{"id":96064,"date":"2026-03-19T20:43:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T23:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/howard-university-hosts-another-successful-year-of-black-press-week\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T20:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T23:43:24","slug":"howard-university-hosts-another-successful-year-of-black-press-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/howard-university-hosts-another-successful-year-of-black-press-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Howard University Hosts another Successful Year of Black Press Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Howard University\u2019s Moorland Spingarn Research Center hosted journalists, publishers, students, and industry leaders this week for Black Press Week 2026, a five-day convening that examined the future of Black-owned media as the industry approaches its 200th anniversary.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Organized by the National Newspaper Publishers Fund and Moorland-Spingarn. The event, which convened March 16-20, centered on the theme, \u201cTruth, Trust, and Technology: Approaching 200 Years of the Black Press in a Transforming Information Age.\u201d The event linked the Black press\u2019 historic mission to today\u2019s debates over artificial intelligence, archives, credibility, and community accountability. The week aligned with the March 16, 1827 anniversary of <\/span>Freedom\u2019s Journal<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a>,<\/strong> widely recognized as the first Black-owned and operated newspaper in the United States.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The marquee reception was serenaded by the <\/span>Howard University Community Choir <\/span><\/a>who sang several touching Gospel renditions. Black Press Day 2026 took place Mar. 18 at Howard\u2019s Blackburn Center and featured the State of the Black Press address by <\/span>Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.<\/span><\/a>, president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, as well as the enshrinement of <\/span>Bernal E. Smith II<\/span><\/a>, publisher of the <\/span>New Tri-State Defender<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a>, in the NNPA Gallery of Distinguished Publishers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his keynote remarks, Chavis casted the Black press as far more than a media business, calling it \u201ca moral and historical record\u201d and declaring that it \u201chas never been just about news,\u201d but also about \u201cfreedom, justice, dignity, and self-determination.\u201d Speaking from Howard\u2019s campus, he also praised the \u201congoing partnership between the Black press and this prestigious university,\u201d underscoring the role Howard continues to play in preserving and advancing Black media history.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That Howard connection ran throughout the week\u2019s programming. In remarks on the Black press legacy, scholar <\/span>Dr. Benjamin Talton,<\/strong> professor of history and the executive diretor of Moorland-Spingarn, <\/span><\/a>highlighted <\/span>The Hilltop<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a>, Howard\u2019s student newspaper, as a key part of the broader Black press tradition.\u00a0 \u00a0Talton said the paper was born from the conviction that Black people must tell \u201ctheir own stories on their own terms and with their own voices.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Talton described Howard as a global institution rooted in the Black diaspora and praised Moorland-Spingarn\u2019s Black Press Archive Digitization Project for preserving fragile historical records so that the words of generations of Black editors and publishers \u201cwill not be lost.\u201d The emphasis on archives also resurfaced in the AI panel, where one moderator called the <\/span>Black Press Archive<\/span><\/a> a \u201csuperpower\u201d and \u201cour lifeline\u201d to the work of earlier generations.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A major focus of the week also centered on how Black-owned publications are navigating artificial intelligence without sacrificing trust. The fireside chat \u00a0included <\/strong>Ra-Jah S. Kelly who is the chief officer of technology at The Washington Informer; Paris Brown the publisher of The Baltimore Times; Dr. Ingrid Sturgis<\/strong> an associate dean in the Cathy Hughes School of Communications, and Alexandria Green-Jones, the CEO and founder of AG Media Agency. The discussion was moderated by Philip Lewis, <\/strong>deputy editor at HuffPost.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Panelists repeatedly framed AI as a tool, not a substitute for journalism. Lewis described AI as \u201ca partner, but a very unreliable partner,\u201d while Kelly mentioned that the work of Black media is \u201cmore than just text generation. We need to keep a human in the loop somewhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Publishers discussed using AI to streamline design, distribution, and other time-intensive tasks for small newsroom staffs while remaining transparent about when and how those tools are used. Brown said AI allows small publications \u201cto scale and do some things that as a small publication \u2026 we\u2019re able to do that we cannot do,\u201d but warned that \u201cthere\u2019s an opportunity, and then there\u2019s responsibility.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That balance between innovation and integrity shaped the event\u2019s strongest conversations. Journalism educators and media professionals argued that younger reporters must still learn how to report and write at a high level, even as AI tools become more common in newsrooms.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStudents do need to go learn how to write, because writing helps you to learn how to think,\u201d Sturgis said, while warning against allowing technology to weaken the Black press\u2019 personal connection to the communities it serves.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe event was a tremendous success,\u201d said Brandon Nightingale<\/strong>, senior program manager at Moorland-Spingarn. Nightingale\u2019s department is responsible for digitizing millions of documents that archive Black press across the United States. He and his team do the arduous work of archiving these precious accounts. \u201cIt brought together scholars, students, and the broader community to reflect on the legacy of the Black press while also highlighting the innovative work happening through the Black Press Archives Digitization Project.\u201d Trust, in fact, emerged as the week\u2019s clearest throughline. Panelists emphasized that Black media organizations must be explicit with readers about how AI is used, whether in image generation, workflow support, or audience engagement. \u201cYou have to let your readers or users know exactly how you\u2019re using it,\u201d Sturgis said, while Green-Jones summed up the panel consensus in three words: \u201cTransparency. Transparency. Transparency.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That focus reflected the broader purpose of Black Press Week itself \u2013\u2013 to honor nearly two centuries of Black journalism and prepare the institution for the next era without losing the credibility, community grounding, and truth-telling mission that made it indispensable in the first place.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“I think the entire event went off with minimal hitches,\u201d said Aaron Jacobs<\/strong>, Moorland-Spingarn\u2019s program manager \u201cIt was full of energy, important conversations, and plenty of moments that reminded me why this work matters. It was a celebration, a showcase, and a reminder of the power of the Black press.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n