Elegant is perhaps the perfect word to describe this past Saturday’s edition of Sister Spokesman, its final installment for a few months as the revered community event goes on hiatus until this September.
Billed as “Tea, Treats, and Tops,” this 90th Anniversary Legacy High Tea welcomed another capacity crowd to NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, where Sister Spokesman took over the fifth floor for the afternoon. Attendees were encouraged to dress for the occasion, sporting fabulous hats and gloves while also enjoying an assortment of gourmet teas, some lovely tea sandwiches, and other sweet treats.
Per tradition, the festivities kicked off with the popular purse game, which this time around was decided by a tiebreaker. Host and MSR Publisher Tracey Williams-Dillard then introduced the day’s participating vendors, beginning with Lynn Holman, founder and CEO of Pink Pearl Bliss Yoni Steam Spa, who was recently featured in MSR’s Black Business Spotlight.
While taking a moment to speak to all Pink Pearl Bliss has to offer, Holman made it a point to thank Williams-Dillard and the MSR for hosting Sister Spokesman all these years and the indelible impact it has made in so many lives, a sentiment that was shared by the other vendors, which included ACER (African Career, Education, and Resources, Inc.), Batakali Fashions, and Unique Fashion and Accessories.
Another vendor, comedian Shondra L. Dickson, known professionally as CHOCOLATTE, kept the audience in stitches, showcasing her standup talents as the day’s entertainment.
However, the highlight of the afternoon was Williams-Dillard’s presentation regarding the importance of the Black Press, during which she also mixed in some interesting historical trivia.
As the third-generation owner and publisher of the MSR, Williams-Dillard likewise chronicled the story of her grandfather, Cecil E. Newman, who founded the paper as a 17-year-old upon arriving in Minneapolis from his native Kansas City. And she noted that this wasn’t even Newman’s first endeavor into the news world.
“My grandfather published his first newspaper in school, when he was only eight years old,” she went on to reveal, drawing gasps of wonder from the audience.
Among the many inspirational stories she told, Williams-Dillard also spoke to the special relationship that Newman maintained for many years with U.S. Senator and the 38th Vice President of the United States, Hubert H. Humphrey, dating back to Humphrey’s tenure as the Mayor of Minneapolis in the 1940s.
It was Humphrey who famously credited her grandfather with “bringing him up to speed on the issue of Civil Rights.” And it was a noteworthy anecdote shared Saturday by Williams-Dillard that demonstrated just how deeply Humphrey respected her grandfather.
When two African American women were unjustly arrested and jailed in South Minneapolis, the mayor accompanied Newman to the jail to demand that they be released.
“At that time in history, this was a great risk for Humphrey to take,” explained Williams-Dillard. “It put him at odds with his constituency, his own police force. But that is how highly he thought of Cecil E. Newman.”
“My grandfather created this paper to support, serve, and uplift the Black Community,” she continued. And, as the second woman to lead the MSR, following her grandmother, Launa Q. Newman, Williams-Dillard reiterated that she will always do the same.
“As a weekly newspaper, we’re not in the business of breaking news,” she said. “Others strive to be fast and first. Our focus is to be the most accurate… to give our community the opportunity to tell its stories—stories that might otherwise go untold.”
When reminiscing about where the MSR is today, along with all those who have believed in her, including both her husband and mother whom she’s lost in the last couple of years, Williams-Dillard began to tear up. This inspired someone in the audience to shout, “Thank you, Tracey,” followed by a chorus of cheers.
“This room here is my support,” said Williams-Dillard before reminding everyone about MSR’s upcoming 90th Weekend Celebration, including the return of the Majestic Star Legacy Yacht Cruise, followed by the 90th Anniversary Gala at the Depot Minneapolis. “I hope to see you all in August.”
The event concluded on a series of additional high notes with the scratch game, a number of prize drawings, and the chance for the crowd to select the individual donning the day’s “best hat.”
For more information on Sister Spokesman, which will return on September 7, 2024, go to @SisterSpokesman on Facebook.
For more details and how to buy tickets for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder’s 90th Anniversary Celebration on August 16 & 17, please visit spokesman-recorder.com/lets-celebrate-90-years-of-impact.
See more photos below by Chris Juhn.
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