The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of African-American-owned newspapers and media companies, is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by establishing the NNPA Coronavirus Task Force and Resource Center.
The task force will include publishers, editors, physicians, nurses, corporate partners, sponsors, associates and supporters of the Black Press of America.
The national resource center will be structured to provide timely and accurate information to stakeholders and the African American community. Daily briefings of the pandemic and original and pertinent content about COVID-19 will be published at www.BlackPressUSA.com.
“It is well documented that African-Americans get sick more frequently, are screened for illness less often, are diagnosed for disease later, are treated less aggressively and buried earlier than those in other ethnic groups in America,” said Sheila Thorne, president and CEO of Multicultural Healthcare Marketing Group, LLC.
“The reasons for health disparities are complex. The deadly spread of the coronavirus in the United States exacerbates not only the poor health status of African-Americans but it exposes their persistent lack of access to quality, culturally competent healthcare from testing to diagnosis to treatment,” Thorne stated.
“I applaud the NNPA for taking a leadership position to disseminate accurate and culturally relevant health information to Black Americans that will protect all in the community and save lives, especially those who are underserved and underrepresented.”
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (CA-37) said she was pleased that the NNPA has established a task force and resource center and she’s looking forward to contributing.
“The NNPA Coronavirus Task Force and Resource Center is a one-stop spot for curated news and resources specific to Black people in America,” Bass stated.
“Since 1940, the NNPA has built a network of member publications across the country that covers news and issues most important to Black people in America. The NNPA is a trusted source to reach the Black community, oftentimes overlooked by mainstream media.”
Robert W. Bogle, the chairman, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest and the Greater Philadelphia region’s largest audited newspaper serving the African-American community, stated that the mission of the Black Press is being carried out despite the current crisis.
“We became an independent voice to speak up and speak out and deliberately embracing and telling our story,” Bogle offered. “It’s part of our history, and it’s who we are.”
He continued: “It doesn’t mean that others don’t write about us, but are they writing to us and for us? I say, ‘No.’ People in our business have to understand and recommit themselves and reaffirm who we are and the critical role that we play.”
In a memo circulated by NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., and on behalf of NNPA Chair Karen Carter Richards and the NNPA Board of Directors, the trade association noted that all are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is important to note that the majority of the NNPA member publishers across the nation are remaining on the frontline of providing vital and crucial information to African-Americans and others who are challenged by the expanding and growing public health crisis confronting our families and communities,” Chavis wrote.
