In 1939, a Black sterilization initiative called The Negro Project was created and implemented by Eugenicist Margaret Sanger. As part of her ongoing efforts to purge society “undesirables” such as the mentally handicapped and the poor, Sanger designed an insidious agenda to remove the “black stain” from the fibers of American society. Sanger knew that earning the trust of the Black community was not going to be easy. Cleverly, she enlisted the assistance of Black religious, political and scholarly leaders. The idea that sterilization could provide a means towards upward mobility for Blacks was heavily debated between Black ministers and scholars. Sanger managed to garnish enough Black leadership support to penetrate the Black community with her sterilization programs nationally. The Negro Project would ultimately lead to the sterilizations and pregnancy terminations of millions of Black women for decades to come.
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.
