The Truth Staff
On Tuesday, March 11, the Toledo City Council passed a resolution recognizing and honoring Toledo Black Media by declaring the Week of March 16 as Toledo Black Media Week. The resolution was inspired by the State of Ohio’s passage of a law in February that designated the week of March 16 as Ohio Black Media Week. That state resolution was initiated and promoted by State Representative Elgin Rogers.
The City Council resolution was drafted by Councilwomen Cerssandra McPherson and Brittany Jones, PhD. and presented a look at the recent history of Toledo Black media and the impact on the community.
“Black print and electronic media have a rich and important history in contributing to the diverse voices of greater Toledo,” the resolution began.
Then the council resolution ticked off the various Black media entities that have served the Black community over the past 80 years:
“Frances Belcher was the founder and publisher of the Bronze Raven, a weekly newspaper, published from 1947 to 1976 ….”
“Charles Welch “Charlie Mack” started The Juice FM 107.3 (WJUC) and entered the history books by becoming the first African American in Ohio to start a radio station from the ground up …”
“The Toledo Journal, Sandra Stwart, publisher, and Myron Stewart, editor, a National Black Chamber of Commerce award winning newspaper … proudly serving Toledo and Northwest Ohio since 1975 …”
“The Sojourner’s Truth published by, for and about the African-American community, with Fletcher Word as publisher and editor, began publication in April 2002 … and is an innovative weekly newspaper …”
“The Stalwart Magazine, with Stayce Fowler as publisher and editor, is a publication that is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of individuals in the community, with a particular focus on those from minority backgrounds …”
The City Council resolution also recognized the efforts of Toledo’s Black media entities to form the Black Wall Street Community Development group that formed a year and a half ago in an effort to foster collaboration among Toledo’s Black-owned businesses. The founding members are Rick and Deb Hogan of The Juice; Toni Battle Gaines of The Juice; Word of The Truth and Kristie Knighten of KpK.
After reading the resolution, various council members took turns thanking and praising the Black media companies for their efforts in the community.
Toledo Black Media Week is part of a state-wide effort to recognize Black media. Earlier this year, State Representative Elgin Rogers wrote a bill, later signed by Governor DeWine recognizing Ohio Black Media Week – March 16.
The history of Black Media in the United States began almost two centuries ago when the first Black-owned newspaper was published – Freedom’s Journal in New York on March 16,1827 by Jamaican-born John Brown Russwurm, Bowdoin College’s first African American graduate and only the third Black person to graduate from an American college, and Samuel Eli Cornish, a graduate of the Free African School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who also founded Shiloh Presbyterian Church, the first Black Presbyterian church in Manhattan in 1822.
In Toledo, in addition to the Bronze Raven, early Black-owned media newspapers included the Toledo Observer in the 1940s and the Toledo Script in the 1950s.