GUEST COMMENTARY
EDITOR’S NOTE: Associated Black Charities (ABC) will honor Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper at its 2023 gala celebration on June 10. We decided to share this release as a Guest Commentary, given the fact Dr. Draper is chairman of the board and publisher of the AFRO American Newspaper, historically one of the most influential Black-owned newspapers in the United States.
BALTIMORE — The Afro-American Newspaper has crusaded for racial equality and economic advancement for Black Americans for 130 years. In existence since August 13, 1892, John Henry Murphy Sr., a former slave who gained freedom following the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, started the paper when he merged his church publication, The Sunday School Helper, with two other church publications, The Ledger (owned by George F. Bragg of Baltimore’s St. James Episcopal Church) and The AFRO-American (published by Reverend William M. Alexander, pastor of Baltimore’s Sharon Baptist Church).
By 1922, Murphy had evolved the newspaper from a one-page weekly church publication into the most widely circulated black paper along the coastal Atlantic and used it to challenge Jim Crow practices in Maryland. Following Murphy’s death on April 5, 1922, his five sons, each of whom had been trained in different areas of the newspaper business, continued to manage The AFRO-American. Two of his sons, Carl and Arnett Murphy, served respectively as editor-publisher and advertising director.
Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper has been a community leader in her home, Baltimore, for decades, with leadership positions in journalism, a church she founded and education. In February 2018, she was named chairman of the board and publisher of the AFRO American Newspapers, which was founded in 1892 by her great-grandfather. She served previously as president of the company from 1987 to 1999.
Join us on June 10th as we celebrate our Honorees and the meaningful impact they are creating in Baltimore. General admission and VIP Experience tickets for this year’s ABC Gala are on sale now!
Purchase tickets today at https://lnkd.in/eZ8VRfNn
EDITOR’S NOTE: Associated Black Charities is a Baltimore-based non-profit organization working across Maryland to close the racial wealth gap and end structural racism.
