Onyx Impact kicked off the Black History Month centennial betting half a million dollars on safeguarding African American media.
Announced Feb. 5, the Invest in Black Media campaign commits $500,000 to strengthening Black print, broadcast, and digital storytellers in an age of censorship and daily propaganda.
Inspired by the recent arrests of journalists Georgia Fort, vice president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and former CNN host Don Lemon, the nonprofit also launched a Black History Month-specific effort with NABJ to match up to $100,000 in funds raised.
“Throughout our history, Black media has held the line in the face of anti-democratic forces, while others fall in line and appease propaganda,” said Esosa Osa, founder and CEO of Onyx Impact, in a press release. “There is no healthy democracy in this country without strong, independent Black media.”
Drawing on past momentum to uplift Black media, the campaign marks a goal totaling at least $500,000 in 2026.
For the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), that means $100,000 to support a year-long investigative journalism cohort, as well as $100,000 towards NABJ’s Jubilee Fund, and a $75,000 investment in the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters’ Creators Mastermind program.
Additionally, the Invest in Black Media campaign allocates $75,000 for Archiving the Black Web (ATBW)’s Information Integrity & Web Archiving (IIWA) Fellowship, designed to train scholars in digital media preservation, plus $150,000 to Onyx’s Information Integrity Lab.
“As someone who has dedicated most of my career to Black-owned media, I am elated with the commitment that Onyx Impact is making to ensure that we not only survive, but thrive,” said NABJ Vice President-Digital Roland S. Martin, who also serves as founder of the Black Star Network. “This financial support speaks directly to the need of Black-owned media to maintain its commitment to the liberation of Black people in the 21st century and beyond.”
The Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis Jr., NNPA President and CEO, sees the moment as a reaffirmation of the foundation in African American newspapers, founded with “Freedom’s Journal” on March 16, 1827.
“The Black Press has always held the line on trust and standing firm in the face of threats to our democracy. For 200 years, we have been on the frontlines of American history, documenting Black stories,” Chavis said. “We are grateful to Onyx Impact for their continued partnership, helping NNPA members to modernize in the era of digital media and disinformation. This critical investment will help extend our work and will enable us to continue holding the line in the face of ongoing threats to truth and democracy.”
According to Makiba Foster, ATBW co-founder, the grant is especially pivotal to the program’s 2026 Freedom School webinar, which aims to boost a new generation of Black “memory workers” confronting the environmental costs and inequitable systems of a digitally evolving world, particularly for those most targeted by misinformation and “online abuse.”
“Artificial intelligence is quietly reshaping what we see, remember, and forget online,” read Foster’s statement. “At Archiving the Black Web, we know that if Black communities are not in control of preserving our own digital footprints, technocapitalism and algorithmic bias will decide which of our stories survive.”
On that note, Onyx is marking the yearlong effort with two clear calls to action –– for major donors, institutions, and democracy funders to match or exceed its $500,000 investment, and to community members and allies: show support for Black journalists by donating to the $100k NABJ match campaign this month.
At the helm is a hope beyond one fundraiser, but a vision to strengthen the community at large.
“Who tells our stories decides our future,” Osa continued. “The Invest in Black Media campaign is Onyx’s way of putting real money behind that truth.”