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5 Reasons Why Every Black Person Should Support Independent Black Schools

Posted byBy Ricky Riley | Published on: | Updated on October 5, 2016 CommentsComments (0)

With everything that is being thrown at the Black community, with all the challenges we face, there is a sense of urgency to act now, to support our own Black institutions, to uplift our community and give back to ourselves and grow our legacy. What better place to start than with our educational institutions?

Schools are the key to the future of the Black community, but not just any schools. To ultimately guarantee our success, Black people must fund and support Black-owned and operated educational institutions. This means seizing control of the educational process of our children, guiding the development of young Black minds to act in the interests of the Black community, and securing our liberation in the process. Who else will do it, and why would they? And why should we search for a savior, a superman or superwoman to solve our problems and make it right, when we are the heroes we have been waiting for in the first place?

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. 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, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up 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.

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