As the nation navigates war, division, and recent threats to First Amendment protections, Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in Northwest D.C. kicked off Black Press Week (March 16-20) and celebrated Women’s History Month with a service that honored barrier breakers in media, feted fearless reporting, and prayed to preserve truth-telling.
“Many of us have to start with prayer,” said Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes, during the Black Press Sunday service on March 15. “And then we go take some action.”
Igniting the 199th anniversary of the Black Press, officially on March 16, The Washington Informer, Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ), AFRO American Newspapers and Metropolitan A.M.E. Church teamed up for the second year to host the Sunday service, a celebration of history, resilience and legacy.
“Since [1827], the Black Press has been a voice for justice, a witness to our struggles, and a celebration of our triumphs. It has lifted the stories of our communities, challenged systems of injustice, and preserved the record of our resilience,” said the Rev. Cozette Thomas, who delivered the exhortation, which also acknowledged Women’s History Month. “We also lift up the powerful contributions of Black women in journalism. We remember Ida B. Wells, the fearless journalist and anti-lynching crusader.”
A historic church that has served as a spiritual home for people like abolitionist Frederick Douglass, publisher of The North Star, Metropolitan A.M.E. has long offered a platform for members of the Black Press, including Wells, who spoke there during the 1890s. To this day, the church is still home to African Americans media makers, including Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the first Black woman reporter at The Washington Post.
“Today we acknowledge the Black Press… [and its] commitment to journalism and community engagement, sharing news, events and stories,” said the Rev. William Lamar IV, Metropolitan’s pastor. “And quoting our own Dorothy Gilliam, who has said, along with Gene Robinson, in much of their reporting, that ‘We cannot simply report and write from the standpoint of a white man’s world… We tell a different and a truer story from the vantage point of our own lives.’”
Throughout the dynamic and uplifting service, featuring a powerhouse choir and jamming live band, faith leaders not only celebrated the history of the Black Press, but prayed to preserve it for posterity.
“Lord, we thank you for their courage, their persistence, and their faith that truth spoken boldly could bend the art of history towards righteousness,” said the Rev. Geoffrey S. Tate in a prayer that incorporated the Black Press, women and those affected by war, particularly the current conflict in Iran. “Let truth continue to shine through the voices of the free press. Let the contributions of women be honored and remembered, let peace rise above conflict, and wisdom rise above ambition. May we, your people, want in unity, speak truth with courage, and pursue justice with compassion.”
‘Somebody Else is Coming After You’: Honoring History, Offering Hope for the Future
For the second year, Black Press Sunday has served as a source of encouragement despite challenges for the District, nation and world.
During the fourth Sunday in Lent, Pastor Lamar framed his sermon around Matthew 17, examining the biblical story of Jesus’ transfiguration, where prophets Moses and Elijah appear with him in front of a few of the disciples.
“Elijah starts talking with Jesus,” Lamar told the congregation. “What I imagine, is that Elijah takes Jesus back to a story he would have learned as a young boy, when the tales of his people’s history would have been revealed to him, and Elijah says to Jesus, ‘I was doing my work when Ahab was the king.’”
Considering the threats from King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, the pastor likened what the prophet Elijah — a truth-teller — had to navigate, to the challenges journalists face today.
“Ahab had to harass journalists to keep them from telling the truth. Ahab had to send FBI agents and federal agents into the homes of some journals to confiscate sources and methods so the truth cannot be told,” he said. “What Ahab had had to do was to install over his version of the Federal Communications Commission, someone who would keep the truth from going out on the airwaves.”
While the Bible tells of Elijah fleeing to Mt. Horeb (Sinai) for 40 days and staying in a cave after pressure from the king, Lamar said that God offered the prophet hope even in the time of darkness.
“Some of the journalists have found themselves in the cave, but you’ve been telling the truth trying to do what God has called you to do. You very much are in a cave, and you wonder, ‘How am I gonna survive the game? Cave?’ Let me tell you what God did. God sent Elijah ravens with bread in their beaks to feed him,” Lamar explained. “Yes, wherever you are, God will take a symbol of death and turn it into a gift of life.”
Lamar also emphasized that while Elijah’s journey on earth ends, he had been preparing his apprentice Elisha as his successor. He suggested leaders of today be inspired by Elijah’s mentorship of Elisha in order to properly support the next generation of changemakers.
As the biblical story goes, when Elijah is being whisked away in his chariot, Elisha asks his mentor for a “double portion of his spirit,” emphasized Lamar, author of the recent book “Ancestors:Those Who Bless Us, Curse Us, and Hold Us.”
The pastor invoked the Black Press ancestors, to guide the journalists — and all people filling the church and viewing online — as they continue their work despite trials of today.
“Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. [DuBois],” he said, “give me a double portion of your spirit.”
Reflecting on the past, present and future of politics and journalism — with people such as Gilliam, legendary Washington Post writer Colbert Gilbert, and former D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt sitting in the pews — Lamar relayed realities of life and legacy.
“Someobody else is coming after you,” he declared, highlighting the importance and power of pouring into younger generations. “I want the ones to come after me to be more dedicated, stronger, wiser and fearless.”
A second-generation publisher, Rolark Barnes knows a lot about receiving the proverbial torch, and continuing a legacy, having run the paper for more than 32 years, since her father’s death in 1994.
While she is still working to further the 61-year-old Washington Informer, Rolark Barnes, celebrates the history, strength, and resilience of the local media outlet and Black Press overall.
“We are still here,” she declared, holding an edition of The Washington Informer, “and the Black Press is still here.”