Black Lens News

Last updated
Black Lens News
BlackLensNewsCover.png
December 2020 issue
TypeMonthly newspaper
PublisherSandra Williams
Founded2015
Headquarters1312 N. Monroe Street, #148
Spokane, WA 99201
Circulation 700. Issues monthly(as of 2016) [1]
Website blacklensnews.com

Black Lens News is a monthly African-American newspaper based in Spokane, Washington.

Contents

History

The newspaper was founded in 2015 by Sandra Williams who acts as the newspaper's publisher and editor. [2] [3] Williams, who partly grew up in the Spokane area, remembered that the region used to have the newspaper African American Voice, which covered topics relevant to the Black community. [4] She got the idea for creating a new newspaper for the Black community while her father was dying and came out with the first issue in January 2015. [4] A U.S. Justice Department report noting the disproportionate use of force on African Americans in Spokane shaped her vision for the paper, and was the focus of its first lead story. [5]

The newspaper was originally twelve pages and has expanded to 20. [4] It contains Black news highlights from other sources both local and in the larger world as well as local sections such as its "It Takes a Village" section which highlights accomplishments of local people and a regular column "Thoughts from a Grandmother". [4] The newspaper primarily circulates through Black churches and businesses and contains a directory of Black-owned businesses. [6]

Williams ran the paper until she died in a floatplane crash near Whidbey Island on September 4, 2022. She was 60. [7] The paper went on hiatus until relaunching in February 2024 with a new website. [8]

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References

  1. "Black Lens News celebrates 1 year anniversary". INBA Weekly. 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  2. "About Us". Black Lens News. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  3. "Black Spokane residents are 5 times more likely to be arrested, new data show". Spokesman.com. 2020-06-14. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Black Lens offers Spokane a different view of the news". Spokesman.com. 2016-02-25. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  5. Brown, Jared (February 10, 2020). "Black Lens monthly newspaper celebrates 5 years of sharpening Spokane's perception of racism in the community". spokesman.com. Spokane, Washington: Spokesman Review . Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  6. "The Black Lens covers the positive to counter negative news on blacks". The Fig Tree. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  7. Brunt, Jonathan (September 5, 2022). "Spokane civil rights activist Sandy Williams was aboard plane that crashed in Puget Sound". Spokesman-Review . Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  8. Paterson, Lauren (2024-01-30). "Spokane's Black newspaper relaunches". Northwest Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 2024-01-31.