DeWayne Wickham
When Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm launched this nation’s first black newspaper in 1827, most of the 2 million people of African descent in this country at that time were enslaved. And according to the social practices of that day – and the Constitution that then governed this land – they were chattel.
But Russwurm and Cornish used the free press guarantee of the Constitution’s First Amendment to claim the right to speak on behalf of these voiceless people. “We wish to plead our own cause,” they wrote. “Too long have others spoken for us.”
That declaration was a rallying cry that echoed across generations. Its ripple effects produced a legion of black journalists; some, like Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells, who are well remembered; and others, like William Monroe Trotter and Charlotta Bass, who history has nearly forgotten.
What these brave black men and women understood – and what this publication acknowledges – is that journalism is an influential force in the life of this nation. It is for this reason that we offer you today the first issue of the Morgan Global Journalism Review, a quarterly, digital magazine that will add a unique perspective to the analysis of journalism.
At times our articles will offer readers the views of thoughtful people who assess the work of journalists and journalism educators, or who have something significant to say about trends in the journalistic academy or newsroom. At other times we will give voice to gifted and provocative writers who speak to, or for, people whose voices have been muffled. At all times, we will be the persistent guardian of the human rights that journalism is duty-bound to protect.
But first, and foremost, the Morgan Global Journalism Review will encourage excellence and diversity in the coverage of news - and offer those who trod across its pages a rich mix of global commentary and analysis from the perspective of people who for too long were not able to plead their own cause.
DEAN'S CORNER
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