Highlighting challenges, achievements and action across the African Diaspora has been a critical component to The Washington Informer’s coverage.
From reporting about apartheid South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s ascension from political prisoner to president in 1994, to covering the decision to recently oust the South African ambassador to the U.S., The Informer reports about news affecting Black people across the globe.
“The Informer’s mission is to make our world smaller through storytelling and connections — whether celebrating the emergence of the Free South Africa Movement of the 1980s, to the ongoing travails of Haitian people, to the stories of African immigrants who have otherwise been rendered invisible – the reporting embraces our vision of global solidarity,” said Gwen McKinney, a contributing writer and communications strategist who was instrumental in The Informer covering Mandela’s visit to Washington, D.C. in the early 1990s.
Throughout the years, The Informer has had editors, writers and contributors from across the African Diaspora, as well regular series and columns sharing important international stories such as African and Caribbean News and WIN Africa.
“WIN Africa publishes diverse, informative, and unique stories about the struggles and successes of the African Diaspora,” said Lafayette Barnes Sr., WIN Africa editor. “We are committed to sharing positive news that fosters greater understanding and uplifts all people of African descent, particularly those in the DMV.”
In addition The Informer has been to White House and ventured across land and sea to follow international news such as: the U.S.-Africa Summit in D.C., the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a trip to Sudan in 2004, Abuja, Nigeria in 2006, and Madagascar in 2024.
“In 2004, I traveled on a journalistic delegation to Sudan to bear witness to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and other parts of the country,” said Rahiel Tesfamariam, author of “Imagine Freedom: Transforming Pain into Political and Spiritual Power,”
who then served as The Informer’s editor in chief. “The trip is one example of The Informer’s commitment to Pan-Africanism and covering the African Diaspora.”
Having attended and covered the Leon H. Sullivan Summit VII in Abuja, Nigeria in July 2006, The Washington Informer created a special edition highlighting the historic occasion.
“We so appreciated The Informer’s on-the-ground coverage of the Sullivan Summit in Abuja,” said Hope Sullivan, daughter of the Rev. Leon Sullivan. “That year, we had a chartered plane of over 200, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King III, who joined us in Nigeria. Your coverage of the Summit, including the address by former President Bill Clinton, was amazing. My father also understood and appreciated the role of The Informer and other Black media’s coverage of events in South Africa that resulted in the release of President Nelson Mandela.”
As The Washington Informer celebrates six decades of reporting, the publication’s commitment to global storytelling remains critical.
“Black media plays an important role in keeping our communities informed about what is happening around the world that impacts their everyday lives. It has been particularly relevant in ensuring that we are aware of the many opportunities for us on the African continent,” said the Hon. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. “We thank The Informer for their 60 years of reporting about important news across the African Diaspora.”
The Hon. Andrew Young, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and a public figure for close to 70 years, said he recognizes and appreciates the valuable role of Black media in international and domestic news coverage.
“For 60 years, The Washington Informer has played a critical role in keeping its readers abreast of economic, social, and political developments in Africa and the Caribbean,” said Young, who was also former mayor of Atlanta. “Africa is often portrayed negatively in the Western media. To The Informer’s credit, the beauty and potential of Africa are always represented.”