I grew up in Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Recorder had always been there. For school projects, I remember going to the library to sort through the Recorder archives to discover local Black history. It was the best resource to learn about Indianapolis’ Black community in decades past.
During the years I lived out of state, I would still visit the Recorder website to stay up-to-date on the latest news about what was happening in the city. Perhaps I was a little nosy, but I enjoyed keeping tabs on my hometown and the people in it.
I may have taken this newspaper for granted when I was younger, thinking it had always been around and would always be around. As I get older, I realize just how fragile institutions are and how much we should remember to appreciate them.
So, during this season of giving thanks, I take this moment to express my wholehearted appreciation for the Indianapolis Recorder.
You cannot accidentally last for 130 years. That sustainability requires intention, vision and determination. It requires the time and talent of countless people and the ongoing support of the community.
I am grateful for each reader, subscriber, supporter, publisher, owner, newsroom manager, editor, reporter, photographer, graphic designer, intern and staff person who has maintained this institution for more than a century.
When I think about what the Recorder has seen since its founding in 1895, I am in awe.
Just think, this newspaper started in the Jim Crow era, when America’s racial caste system was actively inhibiting Black progress. This same newspaper carried readers through the very first Negro History Week the predecessor to Black History Month, (I know because I looked it up in the archives). During World War II the Recorder covered Black soldiers fighting for freedom abroad and at home.
The Recorder was there for the women’s suffrage movement, the Civil Rights movement, the Black Power movement and so much more.
What would this city be like without the Recorder being there for more than 100 years? How many stories would have been missed? How much of our culture could have been forgotten?
The media landscape is constantly changing. Currently, social media influencers are often more trusted than journalists. There are so many sources of information, and it’s becoming more challenging to know whose information we can trust.
But I am glad the Recorder’s mission to educate, empower and engage continues because an educated community is an empowered community.
I have an Ida B. Wells quote displayed in my office: “The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.”
At significant risk to her own well-being, Wells used her platform to speak out against lynching and social injustice. I keep her quote nearby to remind me of the power of our storytelling. Our words matter and our stories matter.
Stories about local residents, youth, civic leaders, artists, athletes, health care professionals, environmental activists, neighborhood advocates, business owners and educators paint the picture of who this community is. Each story is a piece of the larger puzzle, representing what this community values.
One of my favorite aspects of the Recorder is its dedication to local culture and tradition. The annual announcement of the debutantes, the family reunion photos and the church anniversaries are just a few examples of how the Recorder continues to capture and uplift Black culture. (If you look through the archives, you will find society tea parties and ice cream socials, too.)
As other mainstream outlets have begun to embrace telling diverse stories, there is still something particularly special about telling our own stories from our unique perspective.
Most importantly, I want to thank the community for its continued support. Each time someone shows the Recorder some love, I’m appreciative, and not just because I work here. I am grateful to live in a city that still supports a newspaper like this one, because we must not only tell our own stories, we must read, share and always remember them.
The Recorder continues to remind us to cherish our both our roots and our vision of where we are going, and for that I am thankful.
Camike Jones is the Editor-in-Chief of the Indianapolis Recorder. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Jones has a lifelong commitment to advocacy and telling stories that represent the community.
