''The Charleston Chronicle'' is a weekly newspaper serving the African-American and Black communities in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. The paper is a member of the

National Newspaper Publishers Association The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), formerly the National Negro Publishers Association, is an association of African American newspaper publishers from across the United States. History The NNPA was founded in 1940 when John H ...

(NNPA), a trade group of more than 200 Black-owned media companies in the United States. Its estimated circulation is 6,000 copies. Damion Smalls is the paper's editor and Tolbert Smalls is the publisher. The paper was founded in 1971 by James J. French.

History

James J. French moved from

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

in the 1960s, while in the Navy. After serving in Vietnam, receiving the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. W ...

and a Presidential Citation, he retired from the Navy in 1969, and began publishing ''The Charleston Chronicle'' on August 19, 1971. In 2012, the

South Carolina Senate The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the s ...

honored James J. French's contributions to South Carolina, including the founding of ''The Charleston Chronicle'', by renaming the juncture of U.S. Route 17 and Magnolia Road in Charleston, the "James J. French Intersection". French published the paper weekly for 45 years consecutively. Because of his contributions through the newspaper, James French received South Carolina’s highest civilian award, the

Order of the Palmetto The Order of the Palmetto is the highest civilian honor awarded by the Governor of South Carolina. It is awarded to South Carolinians who demonstrate extraordinary lifetime achievement, service and contributions of national or statewide significance ...

, and the city of Charleston proclaimed October 22 as "Jim French Day". James French died at the age of 94 on July 31st, 2021. The paper was handed over to Tolbert Smalls Jr., James J. French's grandson, and Damion Smalls, Tolbert's brother, in 2016. In 2016, the

South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and ...

recognized Tolbert Smalls Jr. "for his significant contributions in bringing indispensable news to the African-American community in Charleston, Dorchester, and Berkeley counties".

Notable coverage

In 2016, long-time ''Charleston Chronicle'' reporter Barney Blakeney was quoted by

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

for a story about the retirement of long-time Charleston mayor, Joe Riley. Blakeney criticized the retiring mayor, who oversaw a revitalization of the city but with benefits not equally distributed among racial groups. Blakeney said, "Today as he leaves office, the city of Charleston is 70 percent white. Joe Riley totally flipped the racial demographics in Charleston during his 40-year tenure." Malcolm Graham, brother of Cynthia Hurd, who was murdered by Dylann Roof at the Emanuel AME Church, wrote an op-ed in ''The Charleston Chronicle'' in 2015. The op-ep, titled "My Sister Was Killed in the Charleston Church Shooting. Removing the Confederate Flag Isn't Nearly Enough", arguing that "Ultimately, the flag is just a symbol. Its removal must be the beginning of bigger reforms that empower America’s African Americans." ''The Secret Gumbo Grove'', an award-winning children's book written by Eleanora E. Tate, was based on a three-part story she published in ''The Charleston Chronicle''. In 2019, Mayor

Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; ; Sometimes pronounced or , but not by Buttigieg himself. born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of transp ...

wrote an op-ed in newspaper, outlining his

Douglass Plan The 2020 presidential campaign of Pete Buttigieg was an election campaign by the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. It was formally announced on April 14, 2019 in South Bend. Buttigieg was the first openly gay candidate to seek the Democr ...

. Buttigieg was one of two presidential candidates at the time who published campaign ads in that paper.

Awards

In 2017, Nanette French Smalls received a Legacy Award from the Sister Summit Foundation for her role at the paper. Legacy Awards are given to recognize the work of women of color in the Charleston community. Also in 2017, ''The Charleston Chronicle'' received The Corporate Lifetime Achievement Award from the Charleston Branch NAACP.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charleston Chronicle, The 1971 establishments in South Carolina African-American history in Charleston, South Carolina African-American newspapers Mass media in Charleston, South Carolina Newspapers published in South Carolina Newspapers established in 1971