|   History Of "The People's Voice Black Weekly News"

This section of our site memorializes the founding of The People's Voice Weekly News, the most aggressive project ever attempted by any African-American group in our region. 

Beginnings

The People's Voice was this region's first black-owned weekly newspaper publication ever — circulated in the rural communities and counties surrounding rural Randolph County, Alabama.  Included were the following communities:  Chambers, Clay, Lee, Tallapoosa; and Heard, Meriwether, and Troup Counties (in Georgia).  

The ideas for the publication were created and developed by members of The Clark Memorial Foundation, but conceived in the heart and mind of Mrs. Charlotte A. Clark Frieson, daughter of Wilkie & Hattie Lee Peters Clark.  In the mind of Charlotte Clark-Frieson, what made this project so fitting is that while the Clarks (now deceased) had served as the "mouthpiece" of blacks in our region for so many decades, The People's Voice would continue to function as a mouthpiece in their absence — yet, reach more individuals, while vocalizing the concerns of black and minority communities.         

A secondary objective in Clark-Frieson's mind had to do with her ideas about the Black Economic Empowerment goals so deeply woven into the fabric of the organization's basic tenets outlined in its founding documents.   From the vantage point of Black Economic Empowerment as a fundamental goal of this Foundation, having a black-owned newspaper publication was regarded as a key component of the infrastructure necessary to implant within the minds of black constituents the ideas they needed to embrace — be consistently exposed to — motivational and inspirational content — resources to inspire them, and lead them to the intended goals.  

But not only that.  They would need a platform on which to advertise to an audience largely comprised of the people who would ultimately make up their market. 

The region would need to be thoroughly saturated with the publication by making it available far and wide.   It would need to seep into every little nook, cranny, crook, turn, crevace & corner — of every black neighborhood, every black community, every African American village regardless of how great or small. Therefore, all of the above ideals formed the basis for the launching of the People's Voice.

Having set forth these premises, this group carefully, painstakingly, and meticulously hammered out the details of the publication with great specificity.  Where it would be circulated, who would be involved, how writers/content creators would be recruited, how youth and school-aged youngsters would be involved, who would do this, and who would do that.   The group even got out and traveled through the communities where the newspaper would be distributed.  A meeting was convened at First Baptist Church in Roanoke, to survey the interest of people in neighboring communities, and the excitement about this project was "palpable."  People from ALL COMMUNITIES enthusiastically embraced the idea of the publication.

With all of the above bases covered, at the end of the day, we had our marching orders.

With the help of her good friends, Sarah Almond, David Baker, John Ceroy Bell, Mayor Geneva Bledsoe, Mr. & Mrs. Beotis & Belle Clark, Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson, Carolyn J. Davis, Christopher Daniel, Reverend William A. Dean, Frances Drake, Je'Lynn M. Frieson, Wilkie S. Frieson, Jerome A. Gray, Evergreene, Shirley Grier Hines, Tony D. Malone, Gene A. Thornton, L.C. Thornton, Mary Turner, Brenda Poole, Reverend Jeffery Rosser, Jeanetta Stevens Springer, Betty Woody, Lola Mae Wright, and so many others — we sat down at the table, and when we got up, a new publication was in the making.   Every aspect, down to the smallest detail, was planned.   Nothing was left to the imagination or to chance.   The concepts were in concrete format, and ready to be presented to the Clark Foundation.  An Editor, Mr. Tony Malone, was appointed, and we were "off to the races!" 

Of course it goes without saying, that the above group of individuals comprised the core group who made the commitment to launch the publication, however, there were scores of other individuals involved, throughout many neighboring communities.   In Lagrange, Georgia there was Bruce Griggs, a Lagrange native, who was also familiar with media, and was helpful with advice for making the paper more attractive.   His advice was, "You need more pictures!"  Black folks LOVE pictures."  We found this to be very timely advice.   Shirley Grier Hines drove over to Roanoke from Loanoke, Georgia, to get the People's Voice in her community.   

As time progressed, the number of individuals who wanted to be on board with this publication, GREW!  It was growing SO FAST, until we could barely keep up with all of the inquiries.
 

We set a target publication date, the First Friday in July, 2005. 

BUT, soon after, we were hit with our first disappointment.   The individual who had promised so faithfully to lay the publication out  — completely stood us up.    Therefore, that first week of July, there was NO People's Voice. 

It was "Back To Square One".  

With the First edition of the newspaper late, Charlotte Clark-Frieson had NO CHOICE.  Determined to make this happen, she sprung for the $5,000.00 suite of professional print design software products, and dug in.  She also sought help from several offset printing press owners to drill down to the brass tacks of layout [dimensions, margins, column inches, etc. which are all based on the size broadsheet you're using.]   REFUSING TO SPEAK  TO ANYBODY for days on end, she taught herself all of the crooks and turns of the print design process.  Within two (2) weeks, she had mastered the process well enough to turn out the 1st edition of the publication.  And that is literally how The People's Voice was born.

The People's Voice Comes To Life

After many disappointments, a few serious obstacles, setbacks, and a few roadblocks, the light of day began to peek through a dark and somber season. 

The inaugural edition of this phenomenal black publication was published on July 22, 2005.   It was literally three (3) weeks later than planned.

From that time until February of 2009, we successfully produced and distributed more than 3000 copies per week, of The People's Voice Weekly News, consistently — without fail.  

The People's Voice First Birthday

People everywhere LOVED this publication, and we all worked SO HARD to keep it alive.   It took a tremendous "team" effort to produce this document weekly.   But, with perseveranceand dedication, we did it.   

By the following July, 2006, having succeeded in reaching our first year of publishing "The Voice" (As we often fondly called it), Mrs. Mary Turner suggested that we needed to plan a "1st Birthday Party" for the paper.   Thus, we set about planning the 1st Birthday Celebration for The People's Voice.

If it was going so well, then, why did The People's Voice cease publication?

In The Words Of President Barack Obama:  "It Was A Heavy Lift"

The nearly five (5) years that The People's Voice was in print, were riddled with deep emotions.  

There was a great deal of pride in what we as a group had accomplished.  It was seen as evidence of what is possible when a community of like-minded people strive together for a common cause.  It was a lesson in unity, perseverance, community consciousness, and so many other valued principles that have long been embraced by black communities and neighborhoods. 

However, a shot of reality also set in, that aroused the realization that no matter how "beloved" the publication was; no matter how much gas we burned getting it out and into the various neighborhoods and communities; no matter how many newspaper boxes we acquired; no matter how well we could write and produce the content for it; there were just some truths that had to be faced. 

These truths were all grounded in some of the most deeply rooted "isms" of "existing while black" that probably dated back to the arrival of the first black slaves from Africa.   That is — we as a global community were just not financially independent enough to exist on our own, without some degree of reliance on or assistance from non-African American communities.   In order for a print-news media publication to succeed, it needed a lot of buyers, subscribers, and the most important part of the equation was advertisers.   By and large, one of the major set-backs among African American communities is the scarcity of black-owned businesses who could support the publication.    

Lack Of Understanding Of "The Black Press"

There were even some prominent blacks who merely by reason of "lack of exposure" didn't understand why we would even want a black publication; and what purpose it would serve.  The kind of thinking that results from CENTURIES of indoctrination that everything white was alright, and anything black needed to step back" — the very mindset we were trying to invalidate.  

We KNOW our community wanted to support this publication.  We had people far and wide who were clamoring for it.  Weekly subscribers were in the hundreds.  Mrs. Mary Turner delivered the paper every week to the post office making sure that the publication reached her subscribers, as far out as California, as far north as New York, Michigan, Ohio, and many other states.  It had a strong presence, nationwide.   Yet and still without a huge advertiser component, it simply could not survive.   And there were fewer white-owned businesses wanting to subscribe to a black newspaper publication than there were black ones.   Because of institutionalized racism, few white people even understood the need or the desire for a black publication.   It was just always assumed that we would all be happy to kind-of "amalgamate" in with the good white people of our community.   

It was always known that white folks "sneaked" and read it; but they never wanted anybody else TO KNOW they read it. 

Lack Of Technical Know-How To Produce The Finished Product

Another major barrier to keeping the publication alive, was a serious lack of individuals (even including high school students) with the technical know-how to produce the paper.  Meaning:  There were many individuals who were willing to do the work, but they either had NO technical skills; NO basic computer literacy; no frame of reference from which to begin to learn the skills.   The software used to produce the Newspaper was a very feature-rich, cost-prohibitive software program, and without intense training in the process, the entire job fell on my shoulders.   In addition to technical know-how, page-designers also needed solid English skills   It was surprising to me that we had so few people in our community who had the ability to compose, recognize/identify errors, edit copy, spell-check, punctuate, and correct usage errors.   It was hard to go out and do interviews, collect news, show up at events, AND  LAY-OUT THE WHOLE PAPER AT THE SAME TIME! It was a lonely task that I endured for nearly 5 years.   Until I almost took my last breath.    It was a LONELY weekly cyclical, "never-ending" process that had to go on week-after-week-after-week with a finite schedule by which the paper had to be uploaded to the press in order to get printed on time.    I came to the sad conclusion that if the newspaper survived, I would be dead.

Timing

A final analysis of our cessation of The Voice, has to do with what I would call "timing" OR THE LACK THEREOF.  It is a foregone conclusion that the timing of The People's Voice was awkward — and had a tremendous bearing on our ability to gradually cultivate the acceptance and popularity of the publication over time.   In terms of technological advances, 2005 was a year that saw many print publications treading troubled waters, because of the coming onslaught of the age of the internet.   Many publications found themselves floundering in the midst of the high tech age.   Despite Print Media, the public also demanded an electronic version of the publication.   Making it's debut in 2005, was not timely in terms of getting the publication firmly embedded into the hearts and minds of it's reader/subscriber base.   Had we done this 20 years earlier, there would probably have been time to develop a much greater following of devotees who would have been very reluctant to forfeit their PV favorites.  Favorite columnists, favorite articles, favorite commentaries.   

At Day's End

At day's end, we COULD say, that the publication was an abject failure.  BUT, THAT WOULD NOT BE TRUE.

In the final analysis, we can point to numerous positives that resulted directly through our publishing endeavors.  We routinely tackled critical issues of concern in black communities . . . issues that no other publication would dare touch. Like the deplorable — unhealthy conditions in the county and municipal jail facilities, which largely housed young black men; instances of "over policing" and stories of police misconduct, and inappropriate use of deadly force against black citizens;  The People's Voice also became a necessary pipeline to Alabama's horrendous state prisons; Alabama's death row.   Through it we met people such as Esther Brown, Alabama's strongest and most vocal advocate against The Death Penalty; Death Row inmate, Darrell Grayson, who became our "death row" correspondent.  

Pastor William A. Dean, Religious Editor ensured that our churches and their news were thoroughly covered.   The mere presence of our publication served as an independent voice for Black communities, fostering a sense of unity and providing a platform to advocate for freedom, equality, and civil rights.   Through it the black church became a bigger presence in all of our lives.   To the greatest extent possible, it accurately reported on the experiences and struggles of Black Americans, challenged racism, provided historical context for present-day issues, promoted positive Black culture and achievements, and connected Black communities across the nation through its networks of readers.

The Reverend Bobby Tucker, and his wife, Mary, of Lanett, Alabama were able to publicize widely his need for a Kidney Donor.  We featured Reverend Tucker often, which was not only a plea for a donor, but a testimony to the blessings and the goodness of Almighty God.  Ultimately, Reverend Tucker was successful in his bid for a kidney donor.  The Tuckers were truly grateful, because The People's Voice served as a support system for their pleas for a donor.  Out of an abundance of gratitude when he was finally blessed to receive a kidney, they made sure to let us know, and kept us informed of his progress. 

The People's Voice opened many doors and opportunities for us to become acquainted with various dynamic citizens across the East Alabama/West Georgia region.   It spread like wildfire all over the area.   We couldn't supply enough boxes, and store vendors to fully and completely distribute the papers.  But, we did our best.    The Voice became the thread that kept all of our communities connected.   There was a keen awareness of issues affecting black communities from one neighborhood to another.

At the end of the day, what I would wholly appreciate is for those who come behind us; those black youth and young adults of the future; when they find themselves in this same centuries long "quandry" that all of our forebears on this continent were caught up in —  when they find themselves wondering, "What the hell did they do — what effort did they put forth — to rid themselves of this second-class citizenship status that they found themselves in?" — is that they will be able to look back on this day, and say:  "The record shows that there was a man named Wilkie Clark, who refused to back down.  And that I was his only daughter, Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson.  And this is what he taught and passed on to me.  And through this foundation, I was determined to pass it on to future generations of our people.  Our young — our old  — and any who were open to receive it."

The Links that follow, will take you to the past issues of this weekly publication, which we consistently published from July 22, 2005 until February, 2009.