Articles Feature

What Happened to the ‘Church Page’?

by richard02295

Give Us the Commentary on Israel and Hamas
Cuban Agents Said to Stalk Exiled Journalist
Gen Z Latinos Say They Do Feel Represented in Media

Gov. Dismisses Asian Journalist as ‘Communist’
A Night for Reunions in D.C.
April Ryan Wedding Gets Spread in People
Pioneering Latino Broadcaster Is ‘Google Doodle’

Short Takes: Black reporters in Detroit; traffic stops involving Black drivers; Barbara Ciara; new Sen. Laphonza Butler and Black press; Hispanic Heritage Month and UNC’s Hussman J-school; Callie Crossley; Eva Longoria; Newest Ebony incarnation’s business strategy; Abby Phillip and Laura Coates; John McCaa; Camilla DeChalus; Raynard Jackson;

Jose Ruben Zamora; Sudan journalist fatally run over; Guinea demonstrators against censorship arrested.

Homepage photo: First annual African American Preaching Conference, Truett Theological Seminary, Waco, Texas, 2019 (Credit: Eric Black)

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The Rev. William Lamar IV’s sermon at Metropolitan AME Church in Washington Sunday touches on the Israel-Hamas War starting about 38:37. (video)

Give Us the Commentary on Israel and Hamas

At the historic Metropolitan AME Church in Washington on Sunday, the Rev. William H. Lamar IV raised the issue of Israel and Hamas.

“I have friends who know people who have been taken hostage by Hamas,” Lamar said in his sermon. “And I have Palestinian friends who have lost mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters at the hands of Israel’s militarized, racialized apartheid state supported by our tax dollars. Let me share with you that no one has clean hands in this conflict. . . .

“What is going on in Israel, in Gaza we have the capacity to heal it, but we don’t want to.

“We don’t want to because the bloodshed empowers white evangelicals. The bloodshed empowers Republican Party politics.

“The bloodshed keeps certain Democrats wealthy as they do the bidding of folks that keeps them from even saying ‘Palestinian,’ that has them lifting up those who have died on the Israeli side of the conflict. (video). But you will not see one Palestinian child. You will not see the pain of Palestinian mothers.

“And until the pain of Israeli mothers and Palestinian mothers, Israeli fathers and Palestinian fathers are likely regarded by us, there will be no healing. And for those of us who have been fooled by people making us believe that it is God’s will that the Palestinian people be taken from their land, that it is God’s design.”

Lamar went on, “I tell you, I do not worship a God who would take anybody’s property away from them and give it to another group of people. I will not worship a colonizing God. And where the text tells us that God gave the ‘Promised Land’ to Israel, that is not the God of all people, that is the god of a small group who want to use God as an excuse for their violence and their oppression.

“And the church must say that the biblical people of Israel are not modern Israelis. They are not the same and they do not have God’s name to use to kill people or to take their land. But just like our Jewish brothers and sisters cannot use the name of God to kill or to take, nor can our Palestinian brothers and sisters use the name of God to kill or to take. . . .” He endorsed a two-state solution.

The Revs. William H. Lamar IV, second from left, and Howard-John Wesley, fourth from right, were in the inaugural Ph.D. Program in African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.

Lamar was not the only Black pastor to raise the Israeli question before his congregation Sunday. At the 10,000-member Alfred Street Baptist Church in suburban Alexandria, Va., which traces its origins to 1803 and thus is also historic, the Rev. Howard-John Wesley was talking about “radical transformative love” and the need to shun violence.

“I’ve got to be careful of blind allegiance to any position or politic or theology without taking into consideration the rock that comes with it,” he said. Wesley listed several examples, concluding with, “be careful of a blind allegiance to Israel, and [don’t] ignore the rock.” He received a standing ovation.

On the Facebook page of the Rev. Otis Moss III’s Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago was this admonition: “Be careful to separate people from the policies of their governments. Be careful to separate people from the actions of terrorists who live among them.”

There was a time when reports of what Black churches were doing and saying were routinely reported, particularly in the Black press. Sometimes there was a “church page,” and it survives in some venues. After all, the Pew Research Center has found, “predominantly Black places of worship continue to have a considerable presence in the lives of Black Americans,” and “Most Black Protestants say denominational affiliation is less important than inspiring sermons.”

What happened?

Clint C. Wilson II (pictured), a Black press scholar and retired Howard University professor, messaged this explanation:

“It has been a few years since I’ve had a chance to review a cross section of the papers on a national scale. (I was a judge for the NNPA’s [National Newspaper Publishers Association’s] annual ‘Best Newspaper’ competition.) I can say with certainty that the religion pages have been reduced and/or eliminated over the years.

“My sense is that in the ‘old days’ the religion section was an economic backbone of many Black weeklies.

“In fact, more than a few Black newspapers began as church organs, among them the Afro American group based in Baltimore. There are several other prominent publications that grew from religious roots and are documented in my book with Dr. Armistead Pride, ‘A History of the Black Press.’

“As you note, there were some papers that featured sermons or sermonettes each week. Accordingly, church members read them and congregations often paid for the space on the corporate level. Also many Black papers ran a church directory categorized by denomination with listings sold as advertising space.

“Of course, this practice was also common in the ‘White’ press.

“There were some instances where preachers paid for their space and utilized the opportunity to promote and publicize their work to attract new members.

“I suspect the dwindling amount of religious content in the newspaper industry reflects the general decline in church attendance across the nation.”

Abraham Jimenez Enoa told Journal-isms, “I am against the US blockade and I am against the Cuban dictatorship. One thing has nothing to do with the other.”

Cuban Agents Said to Stalk Exiled Journalist

An Afro-Cuban journalist who fled to Spain because of threats from the Cuban government says Cuban agents have followed him to Europe and told him they knew where he lived, Graham Keeley reported for the Voice of America.

Although the incident took place in July, and press freedom organizations reported the development, Abraham Jiménez Enoa messaged Journal-isms from Spain Wednesday that “nothing else has happened.”

A spokesperson for the Committee to Protect Journalists told Journal-isms Wednesday that CPJ had “submitted a request to the Council of Europe Platform for the Safety of Journalists regarding threats against Abraham Jiménez Enoa — see here. Spain has not replied yet but they have until October 28.”

Jiménez won a 2022 International Press Freedom Award from the Committee.

Asked whether there was anything he would say to U.S. journalists, Jiménez said, “It is known throughout the world that, even when in exile, the Cuban regime does not stop persecuting journalists who tell the truth about Cuba.”

Indeed, Cuba ranks 172 of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.

Yet some U.S. journalists and activists are sympathetic to Cuba because of the U.S. blockade, and ignore the human rights concerns. Asked about that, Jiménez replied, “I am against the US blockade and I am against the Cuban dictatorship. One thing has nothing to do with the other.”

Keeley wrote Sept. 26, “Despite being expelled from Cuba last year for writing what he says is the truth about the country’s communist government, Enoa says he has been targeted by unidentified men in Europe, including in Madrid and Amsterdam.

“Each time, the men spoke with Cuban accents.”

“I was put under house arrest; my phone was bugged. I was later arrested, handcuffed, strip-searched and questioned by security officers. Then they secretly filmed me and put my image on television, claiming I was a CIA spy,” he told VOA in an earlier interview.

“Later, they telephoned me and said I had to leave the country, or they would put me in prison and ‘terminate’ my family and the family of my wife.”

“Jimenez (pictured) recalled that at the book fair in Madrid, ‘during the whole day, there was a man watching me and filming me. He did not say anything. Someone I spoke with said they had spoken to him and they said that he had a Cuban accent.”

“Of his three encounters in Europe with what he believes were Cuban agents, the last incident was most disturbing, he said.

“I was with my son, and it was around the corner from my house. Each time these people had Cuban accents,” he said.

On Oct. 5, Jiménez, along with Mexican journalist Laura Sánchez Ley, received the 2023 Journalist of the Year Award in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from the One Young World organization. The award, presented during the organization’s annual summit, recognizes journalists between the ages of 18 and 35 whose work has had a positive impact on the struggle to guarantee freedom of expression and respect for human rights around the world.

Jiménez, 35, was also recognized with the Lyra McKee Award for Bravery.

“I belong to a generation of Latin American journalists who’ve had to leave their country, who’ve gone into exile. Exile is putting a dent in the profession and many people are leaving journalism,” Jiménez told César López Linares of LatAm Journalism Review before the ceremony. “This award reinforces the idea […] of continuing to do journalism, and that we must continue to tell the story of Cuba.

“Cuba is a country that has gone without journalism for six decades because there are laws that prevent it. Just being a journalist there makes you a criminal, you’re breaking the law. It’s a country with no freedom of the press or freedom of expression,” Jiménez said. “To raise your voice there and say what many people for decades have not said, to confront power and put forth your body, your words and have that boldness is what caught [the jury’s] attention.”

Lopez also wrote of the awardees, “Both journalists believe that in Latin America the number of journalists who choose or are forced into exile will continue to grow, due to the proliferation of authoritarian regimes in the region.”

Daniel Pearl Magnet High School, in the San Fernando Valley and part of Los Angeles Unified School District, offers a focus on journalism and communications. In 2019, the student journalists covered a strike by United Teachers Los Angeles, producing this video compilation of student opinions on their campus. (Credit: Latino Alternative Television)

Gen Z Latinos Say They Do Feel Represented in Media

“A majority of young American Latinos say they feel represented in mainstream English-language U.S. media, according to a new survey shared first with Axios,” Russell Contreras reported Tuesday for Axios.

“The big picture: Around one in four of members of Gen Z in the U.S. are Latino, according to the Pew Research Center, and their growing influence could transform media consumption and production.

“By the numbers: 71% of young Latinos (Gen Z and Millennials) surveyed said they feel represented in mainstream, English-speaking media outlets in the U.S., according to the study by Latino Alternative Television (LATV) released Tuesday.

“68% said they felt represented in Spanish-speaking media outlets in the U.S.

“59% said U.S. news and entertainment media generally made them feel positive about being a young U.S. Latino.

“Yes, but: 44% of those surveyed said U.S. mainstream English-language or Spanish-language media don’t ‘get’ Latino cultural nuances. . . .”

Gov. Dismisses Asian Journalist as ‘Communist’

“The Flatwater Free Press and the Asian American Journalists Association are standing by an investigative reporter after Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen called her ‘a Communist’ when dismissing her in-depth report critical of his farming operation,” Brian Mastre reported Tuesday for WOWT in Omaha, Neb.

“The response comes after comments the governor made regarding his family hog farming business. It’s not unusual for the target of a story to lash out at the journalist rather than take issue with the content.

“Last month, Pillen took aim at Yanqi Xu (pictured), a reporter from the Flatwater Free Press, after her investigative story raised questions about the environmental impact his hog farms had on drinking water.

“The Flatwater Free Press is an independent nonprofit news organization focusing on Nebraska stories.”

Mastre also wrote, “This much is true: Yanqi Xu grew up in China. But she pursued American journalism — and got her master’s degree — at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

“ ‘I had hoped the governor would respond and that could help tell the full story in a way, she said. ‘But I was not expecting him to only address one thing: where I’m from.’

“Matt Wynn, the executive director who launched the Flatwater Free Press, penned a letter of outrage Tuesday over the governor’s comments.

The Asian American Journalists Association issued a statement saying it stood with Xu.

Xu wrote Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, ” I am beyond grateful for the outpouring of love and support I’ve gotten. All this just reminds me of why I came into this field. And the 17-year-old me learning to strike up a convo with a stranger would agree — I would never feel alone. And thanks to everyone who’s reached out!”

Shirley Carswell, in front, is flanked by, from left, Lonnae O’Neal, Robin Givhan, Darryl Fears, Jeanne-Fox-Alston and Deborah Heard at the party for once and current Washington Post journalists. (Credit: Shirley Carswell)

A Night for Reunions in D.C.

It was a night for parties Saturday night among alums of the Washington Post and the Time magazine Washington bureau — some of them, anyway.

The predominantly Black gathering for Post alums and some current Post employees took place at the home of Deborah Heard, former Style section editor, and was organized by Heard, Lonnae O’Neal, now with Andscape; Shirley Carswell, now executive director of the Dow Jones News Fund; and Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb, founding partner and president of the Earl T Shinhoster Youth Leadership Institute in Savannah, Ga.  

“There was a magical time when Black staffers at the Washington Post routinely held gatherings like the one I attended last night,” senior environmental correspondent Darryl Fears posted on Facebook. “It was warm, cheerful and authentic, and I’m glad I drove for miles on slippery roads to Deb Heard’s place,” Fears wrote, prompting more than 250 “likes” and comments.

Carswell said about 45 people responded to the more than 90 invitations extended.

At the Time magazine gathering, bureau chief Massimo Calabresi (pictured) messaged, “I think we had around 75 people, based on the RSVPs. With regard to people of color, not sure about former DC bureau members” other than Maya Rhodan, a former reporter who is director of speechwriting for Secretary Marsha Fudge at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Gary Lee, also a Washington Post veteran who is now managing editor of the Oklahoma Eagle.

“Justin Worland is a senior correspondent who covers climate in the Washington bureau,” and of the current team of 12 here in DC, staff writer Mini Racker and Congress reporter Nik Popli were there. Senior editor Aman Batheja who runs our political coverage, couldn’t make it. On genesis, one of the former bureau members had suggested a reunion over the summer…”

“The theme of their wedding celebration was ‘romantic garden,” People wrote of April Ryan and James Ewing, “with a color scheme that included blush, white, ivory and gold. The duo worked with their florist Bella Fiori Events to decorate the space with hydrangeas, roses, garden roses, spray roses, lisianthus, soft greenery and cherry blossoms.” (Credit: Clapp Studios Photography)

April Ryan Wedding Gets Spread in People

“April Ryan never planned on getting married for a second time, but her wedding day couldn’t have been any more perfect,” began a People magazine spread by Jordan Greene and Emily Strohm posted Tuesday.

“On Oct. 14, the veteran White House reporter, 56, tied the knot with her fiancé James Ewing at the Carriage House at Gramercy Mansion in Baltimore, MD.

” ‘This is my second chance love story,’ Ryan told PEOPLE ahead of her big day. ‘I’m divorced and didn’t plan on getting married again. I even vowed never to do it again. I never thought someone would sweep me off of my feet and make me realize I shouldn’t put myself on a shelf. There is more to give and more to do.’ . . .”

Google called Raoul A. Cortez “a trailblazer for Spanish-language media in the United States.”

Pioneering Latino Broadcaster Is ‘Google Doodle’

“Google Doodle is marking on Tuesday the life and legacy of Raoul A. Cortez, a pioneer of Spanish-language radio and broadcasting in the U.S. and a civil rights activist, on what would have been his 118th birthday,” Emi Tuyetnhi Tran reported Tuesday for NBC News.

“Cortez, who was Mexican American, founded the first Spanish-language radio station as well as the first TV station aimed at Hispanics.

“Guest artist Rafael Lopez, who is also Mexican American, aimed to depict ‘the various roles Cortez played in furthering Latino culture and civil rights in the U.S.,’ according to the Doodle.

“Cortez was born on Oct. 17, 1905 in Veracruz, Mexico, and his family immigrated to San Antonio, Texas, when he was young.

“In 1946, he founded KCOR-AM, the country’s first fully Spanish-language radio station owned and operated by a Latino, as the San Antonio Radio Hall of Fame noted. It launched with the slogan ‘La Voz Mexicana’ (‘The Mexican Voice’).

“According to the National Museum of American History, in order to get Federal [Communications] Commission approval despite World War II-era restrictions on non-English radio — the government feared it could spread seditious messages — Cortez argued that the radio station could be a tool to mobilize support for the U.S. war effort among Spanish-language speakers. . . .

“Later, seeing a dearth in television aimed at Hispanics, Cortez founded KCOR-TV Channel 41 in 1955. It was similarly the first Latino-run Spanish-language broadcast in the U.S. . . .”

Short Takes

  • In Illinois, “The racial gap is widening,” Matt Kiefer, Taylor Moore and Jim Ylisela wrote Sept. 27 for WBEZ in Chicago. “In the last two years, stops involving Black drivers have topped 30.5% of all traffic stops statewide, up from 17.5% in 2004, the first year data was released. The state’s adult population is 13.6% Black.” On the eve of the 20th anniversary of then-Sen. Barack Obama’s groundbreaking legislation to combat racial profiling by police, WBEZ and the University of Maryland’s “Investigative Project on Race and Equity compiled and analyzed two [decades’] worth of traffic stop data collected under the law – 42.5 million records from more than 1,000 jurisdictions across Illinois – interviewed experts and reviewed public records.  . . .”
  • “Barbara Ciara (pictured), managing editor and evening anchor at WTKR Norfolk, Va., is leaving broadcast news,” Mark K. Miller reported Monday for TVNewsCheck. “Ciara published her first news article in a college newspaper, which started a 50-year career in print and broadcast. She is marking the milestone by refocusing her life goals. Newly engaged, Barbara and her fiancé have plans for world travel. . . .” Ciara, a former president of the National Association of Black Journalists, messaged Journal-isms, “I realized how fortunate I’ve been to leave with people wanting more from you professionally, I’m humbled by the tributes that are pouring in.  But having lost so many of my great mentors and colleagues I know how precious time is and I want to savor the moments with no particular agenda.”
  • In Boston, “GBH News will elevate new voices and perspectives in the 56th anniversary season of Basic Black, the longest-running program on public television focusing on the interests of people of color, WGBH public broadcasting said Wednesday in an emailed notice. “The season debuts with Callie Crossley’s final episode as regular host of the program. Crossley (pictured), who has hosted the program since 2008, is part of a long line of distinguished journalists of color to host the program. Crossley will join the ensemble cast contributing to The Culture Show, a GBH News radio program debuting on November 3 after Boston Public Radio. She will also continue to host her radio show and podcast, Under the Radar with Callie Crossley, and share weekly commentaries on 89.7 FM.”
  • “Under the leadership of newly arrived chief executive Mark Thompson, CNN is aggressively moving to regain its footing and put its missteps in the rearview mirror, propelled by a revamped prime-time lineup that will spotlight two of the network’s most seasoned journalists,” Greg Braxton wrote Monday for the Los Angeles Times.​ “Abby Phillip (pictured, right), the network’s former senior political correspondent and host of ‘Inside Politics Sunday,’ will anchor ‘CNN NewsNight With Abby Phillip.’ Laura Coates (pictured, left), who was senior legal analyst, will follow with ‘Laura Coates Live.’ Both nightly shows premiere Oct. 16. Phillip and Coates say their respective shows will move beyond the headlines and be more analytical than the standard CNN newscast. They also praised the network for elevating two Black women into its prime-time slate. . . .”
John McCaa, former anchor at WFAA-TV in Dallas, speaks to high school students. “Journalism, to me, is more relevant now than ever before,” he told them. McCaa joins the Dallas Morning News contributing columnists this month. (Credit: Dallas Morning News)
  • John McCaa was an anchor for 27 years at WFAA in Dallas, commentary editor Ryan Sanders reminded readers of the Dallas Morning News Saturday. “When McCaa agreed to contribute . . . regularly as one of our Contributing Columnists, I knew readers would be thrilled to hear from him more often. Going forward, he will write about media, politics, Texas news and history (he holds a doctorate in humanities and history from the University of Texas at Dallas). . . .”

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