Brathwaite, Robert Gumbs, Chris Acemendeces Hall, Frank Adu, Jimmy Abu and others) who gathered to promote Black Arts and Culture. This was the beginning of what became “The Black Arts Movement” which many believe started in 1965, nine years later.

"Influenced by the ANPMs Garvey Day celebration and their “Miss Natural Standard of Beauty” contests formed to install pride and confidence in Black women, who at the time were looked upon as less than beautiful by the mass media, the fashion world and by Black people themselves. After the 1961 contest, AJASS formed the nucleus of a group of models to explicitly promote the African standard of beauty, The Grandassa Models under the direction of Elombe. The image of darker women had been long overlooked by such magazines as Ebony, Jet, Tan, contradicting their very names.

"Thus the “Naturally” series of “cultural extravaganzas designed to restore our racial pride and standards” was born, beginning with the production of “Naturally ‘62” on January, of that year."

Last year, in May of 2013, New York State Senator, Bill Perkins hosted a statewide tribute to Elombe Brath at the Harriet Tubman School.  There were so many who came to honor him, that even the driving rain  and high winds could not deter them.  The program was filled with so many tributes, including the now late Amiri Baraka, Congressman Charles Rangel, and so many others, it literally ran two hours over the alotted time.  So much outpouring of love for Elombe and his wife and family, the auditorium was literally standing room only. 

New York State Senator Bill Perkins at the 2013 ELOMBE BRATH TRIBUTE

RandyWeston performing in honor of Elombe at the 2013 ELOMBE BRATH TRIBUTE

ANOTHER SAD NOTE: Dear Friends: I originally started writing this article on May 20, the day after Malcolm X's Birthday, after having learned about the transition of Elombe to the realm of Ancestor/Angel.  In the midst of my writing this article, I received the news that my friend Sam Greenlee, author of THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR, had also passed.  I was/am in a complete state of shock that I could possibly lose two friends practically on the same day!  It's taken me a while to process it and get back to paying homage to my friend, Elombe - which will be followed by an homage to Sam Greenlee as well.



Though I am a journalist, losing friends that I've known nearly a lifetime, such as Elombe, is a terrible personal blow. Notice, I did not say loss – because I have too many things to be grateful for during our long friendship to feel as I could count it as a loss. So I am expressing what is I am sure a heartfelt thank you from all the Black community – Nationally and Internationally – for the long life of love and service we've received as a result of the heart, hand, and love of Elombe. He has gone on to take his place along with the pantheon of other Black ancestor/angels who constantly, continuously and consistently watch over and guide us.


Contemporaries such as the late Amiri Baraka and his wife, Amina performed at the ceremony in tribute to Elombe in May 2013 as well.  Now these two great warriors are among our ancestors and are fondly looking down on us as we try to cope, recoup, regroup, and begin to see our way forward.

The Late Poet Laureat Activist Amiri Baraka Performing at ELOMBE BRATH TRIBUTE 2013  

Poet, Writer, Entertainer, Amina Baraka Singing at ELOMBE BRATH TRIBUTE 2013

Journalists Bernard White (L) and Herb Boyd (R) at ELOMBE BRATH TRIBUTE 2013

Producer Woodie King, Jr., and Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce  Lloyd Williams at ELOMBE BRATH TRIBUTE 2013

I have nothing but high praise and congratulations to us all, amidst the sorrow for having been blessed with having Elombe among us for a wonderful, positive, empowering, creative, productive 77 years.

As you can see, I'm doing this blog in real time.  I just received such a wonderful from brother Dawad Philip -  former managing editor of the Daily Challenge (the only Black Daily Newspaper in the US) on my FaceBook page, and I wanted to include it in this blog in tribute to Brother Elombe:

"Gloria, It is with deep sadness that I receive the news of Brother Elombe Brath's transition. A soldier and revolutionary of the highest order, educator, scholar, writer, Pan Africanist and friend, his was a life of full service. We Africans the world over owe much to Elombe in ways that we may not collectively or fairly measure, from Harlem to Bed-Stuy, the Spanish and French Caribbean, from Cuba to Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, to Grenada and South Africa, this son of Barbadian heritage personified the creed: Serve the People! I cannot help but smile as I picture him stepping into The Daily Challenge to deliver his regular columns and engaging all with the latest victory from the Front, of Fidel Castro snubbing the luxuries of Midtown choosing instead to stay in Harlem, or Brother Maurice Bishop and his NJM executive visiting the United Nations and Elombe ensuring that Fordham University had a full house to receive Maurice, to Nelson and Winnie Mandela visiting Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant, to his weekly revolution behind the cameras of Gil Noble's Like It Is, to Kwame Ture and at the end the African community's celebration of Ture's life with a Harlem send-off. He was our man with his ear to the global African drum. Elombe Brath walked among giants and led the struggle from the front so that generations today and onward may walk proud. I have just come back from Cuba and I have seen the vision that Elombe articulated for African youth, in music, in science, in the arts. Your dream is Alive, Elombe. Walk Good!"  - Dawad Philip May 23, 2014

Homegoing Services for Elombe will held at Abyssinian Baptist Church on Saturday, May 31, 2014

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson



-->

The National Newspaper Publishers NYC Conference Part I

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

The National Newspaper Publisher’s Association (NNPA) recently wound up their national conference in New York City, leaving me with what I call a reporter’s nightmare. Why do I use that phraseology? Because I could elect to just do a sound byte round up of activities, or I could choose to go in depth. And you who know who I am, know that I have to take it deeper than just the activities themselves. I have to talk about what it means to us as Black people and where do we go from here. That’s why I have this Blog, Eclectically Black News, so we can really deal with the relevance. So here we go:

Under the dynamic leadership of Danny Bakewell, Chairman of the Board and now owner/publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel, the NNPA Conference got off to an impressive start with a stellar reception in Macy’s executive suites, in midtown Manhattan. Bakewell comes from an activist background, as leader of the Brotherhood Crusade, a well respected organization that has for nearly 40 years been making a difference in the lives of Black people in and around California. With Bakewell devoting his time, talent, tenacity and attention to the National Newspaper Publishers Association its future success bodes well for us all, regardless of whether you're a reader or a part of the Black press.

NNPA Board members, Walter Smith, publisher of the New York Beacon (formerly The Big Red News) and Thomas Watkins, publisher of the Daily Challenge, New American and Afro Times (under the Challenge Group umbrella), served as hosts for the three-day event, which started on June 16, 2010 and ended on Juneteenth, Saturday, June 19.

Most people have little to no understanding of what most Black newspaper publishers have to go thru to put out a paper on weekly, daily, or bi-weekly basis. While some make it look easy, have large offices and operations, and a broad based staff of writers and reporters; there are just as many who are “mom and pop” operations, with the work and the publishing being done in a small one-room office. Some publishers are often armed with nothing more than a computer and a camera. (Did I say “computer?” There were days when the tools were typewriters, manual ones at that. But somehow our Black newspapers were still published).

At the end of this article is a comprehensive list of NNPA member papers throughout the US. Some, like the Amsterdam News, Pittsburgh Courier and Chicago Defender, have either crossed or are near the century mark, having stood the test of time. Others, no less significant, have been around now for three quarters of a century, “speaking truth to power”, and find their mission no less important today, than when they were founded in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.

Some of these papers represent your home town, or the home towns of your friends and relatives. If they’re not already doing so, please encourage them to subscribe to their local Black newspapers. It’s the conduit to key information we need to succeed in this society and in the world.

As a kid in Oklahoma, I read the Black Dispatch, founded in 1913 by brother Roscoe Dunjee. My family had a subscription (I almost said a prescription, because reading about your own people, written by your own people, is good for what ails you.) I clearly remember there being articles and issues in the Black Dispatch that were not in the Daily Oklahoman and Times (a white paper that seemed not know we existed until the sit ins of the 60’s). Though the photos were somewhat darker than we liked them to be, the information was always accurate and detailed. Not only did we get news about what was happening with Blacks in Oklahoma, but they took a stand, and often called for action from the community. They also reported on Blacks in other parts of the US as well. Unfortunately, it is no longer published.

Historically speaking, the progenitors of our Black Press, which is the collective term for Black newspapers, were three Black “freed”men: Bostin Crummell, Rev. Samuel Cornish, and John B. Russworm, who, over 183 years ago in 1827, right here in New York City, met with other Black Freedmen to deal with racist white publications. As a result, Cornish and Russworm founded Freedom’s Journal, the first Black news publication in the US, because regardless of how many well meaning whites wrote positive articles about the then existing slaves and freedman, they felt it important to speak for themselves. “We wish to plead our own case,” was the raison d’etre for establishing the paper, and remains so today.

183 years ago! You have to ask yourselves who was reading the papers then? In the South probably no one since it was against the law to teach Black people to read. So it meant there were several educated free Black families in New York, Boston and points north sufficient to require and sustain such a publication.

How were they paid? Did they have advertisers or subscribers such that there were sufficient funds to underwrite these publications? Who were the advertisers? And who were the reporters? Who did the actual publishing. Did we have the machinery, equipment and supplies back then to consistently print our paper or did we have to rely upon well meaning whites to get it done? Talking about making a way out of no way!

Publishing is a no joke career. While now college courses and formulas teach publication, I have no doubt that, today, as it was back in the early 1800’s, Black publishers did not get into publishing just for the money. Most responded to a nagging “divine discontent” -- an underlying frustration, laced with a burning passion to get our story straight; get the story out about who Black people are, what we do, and our own tribulations and aspirations.

There is a desire -- no, a need; better yet, a requirement -- to see ourselves through our own lens; not the distorted, racist lens that most white papers use. Most Black publishers, back then and now, were probably originally writers who just wanted to tell the truth, and found that in order to get that truth to the people who needed to hear it, they also had to be concerned with the printing, distribution and continued gathering of information.

They found that getting that truth out cost money to obtain the paper, the print and the distribution. Many of these frustrated writers have morphed into being publishers as well. The passion for the truth also meant controlling the variables as much as possible; making sure that the means and the conduit for that truth were in place; and the people who were best able to write the truth in a compelling manner were engaged so that the ongoing communication with the public was maintained.

Being a publisher is a never ending battle, you know. I applaud the brothers and sisters who take on this task, because the Black press has an overlay the mainstream press does not have: constantly combating character assassination.

While subscription is an important component of Black newspaper publishing revenue, it is what architect Dan Watts, publisher of the Liberation Magazine, called “Necessary, but not sufficient.” Advertising was, and is, as essential as all the other components.

In point of fact, advertising is the life’s blood of the ongoingness (is that even a word?) of publishing and production. And, as it was 183 years ago, it still is a sad fact today that relatively few of the Black businesses and organizations advertise with their local Black publications; while at the same time relying on those very same publications to get the word out about their activities and issues.

Fortunately, there have been some positive powerful alliances forged with such corporate giants as AT&T Communications, Macy’s, and others who realize the value of advertising with the the National Newspaper Publishers Association, whose circulation literally reaches 80% of the African American community nationwide.

If you take all the 220 NNPA member newspapers in the aggregate who try to keep Black people informed, we have a formidable wealth of information on our side.

This must have been what John H. Sengstacke realized when he founded the then National Negro Publishers Association in 1940. According to NNPA history, Sengstacke was heir to the Robert S. Abbot Publishing Co., and called a conference that would give attention to advertising, editorial, and news gathering problems, while also recognizing omnipresent racial issues.

Prior to that efforts to bring Black newspaper publishers together began in 1875 in Cincinnati, Ohio, when former reconstruction era Lieutenant Governor Pinchback, of Louisiana, called publishers of that day together. Sengstacke’s initial meeting only culled 22 Black publications; but these publications came together for “harmonizing our energies in a common purpose for the benefit of Negro journalism.”

They changed the name to National Newspaper Publishers Association in 1956. The NNPA’s monumental history includes such great writers, editors and journalists as: Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Ida B. Wells Barnett, Langston Hughes, Romare Bearden, James Weldon Johnson, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Daisy Bates (Gloria Dulan-Wilson).

Likewise, where Black publications are pitted against mainstream -- often biased -- white publications, you often find that a less well educated population of African Americans read white publications (NY Post, NYTimes, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, as examples), as though they contained all the truth and all the information they needed; while turning their noses up at their own ethnic papers.

When you divide our power to enlighten and educate by the residual slave mentality so many of our people display, our overall effectiveness is seriously reduced. As Michael House, publisher of the Chicago Defender, state: “We still have a long way to go in getting to our people.”

Recently, while riding the subway, I was reading the Amsterdam News when an ignorant (negro) person snarled: “They still publish that paper?” Unfortunately for them, I was definitely the wrong person to say that to. So I retorted: “Are we still Black? As long as there’s a Black person on this planet they will still be publishing Black newspapers. You think you going to get relevant info in that rag (the Post)?”

Then I showed her that I not only had the Amsterdam News, I had the Daily Challenge, The NY Beacon, The Carib News, The Gleaner, Our Times Press, Caribbean Life and the Final Call. It was on a Thursday afternoon, and I usually pick up all the Black publications to make sure I’m up to date with what’s happening with us.

I make it a policy not to read white racist publications that delight in taking snipes at our leaders, or telling half-truths, or a total distortions, without balancing it with our own news. Generally the white press just gives some truncated mention about some event we participated in, when we’ve been doing so much more. When want to know what's really happening I read relevant Black publications. And fortunately in New York we have a broad selection to choose from.

Of course, the rubric that we have to read the mainstream in order to know where they’re coming from still applies; but the idea is not to be manipulated by them, taking an inferior position as a result. You don’t have to be manipulated into thinking they’re some sort of authority. (There are certain publications that have been so hostile to Black people, that I only use their pages to paper train my dog - if you get my drift).

Interestingly enough, when most Black men buy a mainstream newspaper, they immediately start with the Sports section in the back. Perhaps it’s because they know that’s probably the only place in the paper where they’re more likely going to say something positive about Black people. No point in reading the rest of it since most of the terminology used is pejorative and hostile; characterizing us as criminals and miscreants. Check it out sometimes.

Once when I was giving a talk for Black History Month, I did an experiment with Black high school students. I gave them copies of The Daily Challenge News, and watched to see what our youth would do. Most of the girls read the paper from the beginning, while, sure enough, the boys immediately turned to the back page looking for sports. When I informed them that, unlike the mainstream papers, there was plenty of good info the front of the paper as well, they looked totally surprised. I also informed them that they generally won’t find the headlines of a Black newspapers leading off with some perceived crime committed by some one Black.

In fact there are more relevant articles of importance to the Black community, more information about local and national Black figures; more uplifting articles. They don't sugar coat the bad, they just don't make it their only focus. Refreshing after a long day of dealing with a pervasive culture bent on depicting you as unworthy. There's a pledge from the NNPA to state our own case, tell our own story. And they've been fulfilling that pledge for 70 years.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Part II includes highlights of Rev. Al Sharpton's address to the audience.
Part III includes Rev. Berniece Albertine King's address to the audience.
Part IV highlights of the Award presentations to Congressman Charles Rangel and Motown Mogul Berry Gordy.

Below are the current
NNPA Member Papers:
Alabama
Birmingham Times
Birmingham World
Greene County Democrat
Mobile Beacon-Citizen
Montgomery-Tuskegee Times
Speakin' Out News
Arizona
Arizona Informant
California
American News
Bakersfield News Observer
Black Voice News
California Advocate
California Voice
Compton Bulletin
H.G. Star 1 News (Photo News)
Herald Dispatch
L.A. Metropolitan Gazette
L.A. Watts Times Inc.
Los Angeles Sentinel
Oakland Post
Our Weekly
Pasadena Gazette
Pasadena Journal
Precinct Reporter
Sacramento Observer
San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
San Francisco Bay View
San Francisco Sun Reporter
Tri County Sentry
Wave Community Newspapers
Colorado
Denver Weekly News
Connecticut
Hartford Inquirer
Inner-City Newspaper
Umoja News
District of Columbia
Afro-American (Washington)
Capital Spotlight
News Dimensions
Washington Informer
Washington News Observer
Florida
The Bulletin
Capital Outlook
Central Florida Advocate
The Community Voice
Daytona Times
Florida Courier
Florida Dollar Stretcher
Florida Photo News
Florida Sentinel Bulletin
Florida Star News
Florida Sun
Florida Tribune
Jacksonville Advocate
Jacksonville Free Press
The Miami Times
New American Press, The Miami Times
Northeast Florida Advocate
Orlando Times
Out Front South Magazine
Palm Beach Gazette
Pensacola Voice
The Weekly Challenger
Westside Gazette
Georgia
Albany-Southwest Georgian
Atlanta Daily World
Atlanta Inquirer
Atlanta Sun
The Atlanta Voice
Augusta Focus
The Champion Newspaper
Columbus Times
Fort Valley Herald
Freedom's Journal
Georgia Sentinel Bulletin
Macon Courier
Metro Courier
Savannah Herald
Savannah Tribune
Illinois
The African-American Voice Newspaper
Chatham-Southeast Citizen
Chicago Defender
Chicago Independent Bulletin
Chicago New Crusader
Chicago Shoreland News
Chicago Standard Newspaper
Chicago Tri-City Journal
Chicago Weekend
Chicago Westside Journal
East St. Louis Monitor
Final Call
Futures Newspaper
Hyde Park Citizen
Jet Magazine
Muslim Journal
New Metro News
South Suburban Citizen
South Suburban Standard
Southend Citizen
The Times Weekly
Today's Chronicle
The Windy City Word
Indiana
Frost Illustrated
Gary Crusader
Gary Info
Indiana Herald
Indianapolis Recorder
Scoop Magazine
Kentucky
Louisville Defender
Key Newsjournal
Louisiana
Data News Weekly
The Drum
Louisiana Weekly
New Orleans Tribune
Shreveport Sun
Alexandria News Weekly
Maryland
Afro-American Newspapers
The Baltimore Times
Prince George's Post
Massachusetts
Unity First
Michigan
The Blazer Newspaper
Ecorse Telegram
Grand Rapids Times
Michigan Chronicle
Michigan Citizen
Saginaw County Weekly
Take Pride Community

Minnesota
Insight News, Inc.
Minneapolis Spokesman
Mississippi
Jackson Advocate
Mississippi Link
Mississippi Memo Digest
Missouri
Kansas City Call
The Kansas City Globe
St. Louis American
St. Louis Argus
St. Louis Metro Sentinel
Nebraska
Omaha Star
Nevada
Las Vegas Sentinel Voice
New Jersey
City News
The Connection
Twin Visions Weekly Publications
New York
Afro American Times
Buffalo Criterion
Challenge Group
Hudson Valley Press
Jersey City Daily Challenge
New American
New York Amsterdam News
New York Beacon
New York Carib News
New York Daily Challenge
The New York Voice
Westchester County Press
North Carolina
Carolina Peacemaker
The Carolina Times
The Carolinian
Challenger Newspaper
The Charlotte Post
Iredell County News
Wilmington Journal
Winston Salem Chronicle
Ohio
The Buckeye Review
Call & Post (Cleveland)
Call & Post (Columbus)
Cincinnati Herald
Cleveland City News
Columbus Post Newspaper
The Communicator News
The Reporter (Akron)
Toledo Journal
Oklahoma
The Ebony Tribune
The Tulsa Oklahoma Eagle
Oregon
Observer (Portland)
Skanner Group (Portland)
Pennsylvania
New Pittsburgh Courier
The Philadelphia Tribune
Pittsburgh Renaissance News
Philadelphia New Observer
Rhode Island
Providence American
South Carolina
Black News South Carolina
The Charleston Chronicle
Community Times Dispatch
Gullah Sentinel
Pee Dee Times (Community Times)
View South News
Tennessee
Memphis Silver Star News
Metro Forum
Nashville Pride
Tennessee Tribune
Tri-State Defender
Texas
African-American News and Issues
African News Digest
Capital City Argus
Dallas Examiner
Dallas Post Tribune
Dallas Weekly, The
East Texas Review
Houston Defender
Houston Forward Times
Houston Newspages
Houston Style
Houston Sun
Informer & Texas Freeman
La Vida News Dallas
La Vida News Houston
Minority Opportunity News
Nokoa
San Antonio Observer
Smith County Herald
Southwest Digest
Villager, The
US Virgin Islands
Virgin Island Daily News
Virginia
Journal & Guide
Metro Herald
Richmond Free Press
Richmond Voice, The
Washington
Metro Home Maker
Northwest Dispatch
Seattle Medium
Seattle Skanner
Tacoma True Citizen
Thurston County Dispatch
West Virginia
WV Beacon Digest
Wisconsin
Madison Times, The
Milwaukee Community Journal
Milwaukee Courier
Milwaukee Star
Milwaukee Times Weekly
Milwaukee Weekend Edition

PHENOMENAL WOMEN IN MEDIA AWARD CEREMONIES

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Back in the day,The Impressions with Curtis Mayfield sang a song entitled “Too Much Love” which said in part, ‘never in this world can there be too much love.’ And I certainly felt that sentiment was expressed over and over again at the PHENOMENAL WOMEN IN MEDIA Awards ceremony held at the Eubie Blake Auditorium in Brooklyn’s, Von King Park. Wow! From the moment you stepped through the door, you were treated like royalty. Adults and youth alike were all there to make sure you had the best experience and most enjoyable time ever.

And so I did; and so we did!!

You see, I, along with 24 other Phenomenal Women (I really like the sound of that - PHENOMENAL) were honored by Our Times Press and Von King Park Community Center for our various roles in the realm of the media and its impact and influence we’ve had in keeping our base -- the Black Community, I.e. YOU, informed on issues of impact and importance to you -- in such a way that it doesn’t insult you, but (hopefully) inspires you to action, give you an alternative to the propaganda being spewed out at you via the mainstream market tabloids.

Each of the recipients was a diva in her own right. Each had a mark of distinction in the Black community. And, I daresay, we take the time to read each other because we respect each other’s work. You see, we don’t see each other as competitors; because Black news venues can’t afford to compete against each other, and at the same time try to deal with the onslaught of distortions, lies and disrespect routinely found in the mainstream media. We have to be collaborative in our approach, or you’ll never get the truth. We are not here to be a minature image of the same paper that’s been insulting you all these years. We take issue with the kinds of information, the tone of the article, the content. But we are likewise not here to criticize the mainstream press (that is unless they are so blatantly racist that something has to be said).

We are here to give you the NEWS about us as a people regardless of where we are and who we are. We don’t just cover the rich and famous, the gifted and talented, the super star artist, athlete, politician, we also write about issues that affect everyday African American men, women, children, workers, educators, ministers, homemakers, families.

So far none of us have won a Pulitzer -- doesn’t mean we can’t or that we don’t want to. There were also plenty of award winners amongst us, already recognized for their prodigious body of work.

I, however, must confess that this is the first time that I was so honored, by being feted by peers and people in the community. It was the first time that I was the subject of the award, instead of covering someone who was. It was the first time that I had to stand still for the paparazzi instead of being part of those who were taking the endless photos of everything I did, every move I made. Wow!!! So that’s what it feels like.

So, before I go any further, please allow me to say to Berniece Greene, David Greaves, Graham Weatherspoon, Mr. and Ms. Lemuel and Charlotte Renee Mial;, Our Times Press, Von King Park THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! With all the heartfelt sincerity and love I can muster. You yourselves are such a blessing in this world, what an honor!

And I know that this appreciation is expressed, not just for myself, but for the women who were also so honored and revered on that Monday, March 29, 2010, listed below (These are very brief, for the full info, contact Our Times Press for the March 25-31 Edition of the paper.

MAITEFA ANGAZA (aka Judith Henry): Editor African Voices; author Kwanzaa From Holiday to Every Day; former editor of the City Sun (you remember that revolutionary Black publication, don’t you?)

NYABA ARINDE: Editor Amsterdam News; former Senior Reporter Daily Challenge (the City’s Only Black Daily); 3 time A. Philip Randolph Messenger awardee.

AMANISHA BLACK: Community activist; author of column “The Parent’s Notebook”, which currently appears in Our Times Press.

CAROLYN BUTTS: President of African Voices Communications, Inc., publisher of African Voices Magazine. Recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts, NYS Council of the Arts and Dept. of Cultural Affairs challenge Program grants.

JOANN CHEATHAM: Publisher Pure Jazz Magazine, the literary arm of the Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortion (CBJC), which covers stories that honors jazz artists contemporary and classical.

GAYLE DeWEES: Writes for the NY Daily News “Face:s & Places; “At a Glance,” “Faith in the City,” and “What’s On for The Weekend.” Gayle also worked for the late great jazz vocalist Betty Carter.

GLORIA DULAN-WILSON feature writer, who considers herself an Inform Actionist -- in other words she supplies you with the information that you can take action on. In addition to articles in the Daily Challenge and the African Sun Times, you can catch her blog, www.gloriadulan-wilson.blogspot.com Four of us had either written for or currently write for the Daily Challenge, started by Publisher Thomas H. Watkins: Naya Arinde, Maietefa Angaza, Janel Cross, and Gloria Dulan-Wilson. I laughingly called us "Watkins Women" (don't know if that went over so well, though).

FERN GILLESPIE: Radio producer, public relations executive who has worked with such greats as James Brown, Michael Jackson, the late Percy Ellis Sutton, John H. Johnson, among others. She currently heads public relations for the New York and New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council.

STACY-ANN GOODEN: Jamaican-born nightly weather anchor for News 12 Brooklyn; former Good Day New York Traffic Authority; participant in Harlem USA’s Celebrity Read-A-Thon.

DR. BRENDA GREENE: Executive Director of the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY; chair National Black Writers Conference; weekly radio program Writers on Writing on WNYE 91.5 FM; professor of English at Medgar Evers College, and one of the most dynamic women you’ll ever meet --(she had just literally wrapped up the 4-day National Black Writer’s Conference the day before the award ceremony!! She did not look one bit tired; not one hair out of place - how does she do it????)

MONIQUE GREENWOOD: founder of Akwaaba House, Brooklyn’s first Black owned Bed and Breakfast; lifestyle director for Essence Magazine; entrepreneur and writer in various genre. If you have not had the pleasure of going to Akwaaba House, you must go.

JANEL GROSS: Managing Editor of the Afro Times, weekly arm of the Daily Challenge News, who takes pride in providing opportunities for local writers and photographers to be seen. Public relations officer for Jack and Jill of America.

VICTORIA HORSFORD: New York Columnist’s “What’s Going On” is published in the New York Beacon, Carib News, African Sun Times. The Public Relations specialist has worked with Spike Lee in She’s Gotta Have It, and Richard Pryor on JoJo Dancer, Your Life is Calling!

MARGOT JORDAN: Photojournalist who has worked locally and been recognized globally for capturing the moment on her lens. Former producer of KISS-FM Wake Up Club; and entertainment report for Wendy Williams (when she was on WBLS-FM).

CLAUD LEANDRO: Program Director One Caribbean Radion 97.9 HD2, the only 24-hour Caribbean-centric radio station; formerly with Radio Antilles in Monserrat.

SUSAN McHENRY: Founding Editor of Black Issues Book Review (BIBR); also instrumental in launching Emerge Magazine with the late Wilmer Ames.

ROSALIND KILKENNY McLYMONT: Editor in Chief to The Network Journal; partner in McLymont, Kunda & Co.; first Black managing editor of the Journal of Commerce, the oldest daily business newspaper in the US. Writes a monthly column entitled Africa Focus.

FAYBIENE MIRANDA: Producer of Global Medicine Review; she is a lyricist, poet, performer, having appeared with Kamau Brathwaite, The Last Poets, Mutabaruka, among others.

JEANNE PARNELL: City Lights host on WHCR-FM, former assistant principle with the NYC Board of Education; has been on-air personality for WLIB, WWRL, WNYE; and written for the Daily Challenge and Amsterdam News.

MARCIA PENDELTON: Founder and president of Walk Tall Girl Productions, a marketing, audience development and group sales company.

PAT STEVENSON: Founder and publisher of Harlem News Group, a Harlem based corporation that publishes four news papers, including Harlem Community News.

LUPE TODD: Vice President George Artz Communications, spokesperson for a variety of political and elected officials, including Congressman Edolphus Towns, City Council Rep. Albert Vann, Public Advocate, Bill De Blasio, Civil Court Judge Jaqueline Williams among others. Lupe is also currently serving as press relations specialist for Newark Mayor Corey Booker.

DR. TERESA WILLIAMS-TAYLOR: Owner/Publisher New York Trend Newspaper, the largest Black-owned paper in Long Island.

ESTHER COOPER JACKSON: Recipient of HATTIE CAUTHEN AWARD. To cap off this wonderful day, we had the honor of meeting and being photographed with the grand-dame of media and publiations, Ms. Esther Cooper Jackson, who served as editor of FREEDOMWAYS for 25 years from 1961 through 1986. The Alabama native, who is a delight to talk with, has a knowledge, understanding and love of Black history that goes far beyond just the publication of the quarterly publication into the very soul of what makes us who we are. I had the distinct honor to have an all too brief conversation with this esteemed, teenie little lady, who, at 92, continues to hold her own in the world of contemporary knowledge. She brought her best friend, who just celebrated her 95th birthday, as her special guest for the PHENOMENAL WOMEN IN MEDIA AWARDS CEREMONY. Inspirational to those who realize that if we do it right, we might just make it to that age, and look that good, as well.

Ms. TUPPER W. THOMAS: rounded out the list of recipients for her ongoing efforts to preserve the natural parklands in Brooklyn, most ostensibly Prospect Park. The HATTIE CAUTHEN AWARD, named for the lady who protected rare Magnolia Trees from being chopped down in Brooklyn, and started a generation of preservation of natural foliage, was given to Ms. Thomas. She is the co-chair of the City Parks Alliance of New York.

Those are the PHENOMENAL MEDIA WOMEN I had the honor of sharing the stage with. These are the women who have accomplished so much in their lives individually and collectively. Each of us received a statuette of a Black woman who depicted both our African and African American Roots (Routes); as well as a hand-cast “envelope” with each of our names on it; as well as some wonderful beauty products produced by Ambulant (you gotta try their stuff, it’s fantastic); as well as corporate products donated by Pepperidge Farms (thanks for their support).

A presentation by Ollie McLean's Sankofa School, whose three little Phenomenal Women in the making displayed their place in the future of Black history by totally knowing all the countries of Africa and the African pledge, was an example of what can happen when you design a program around respect for one's culture, coupled with educational excellence (one of the little ladies made an error on an African country, and her younger 6-year old counterpart took her to task -- too cute!)

Likewise, the significance of the double-duo husband and wife teams of Berniece Greene and David Greaves and Charlotte and Lemuel Mial was not lost on the recipients either (as noted by MC Graham Weatherspoon, whose wife, Irza, sat in the audience cheering him on).

However, while each has played roles in the enlistment of the Black community in their own right, who knew that Lemuel Mial had such a wonderful voice? He sings with a group called U4RIA, and nearly knocked the audience out of their seats as he serenaded us with a song he had written in honor of the occasion, entitled “Nothing Like a Woman”, which he co-authored with Larry Banks, musician and artist extraordinaire (available at www.U4RIA or 718-622-7638. In fact, from the response of the women in the audience, he compared favorably to Smokey Robinson, Teddy Pendergast and others (wow!)

Circling back to my opening statement, there can never be too much love for each other in the Black Community. In fact, an over abundance of love is exactly what is needed to offset what we’ve endured over the past 400 years and the most recent 40 coming out of the Civil Rights Era. We need more events such as these where we unabashedly celebrate the good we bring to each other in the community. Where, like the Japanese, we take the time to really celebrate each little victory, instead of waiting til the person has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel before we give them the accolades they deserve.

I would personally like to thank each and every individual who had anything to do with the ceremonies held at VON KING PARK, including the Culinary Center, for all you did to make that rainy day one of the sunniest and brightest days ever. And thank you for a gift-bag so heavy it needed an extra set of wheels to get it home! We are truly loving you for loving us so much.

Thanks muchly,
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson