White ain’t right: NAACP under fire for advertising in white newspapers only

Maybe this is just what happens when you elect a black guy who’s whiter than most white people as President of the NAACP.

NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous admits that “a grave mistake was made” right under his nose when advertising inserts were placed only in White newspapers on the eve of the organization’s annual image awards, which aired March 4. Danny Bakewell, chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a federation of more than 200 Black-owned newspapers, is demanding justice.

ben-jealous
Ben Jealous, the whitest black man in history, is President of the NAACP

“If the NAACP desires to advertise with the White press, they need to understand and experience the repercussions of going outside of their ‘house’ (The Black Press). The NAACP needs to know that by ignoring the Black Press they are ‘cutting off their nose to spite their face,’” Bakewell said in a March 7 letter to NNPA publishers, obtained by the Trice Edney News Wire. “We have marched side by side with them and been their voice in the African American community. It is truly disheartening to be on the battlefield with someone and not be able to share in the spoils.”

Share in the spoils? Let’s go to freedictionary.com to see if “spoils” means what we think it means:

a. Goods or property seized from a victim after a conflict, especially after a military victory.
b. Incidental benefits reaped by a winner, especially political patronage enjoyed by a successful party or candidate.

Yup, that’s what we thought it meant. We’re just surprised that Bakewell admits publicly that the NAACP is all about reaping benefits from political patronage.

So much for the old kid’s riddle, “What’s black and white and read all over?”

Now, thanks to the wonders of 21st century race relations, we discover newspapers are either black or white, but not both.

Source: Afro.com, freedictionary.com

This post was last modified on January 26, 2021

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View Comments (25)

  • I thought I might find folks on this site who are interested in a real discussion of the issues. Guess I came to the wrong venue.

    • If you want to have real discussion on issues, then type real questions or else make real issue statements. At this point you haven't added anything intelligent to the conversation.

  • So the Black community complains about discrimination and segregation, and about Jim Crow laws, but backs the idea that if you have one drop of Black blood (DNA , actually) you are Black. And they get to have the Black Image awards (there are NO white Image awards,) Miss Black whatever (separate from and excluding all other candidates such as Miss America, Miss Universe, Etc.. They have a black tv network, but insist they must appear in all other networks as well. And of course, they have the NAACP, the type of organization no other racial or ethnic groups is allowed, as well as college scholarships limited to only black candidates. Who are the real raaacists here?

    • Deb, you know who the racists are. And you know it very well. Just read the comments here. Some of the organizations and "awards" you mention were established when segregation / Jim Crow were the law of the land. If you think that problems with racism were automatically solved with the passage of the Voting Rights Act, or the election of an American of African ancestry as president, think again. The vestiges of 400 years of slavery and a century of Jim Crow will not be erased by the passage of laws, or a bright young politician who happened to be in the right place at the right time. The minority communities have a right to celebrate their culture and heritage and the achievements of their demographic. That is not racist, any more than celebrating Christmas or St. Patrick's Day is. Minority OWNED newspapers have a right to expect that an organization like NAACP which they support should not forget about them when it comes time to advertise. I thought I might find folks on this site who are interested in a real discussion of the issues. Guess I came to the wrong venue. Your comment is the only one that makes any attempt whatsoever to lay out an argument and provide a rationale.

      • Other mnority groups are NOT allowed to embrace their heritage in the same way. That is my objection. The Black population is reported as about 15% of the total US population. Hispanics make up a far greater percentage, but there are not the same types of organizations to support Hispanics as there are for Blacks. There is not an Hispanic face in every TV show, Movie, and Commercial advertisement. I refer you to The Runaway Slave website. I think you would find it interesting reading.

    • So... certain members of the black community and so on? yes because of government bondage and unfortunate inability to teach imperative issues in certain pockets of Black communities. It is not indicative of all members of the black community. Now the only way for those members who subscribes to the liberal mentality is for them to get educated and the media is not helping on that score.

  • Here are the members of the cleverly non-racist sounding National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a federation of more than 200 Black-owned newspapers. If you are white, hispanic, American Indian Asian, or otherwise not black, you should stop reading any of these papers, since apparently the owners don't want you to read them since we now understand they are "black" newspapers.

    Alabama
    Birmingham Times
    Birmingham World
    Greene County Democrat
    Mobile Beacon-Citizen
    Montgomery-Tuskegee Times
    Speakin' Out News
    Arizona
    Arizona Informant
    California
    American News
    Bakersfield News Observer
    Black Voice News
    California Advocate
    California Voice
    Compton Bulletin
    H.G. Star 1 News (Photo News)
    Herald Dispatch
    L.A. Metropolitan Gazette
    L.A. Watts Times Inc.
    Los Angeles Sentinel
    Oakland Post
    Our Weekly
    Pasadena Gazette
    Pasadena Journal
    Precinct Reporter
    Sacramento Observer
    San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
    San Francisco Bay View
    San Francisco Sun Reporter
    Tri County Sentry
    Wave Community Newspapers
    Colorado
    Denver Weekly News
    Connecticut
    Hartford Inquirer
    Inner-City Newspaper
    Umoja News
    District of Columbia
    Afro-American (Washington)
    Capital Spotlight
    News Dimensions
    Washington Informer
    Washington News Observer
    Florida
    The Bulletin
    Capital Outlook
    Central Florida Advocate
    The Community Voice
    Daytona Times
    Florida Courier
    Florida Dollar Stretcher
    Florida Photo News
    Florida Sentinel Bulletin
    Florida Star News
    Florida Sun
    Florida Tribune
    Jacksonville Advocate
    Jacksonville Free Press
    The Miami Times
    New American Press, The Miami Times
    Northeast Florida Advocate
    Orlando Times
    Out Front South Magazine
    Palm Beach Gazette
    Pensacola Voice
    The Weekly Challenger
    Westside Gazette
    Georgia
    Albany-Southwest Georgian
    Atlanta Daily World
    Atlanta Inquirer
    Atlanta Sun
    The Atlanta Voice
    Augusta Focus
    The Champion Newspaper
    Columbus Times
    Fort Valley Herald
    Freedom's Journal
    Georgia Sentinel Bulletin
    Macon Courier
    Metro Courier
    Savannah Herald
    Savannah Tribune
    Illinois
    The African-American Voice Newspaper
    Chatham-Southeast Citizen
    Chicago Defender
    Chicago Independent Bulletin
    Chicago New Crusader
    Chicago Shoreland News
    Chicago Standard Newspaper
    Chicago Tri-City Journal
    Chicago Weekend
    Chicago Westside Journal
    East St. Louis Monitor
    Final Call
    Futures Newspaper
    Hyde Park Citizen
    Jet Magazine
    Muslim Journal
    New Metro News
    South Suburban Citizen
    South Suburban Standard
    Southend Citizen
    The Times Weekly
    Today's Chronicle
    The Windy City Word
    Indiana
    Frost Illustrated
    Gary Crusader
    Gary Info
    Indiana Herald
    Indianapolis Recorder
    Scoop Magazine
    Kentucky
    Louisville Defender
    Key Newsjournal
    Louisiana
    Data News Weekly
    The Drum
    Louisiana Weekly
    New Orleans Tribune
    Shreveport Sun
    Alexandria News Weekly
    Maryland
    Afro-American Newspapers
    The Baltimore Times
    Prince George's Post
    Massachusetts
    Unity First
    Michigan
    The Blazer Newspaper
    Ecorse Telegram
    Grand Rapids Times
    Michigan Chronicle
    Michigan Citizen
    Saginaw County Weekly
    Take Pride Community
    Minnesota
    Insight News, Inc.
    Minneapolis Spokesman
    Mississippi
    Jackson Advocate
    Mississippi Link
    Mississippi Memo Digest
    Missouri
    Kansas City Call
    The Kansas City Globe
    St. Louis American
    St. Louis Argus
    St. Louis Metro Sentinel
    Nebraska
    Omaha Star
    Nevada
    Las Vegas Sentinel Voice
    New Jersey
    City News
    The Connection
    Twin Visions Weekly Publications
    New York
    Afro American Times
    Buffalo Criterion
    Challenge Group
    Hudson Valley Press
    Jersey City Daily Challenge
    New American
    New York Amsterdam News
    New York Beacon
    New York Carib News
    New York Daily Challenge
    The New York Voice
    Westchester County Press
    North Carolina
    Carolina Peacemaker
    The Carolina Times
    The Carolinian
    Challenger Newspaper
    The Charlotte Post
    Iredell County News
    Wilmington Journal
    Winston Salem Chronicle
    Ohio
    The Buckeye Review
    Call & Post (Cleveland)
    Call & Post (Columbus)
    Cincinnati Herald
    Cleveland City News
    Columbus Post Newspaper
    The Communicator News
    The Reporter (Akron)
    Toledo Journal
    Oklahoma
    The Ebony Tribune
    The Tulsa Oklahoma Eagle
    Oregon
    Observer (Portland)
    Skanner Group (Portland)
    Pennsylvania
    New Pittsburgh Courier
    The Philadelphia Tribune
    Pittsburgh Renaissance News
    Philadelphia New Observer
    Rhode Island
    Providence American
    South Carolina
    Black News South Carolina
    The Charleston Chronicle
    Community Times Dispatch
    Gullah Sentinel
    Pee Dee Times (Community Times)
    View South News
    Tennessee
    Memphis Silver Star News
    Metro Forum
    Nashville Pride
    Tennessee Tribune
    Tri-State Defender
    Texas
    African-American News and Issues
    African News Digest
    Capital City Argus
    Dallas Examiner
    Dallas Post Tribune
    Dallas Weekly, The
    East Texas Review
    Houston Defender
    Houston Forward Times
    Houston Newspages
    Houston Style
    Houston Sun
    Informer & Texas Freeman
    La Vida News Dallas
    La Vida News Houston
    Minority Opportunity News
    Nokoa
    North Dallas Gazette
    San Antonio Observer
    Smith County Herald
    Southwest Digest
    Villager, The
    US Virgin Islands
    Virgin Island Daily News
    Virginia
    Journal & Guide
    Metro Herald
    Richmond Free Press
    Richmond Voice, The
    Washington
    Metro Home Maker
    Northwest Dispatch
    Seattle Medium
    Seattle Skanner
    Tacoma True Citizen
    Thurston County Dispatch
    West Virginia
    WV Beacon Digest
    Wisconsin
    Madison Times, The
    Milwaukee Community Journal
    Milwaukee Courier
    Milwaukee Star
    Milwaukee Times Weekly
    Milwaukee Weekend Edition

    Source: NNPA.org

    • In re: the Jersey City Challenge (listed under New York):

      Many of us here in NJ consider Jersey City to actually be part of New York. Some consider it part of Latin America, but that's a separate issue.

      As best as I can tell, the paper is called the Daily Challenge, or the New York Challenge. It is published in Brooklyn, NY.

      Ref: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84009567/

      • On TV, print and photos? Many times. Was that question supposed to prove something?

        Yes I have heard of photoshop I do live in this present century. And this question was supposed to prove something?

    • downright pink, in fact.

      He's got a real 'Kiss me I'm Irish' vibe about him :)

      They're Always After Me Lucky Charms!

      • No, I think he has more of a "Punch me, I'm a dumbshit." look.

        He reminds me a lot of the mayor's kid who applied for a need-based scholarship, and proudly listed his accomplishments in a wheelchair basketball league -- and he had the full use of all his faculties (with the exception of humility).

    • It is news to me too. I do realize there are newspapers and magazines that appeal more and have higher demographic of one group over another (Vogue vs Jet as an example), but White ONLY and Black Only sounds like racists magazines to me.

  • If I saw that guy on the street, I wouldn't have had a clue that he was black. I think they need to do away with that antiquated "one drop" law.