The Conrad Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., pulsed with history and urgency as the Black Press of America gathered for its Annual National Leadership Awards and Reception.

The evening honored House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke and Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings Jr.

Cummings, who now serves on the executive committee of the Democratic National Committee, put the night into sharp focus.

“Democrats need to spend money now with the Black Press,” Cummings told “Let It Be Known,” the Black Press morning news show, on the red carpet. “The Black Press has always been that vehicle in our community that we’ve all needed and that has always been the trusted voice. With what’s happening in Washington and what they are trying to do to our community and our history, everyone should be supporting the Black Press of America.”

For decades, the Black Press has stood as the trusted voice for African Americans, telling stories ignored or distorted elsewhere. It carried the mutilated image of Emmett Till when white newspapers looked away. It published Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words when others labeled him a troublemaker. It guided families through Jim Crow’s terror and chronicled the triumphs and tragedies of migration, struggle and resilience.

Despite its contributions to the U.S. historically and today, the Black Press, two years before its 200th anniversary, is fighting for its life. Attorney Ben Crump, known as “Black America’s Attorney General,” took the stage with a plan to uplift the Black Press in a major way.

“I wanted to come and publicly demonstrate my appreciation to the Black Press because right now in America, like we’ve never seen before in our lifetime, they have declared war on Black literature, Black history, Black culture, Black media, Black science, Black health, Black communities, everything Black in every corner of this American society today,” Crump said. And so, they’ve declared war on the First Amendment. I mean, they’re attacking our narratives.”

In a room filled with African American leaders — including Derrick Johnson, national president of the NAACP; and Leon Russell, chair of the board — Crump emphasized the importance of the Black Press in the fight for justice.

“So now more than ever, we have to make sure that we have institutions that are disseminating information to our people, being the clarion call for us to be able to be ready to stand up for our children and our communities, to be ready to speak up for our children and communities, and to be ready to fight for our children in the community,” he said. “And nobody carries the Black narrative and the Black information to Black communities more passionately than the Black Press.”

Despite the Trump administration’s policies affecting Black people nationwide and the federal cuts to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, Crump told the crowd that there is no need to rely on the president to support African American communities.

“This attack on DEI and everything — they’re cutting funding to all our institutions. And it isn’t right, but part of me says that’s OK,” he said. “We don’t need them to save us. We are going to save ourselves. We are all we need.”

Crump also offered a major call to action.

“Everybody’s got to give a little more when they can. If you’ve been blessed, you’ve got to pass the blessings on. You just can’t keep it to yourself,” Crump told the packed ballroom. “Because, like Dr. King said, we all got a role to play. The Black lawyers got a role to play. The Black doctors got a role to play. The Black bankers got a role to play. The Black insurance agents, Black funeral homes.”

The attorney emphasized that fighting for equity does not always mean taking to the streets to protest.

“I understand everybody can’t be on the front line with the NAACP and Black Lives Matter, and us, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a role to play when you get a seat at the table,” he said. “When you are inside the room and you have got a voice, you got a role to play. And so, you can’t be afraid to speak truth to power.”

After exhorting the crowd, Crump ended his address with a surprise announcement.

The attorney pledged $50,000 to the Black Press, structured at $10,000 a year for five years.

“And so, I want to present this donation to the Black Press for $50,000,” Crump said. “Because right now we’ve got to support our own.”

But he was not content with his own gift. He planted a seed, encouraging others to dare to water it. With the bicentennial of the Black Press approaching, supporters are being urged to step forward through sponsorships, advertising and partnerships to ensure that this trusted source for the Black community remains alive with an official GoFundMe page for donations.

“That’s why I’m making this donation to the Black Press,” Crump declared, his words cutting with urgency. “Because right now the Black Press is needed more than ever before.”

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