The ''Black Star News'' is an African-American news outlet based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

History

Milton Allimadi Milton Allimadi is a Ugandan-American author, journalist, professor, and a co-founder of '' Black Star News''. He is known for his critique of racist writing by white authors about Africa and Africans, in his 2003 book '' The Hearts of Darkness' ...

and Mana Lumumba Kasongo, both recent graduates of the

Columbia School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sc ...

, launched the ''Black Star'' on October 1, 1997. Both were alumni of the weekly ''

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'', which had recently folded due to financial difficulties.

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

and

Camille Cosby Camille Olivia Cosby ( Hanks; born March 20, 1944) is an American television producer, philanthropist, and the wife of comedian Bill Cosby. The character of Clair Huxtable from ''The Cosby Show'' was based on her. Cosby has avoided public life, b ...

were the initial investors. The ''Black Star'' was one of 400 news organizations to receive a $5,000 grant from

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to mitigate unexpected expenses due to

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Reporting

In addition to local coverage, the ''Black Star News'' has focused on Black Americans' connections to Africa. In 2019 Allimadi was a panelist on the topic of

HBCU Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

s sending students to Africa as part of their coursework. Its coverage of the Black community's disposition toward the candidacy of

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

was quoted in the 2012 book ''Independents Rising''. A 2020 story in the ''

Jackson Advocate Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

'' described the ''Black Star'' as a "top publication", listing it alongside the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'', '' The Hill'', and others.

Reception and influence

Though described as "small", its

investigative reporting Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

of a scandal involving

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

in 1999 was credited in major news organizations including ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' and ''

Brill's Content Steven Brill (born August 22, 1950) is an American lawyer, journalist, and entrepreneur who founded monthly magazine ''The American Lawyer'' and cable channel Court TV. He is the author of the best-selling book, ''Tailspin: The People and Force ...

''. Its reporting has also been picked up in local publications. In 2010, when republishing an editorial by Allimadi, the ''

San Francisco Bay View The ''San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper'' is an online and print newspaper, published in San Francisco, California. It covers events from an African-American perspective, with a focus on Black liberation and coverage of worldwide r ...

'' described the ''Black Star'' as "New York's leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper." The ''Black Star'' has been described as "one of the few news sources that regularly features African voices". Publisher Allimadi was among the signatories of an open letter that was widely circulated in African press in early 2021. Allimadi is quoted on African politics and social issues.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.blackstarnews.com/ African-American newspapers Newspapers published in New York City 1997 establishments in New York City Newspapers established in 1997