African American Newspaper – Matt Willis

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Matt Willis

Dr. Miller

20 April 2019

African American History

A Turning Point in History: African American Owned Newspaper

             Black newspapers have had an impact on the African American community of San Diego, and it has come in many different forms. One in particular that seems to have had a very noticeable impact on the community was the implementation of a black run newspaper. One in particular by the name of “San Diego Voice and Viewpoint” was, and still continues to be, a very influential work that was created by, and for the African American people of San Diego. The principles behind the Voice and Viewpoint became very inspirational to the city itself, so naturally there were always people who wanted to create more channels for people to look through and find refuge. All of these newspapers, along with others nationwide, have had a tremendous impact on the African American community. The newspaper acted as a unifying force and a more relatable source of information for their community, as we have seen throughout the progression of the African American newspaper, it has continued to serve this purpose all the way to modern day.

The San Diego Voice and Viewpoint was a newspaper created in 1987 and was a very large source of information, especially the information that was disregarded in the mainstream national newspapers. It was not created solely on a business standpoint, rather it was created to attempt to unify and educate the African American community in San Diego. As stated in the article, “News as a Cultural Mirror: Historically Black Newspapers Reflecting Public Views of Loving v. Virginia (1967),” written by Jennifer Ware, Geri Alumit Zeldes, and Jennifer Hoewe, they state that black owned newspapers have become advocates for their communities, specifically, “ the Black press functioned as an advocate for its readers, reporting from perspectives shared by their audiences as they educated and informed readers about complex social issues,” [1] the objectives of African American newspaper differed from what most white-owned newspapers did. On the main website “The San Diego Voice and Viewpoint,” [2]which is run by John Warren, one can look through the entire website and notice that although they do post about some of the large national issues, they also report on smaller issues and interviews that would have an impact on the black community, especially in San Diego. The San Diego Voice and Viewpoint is a very influential and inspirational newspaper that has made a large impact on San Diego as a whole, however, it is not the only one of its kind to do so.

In addition to the first black owned newspaper in San Diego, the San Diego Voice and Viewpoint, other newspapers began to arise as informants to the black community. One in particular that went about this was the “San Diego Monitor News and Shopper,” created by Willie Morrow. The objective at hand was less about creating competition for the Voice and Viewpoint, and more about being another source of information for those interested in the topics that are sometimes brushed under the rug. As stated by the Los Angeles Times journalist H.G. Reza in the article titled, “2 Newspapers now seeking to be black voice,” he states, “According to Morrow, he founded the Monitor not to spite Warren or the Voice, but because he was convinced that his newspaper could do a better job of covering and informing blacks,” [3] this just goes to show that even though newspaper and journalism are businesses, they still keep the true meaning in mind, which is to do what is best for the community. These black owned newspapers have had a profound impact on the people of San Diego, in particular the black community because through these articles and stories written by organizations such as the Voice and Viewpoint or the San Diego Monitor, they are able to gain more knowledge on topics that they may never had heard of, or that they never were educated on. These were very key steps in pushing the African American community farther ahead and creating a more unified base that would fight for what they believed in.

While newspapers continue to develop, it is important to note that African American newspapers have a long running history of supporting the black community. We see the backbone of this tradition in 1827 with the first ever black owned newspaper created nationally in the “Freedom’s Journal” created by John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish. The purpose of creating this newspaper was to appeal to the African American population and offer a side to the press that was opposing the mainstream newspaper, in particular, racist articles and letters posted in these white newspapers. In the early 1800’s there was a significant amount of racism that was publicly accepted, so the way in which the African American community went about combating this was by creating their own newspaper that had information that they could agree with and feel good about. In an article written by Wendell Bourne titled, “Power of the Printed Word: Freedom’s Journal – The First Black Newspaper,” Bourne refers to a documentary in which the narrators suggest that, “The black press was never intended to he objective because it didn’t see the white press being objective. It often took a position. It had an attitude. This was a press of advocacy. There was news, but the news had an admitted and a deliberate slant.” [4] The primary objective of the black press when it was first created was to provide an unbiased perspective in the newspaper that the African American population could relate to. This has translated to San Diego because as the different newspapers have developed, they understand each other in a sense that they cover different fields. Although these texts under comparison are from different times and places, they still serve the same purpose. They aim at informing the society of updates and news in the African American community.  For example, in the article “Proud ‘parents’ hail the birth of black-oriented newspaper” by Preston Turegano, he talks about the rise of the San Diego Monitor and what their focus is by using Morrow’s words specifically, “Where the Voice & Viewpoint covers national issues, we will emphasize community-type issues, economic and political.” [5] The idea that there is a mutual understanding of who covers which kind of issue is unique because it’s usually a competition for who can produce the best version of the same story.

Black owned newspaper has been a very positive influence on the African American community, and the entire population as a whole. It provides refuge for those who can relate to it, as well as offering an alternative source of information that detests non-black newspapers. All in all, African American owned newspaper has had a profound impact on San Diego, and continues to move forward in its significance.

 

Bibliography

 

 

 

  • Warren, John. “Voice and Viewpoint – Voice and Viewpoint Newspaper.” Voice and Viewpoint, 2000. https://sdvoice.info/.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Jennifer Ware, Geri Alumit Zeldes, Jennifer Hoewe, “News as a Cultural Mirror: Historically Black Newspapers Reflecting Public Views of Loving v. Virginia (1967),” Published in 2015.

[2] Warren, John. “Voice and Viewpoint – Voice and Viewpoint Newspaper.” Voice and Viewpoint, 2000.

[3] Reza, H.g. “2 Newspapers Now Seeking to Be Black Voice.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1987.

[4] Wendell Bourne, “Power of the Printed Word: Freedom’s Journal,” EBSCO Host.

[5] Preston Turegano. “Proud `parents’ hail the birth of black-oriented newspaper”. The San Diego Union-Tribune. April 16, 1987 Thursday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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