Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman College is the oldest historically Black college for women in America. Located just five minutes outside of downtown Atlanta, Spelman is part of the Atlanta University Center, the largest consortium of historically Black institutions of higher learning in the world. Freshmen admitted into the college are required to live on campus during their first year. There are more than 60 student organizations, including Greek life, which constitutes the largest group of students on campus. Known as the Jaguars, Spelman is a member of the Great South Athletic Conference in the NCAA Division III, and it hosts seven varsity sports teams.
This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.
For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.
Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.
We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.
If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.
