Local leaders, community members and soulful live music filled 11:Eleven gallery on the evening of Oct. 16, as The Washington Informer marked 62 years with a reception and photo exhibition highlighting more than six decades of covering District life and culture.
From photos of children playing, families cheering along parade routes, Chuck Brown — known as the Godfather of Go-Go — wowing a crowd, the late Mayor Marion Barry in the community and the historic inauguration of former President Barack Obama, the exhibit not only showcased historic moments, but the importance of the Black Press in highlighting stories ignored by other media outlets.
“My father created this newspaper to make sure we told untold stories about the contributions that African Americans made in building D.C.,” Washington Informer (WI) Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes said about the publication’s founder Dr. Calvin W. Rolark.
Rolark had a vision to uplift Black communities through reporting, often saying: “If it is to be, it is up to me,” a phrase many speakers referenced in a short program during the celebratory reception, hosted by one of the founder’s grandsons, Desmond “DB Bantino” Barnes.
“The Washington Informer taught me that a newspaper is not just a business,” said Barnes, Rolark Barnes’ youngest son who works with the publication and as a musician.” It’s a responsibility, it’s a promise to a community that its stories will be told, its achievements will be celebrated, its challenges will be examined, and its history will not be forgotten.”
Sponsored by DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID), the exhibition served as a reminder of the importance of local news in relaying stories about community achievements, challenges, and work happening toward progress and solutions.
“I’ve been in D.C. for 30 years,” said Lukas Umana, senior director of public space operations and activations for DowntownDC BID. “I’ve been able to read The Informer and really get an understanding of D.C. and a celebration of what the city is and the people that have come here and are here, and make our city what it is today.”
For Umana, collaborating with 11:Eleven—owned by Nicola Charles— was a perfect way for Washingtonians and visitors alike to engage with The Informer while also offering a homecoming for the publication, which started with an office on 7th and G Streets NW before moving to its longtime and current headquarters on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE.
“I thought this was a great opportunity to bring [to downtown],” Umana told the crowd gathered at 11:Eleven, housed inside the National Press Building, 1330 F Street NW. “We brought The Informer back to its original home. I’m very blessed to have been part of that.”
The exhibit and evening, which included food and beverages from City Tap House Penn Quarter, showcased The Informer’s longtime coverage and the people who have spent decades contributing to the storytelling, such as longtime photographer Roy Lewis.
After seven decades as a photographer for publications such as Jet Magazine and WHMM TV for Howard University, and more than 35 years with The Washington Informer, Lewis has captured historical moments including the 1995 Million Man March.
“I’m pleased to express my appreciation to Mr. Roy Lewis, for your overwhelming dedication to documenting the people, institutions, culture, and history of Washington, D.C.,” District Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement read by her photographer Khalid Naji-Allah, who used to work for The Washington Informer. “As a photographer for The Washington Informer, you have wielded your camera to chronicle the joy of community celebrations, the dignity of everyday life, and the defining milestones that have shaped the District of Columbia’s Black community.”
For many, the exhibition, which closes Wednesday, Oct. 28, allows attendees to engage with years of Washington Informer photojournalism and celebrate the publication’s continued work today.
“It’s a very cool experience to walk through gigantic pictures of the past, some of the present, and just kind of think about the way D.C. has developed,” said District resident Cherisse Rivera said. “It’s just great to see that they’re still independently owned news outlets because everything is owned by conglomerates, billionaires, and that kind of thing.”
62 Years of Trusted Community Storytelling
Having worked with the publication since childhood and served as publisher for 32 years and counting, Rolark Barnes said she has been dedicated to furthering her father’s commitment to being a trusted source for positive news and untold stories about the District’s Black community.
“These pictures talk about the strength of the community and how despite the challenges, they were building community, building families and this is what he strived for,” Rolark Barnes said. “This is why he started The Informer.”
Celebrating 62 years to the day Rolark founded the publication, people took to the exhibition and reception to honor The Informer’s continued commitment to preserving local stories.
“If we didn’t have The Washington Informer, Black folks in this town would not know a lot about our history,” said Douglas Foster, host of Today’s Senior Living podcast and a native Washingtonian, whose District roots go back at least three generations.
With photos from Washington Informer photographers across decades d, the exhibit shows how The Informer has captured defining moments in local and national history.
“We were here to cover the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Home Rule Act of 1973, the freeing and swearing in of Nelson Mandela, the inaugurations of Mayor Marion S. Barry and President Barack Hussein Obama, Jan. 6 insurrection, and Washingtonians pushing back against the deployment of the National Guard, and federal officer surge that started in 2025, and… is still continuing to this day,” Washington Informer Managing Editor Micha Green told those gathered at the anniversary celebration. “It’s been a lot of news in 62 years… and The Washington Informer is here to bring you the news you can use.”
Even with The Washington Informer and 200 publications across the Black Press, studies show media mistrust is a factor for many African Americans. A 2023 study from Pew Research revealed 63% of Black Americans believe news coverage is often more negative than news about other racial groups. In addition, research from University of Miami found Black people are portrayed as criminal suspects in 50% to 60% of local news crime stories, despite making only 26.1% to 26.9% of nationwide arrests.
Having lived in the District for 56 years, Roscoe Grant Jr. recalled times where he felt other outlets were unfair in their coverage of Black communities. However, he said he looks to The Washington Informer as a trusted source for uncovering truth.
“Different information that we need to get and correct information that we need to get, we will never get it,” said Grant. “One thing about The Informer, they come out and speak to the people within the community, and it’s the people speaking to them, telling them what kind of things that’s going on in the community, as opposed to some people making up stories that affect our communities.”
From covering school events, performances, parades, The Informer’s annual spelling bee, and the Washington football team’s 1988 Superbowl win, the exhibit highlighted The Informer’s promise to deliver news that uplifts Black people across the Washington metropolitan area, nation and world.
“We’ll still be here as the District’s longtime leadership changes in a few short months, and we’ll be sure to be there when 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue gets a new occupant. And prayerfully we’ll be here 62 years and 162 years from now and beyond,” Green told the crowd filling the Northwest, D.C. gallery on Oct. 16. “Our team is covering the African diaspora from Anacostia to Addis Ababa, from downtown to Durban, we’re informing.”
Keeping the Stories Going, Looking Toward the Future
With massive photographs throughout space, many speakers and attendees emphasized the importance of The Informer’s work in 1964, today and the future.
“Storytelling, particularly at a time that we’re experiencing in 2026 is more important now than at any time,” Umana said. “Particularly celebrating individuals that don’t have a chance to share their stories.”
While the work continues, Rolark Barnes emphasized it’s been no easy feat to print the weekly paper for the past 62 years, while also making necessary transitions as technology and society develops.
“We must be doing something right,” Rolark Barnes said. “We figured out a way to get a community that supports us and has been able to sustain us. And we’ve had our struggles, we had moments where I didn’t think we’re going to make it another month, nonetheless another year but we’re still here.”
Local newspapers are closing at a rate of two to three publications a week according to the annual State of Local News Report from Northwestern University. The average readership of a weekly local newspaper is under 15,000 unlike The Informer’s readership, which reaches 50,000 individuals.
“I want to congratulate The Washington Informer for doing something that a lot of newspapers have not done, that’s stayed a business for 62 years,” Lewis said to the audience of attendees after receiving his award. “It is no small matter.”
The Oct. 16 event not only served as a 62nd anniversary celebration on the day the paper was founded, but underscored the importance of journalistic integrity.
Sam P.K. Collins has been with The Informer since 2012, and continues to cover issues impacting the community like D.C. statehood, mayoral race and youth causes.
“This is bigger than me, part of a legacy, part of an institution that has an obligation to the community as far as balancing the scales and telling the stories that matter to us,” Collins, WI senior staff writer, said. “It’s bigger than one person.”
Now an award-winning reporter, Collins said working for The Informer has shaped his “consciousness” while he was exposed to different people in the community through his reporting.
“I’m in a room tonight, I see a photographer who I did my first assignment with, the article I didn’t do too well on,” said Collins, looking around the exhibit while reflecting on the beginning of his journey with the publication. “The second article made the front page.”
As Washingtonians from across several industries gathered at the Black-woman-owned gallery, Rolark Barnes emphasized the importance of collaboration to sustain the overall Black Press, which celebrates 200 years in March 2027.
“Like my dad said, ‘If it is to be, it is up to me,’ she said. “And it’s up to all of us to continue to protect and preserve our institutions, and one of those is, of course, The Washington Informer.”
