Giving Tuesday support strengthens the legacy of independent Black media
On Giving Tuesday, the Minnesota Spokesman Recorder calls on the community to support independent Black journalism. For ninety years, the MSR has documented Black life in Minnesota, uplifted community voices, and held systems accountable. This year’s Giving Tuesday campaign highlights why Black media remains vital and how community support keeps this work alive.
On Giving Tuesday, millions across the country give to causes that matter. For Black communities, the choice is clear. Independent Black media outlets like the Minnesota Spokesman Recorder remain essential to documenting our experiences, uplifting our voices, and holding systems accountable.
For ninety years, the Black Press has been our historian, our watchdog, our storyteller, and our amplifier. It is the platform that celebrates our victories, mourns our losses, and confronts the inequities others often overlook. In Minnesota, the Spokesman Recorder stands as one of the last Black owned newspapers in the state. Our work continues because our community continues to believe that our voice matters.
Giving Tuesday is more than a day of generosity. It is a reminder that our stories carry power and that we must invest in the institutions that protect them.
Why Your Support Matters
Across the country, Black communities face widening disparities in education, health, wealth, and representation. Yet mainstream media often covers these issues without our perspective or does not cover them at all. When national outlets ignore our communities, Black newspapers like the MSR stay. We stay in our neighborhoods. We stay in the meetings. We stay in the struggle.
Your support helps the MSR:
• Cover the stories others overlook
• Support Black journalists and content creators
• Document Minnesota’s Black history in real time
• Provide youth with media training and mentorship
• Investigate issues that directly affect our community
• Keep independent Black media alive for future generations
Every contribution strengthens our ability to tell our stories with accuracy, care, and cultural understanding.
Preserving the Legacy of the Black Press
The MSR is part of a national tradition born from refusal. Black journalists refused to let our stories be distorted or erased. From Ida B. Wells to the Chicago Defender to the Spokesman Recorder, Black newspapers filled the gaps left by mainstream outlets. They offered truth during segregation, clarity through the civil rights movement, and a lifeline during moments of crisis.
That responsibility continues today. Minnesota is changing. Policies are shifting. Communities are evolving. It is vital that our voices remain centered in the narrative.
A Call to Stand With Us
As Giving Tuesday arrives, we invite our readers, supporters, and partners to help sustain this work. The Spokesman Recorder has always been powered by community. Together, we can ensure our stories continue to be told with the depth, care, and cultural context they deserve.
Your support keeps Black journalism alive. Your contribution protects a platform built by us, for us.
Support independent Black media today.
Donate here: https://spokesman-recorder.com/donate-to-msr/