By Roy Douglas Malonson
Tim Wise stated some years ago that, “Standing still is never an option so long as inequities remain embedded in the very fabric of the culture.” And I couldn’t agree with him more. Now, some people have referred to our publication as political and/or racist. You may call it what you will or may but the truth of the matter is that we will exist until justice levels out in our community. If we as a people stand still and never voice the inequalities that invade our fortress then we are just as guilty as the perpetrators who impose them. Therefore, AANI has created its existence without fear or fake.
African-American News&Issues is not just your typical Black publication. We tread on the ground that others shy away from. We present the news that others are afraid to talk about. When my wife and I started this publication, we sought after a newspaper that would cater to normal everyday people; particularly those who are often overlooked in other publications similar to AANI. Since that time we have not ceased from reporting volatile injustices of both historical and present realities that affects members of the Black community. As it is, the country is divided. It has not just gotten this way either. It’s been like this since the origination of the United States of America. Primary example, we have a president who just because of the color of his skin has received more insults and opposition than any other president in the history of the existence of this nation. It is not because he is a president that has ill intentions toward the American people; it is simply because he is a shade darker than the counterparts that preceded him.
Concluding, Thurgood Marshall conveyed a very true statement when he expressed his appeal to Americans all over the United States. Marshall stated, “I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust…We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better.”
However, until that time comes, AAN&I will exist and more readily continue to report news and issues that are relevant to individuals who are members of the Black community.
