Category Archives: History

On November 7, the 2021 New York City Marathon will start at its usual opening location of Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island and will journey all the way to Central Park. The marathon, celebrating its 50th iteration, is limited this year to 33,000 people due to COVID-19 restrictions. Some of the best runners in the world will be competing to try to break the fastest time, while thousands of athletic New Yorkers will come together after a canceled marathon last year.

The course will cross over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn on relatively flat streets, before entering Queens briefly and crossing the Queensboro Bridge. Runners will then traverse First Avenue before entering the Bronx in the Entertainment Zone. The rest of the course from here takes place in Manhattan, running first through Harlem and then through Central Park.

Although the New York City Marathon has become a crucial part of New Yorks culture, it has only been around since 1970. Before that, though, were a number of marathons of varying fame that inspired this last of the World Marathon Majors. Even before New York had any major marathons, the Boston Marathon began in 1897, inspired by the reintroduction of the marathon at the 1896 Athens Olympics.

It took New York another decade to arrange a marathon of its own, and in 1907, the Yonkers Marathon became the countrys second-oldest marathon race. On Thanksgiving Day, runners lined up in the cold to race the long and winding Westchester trail even though it was a mere 25 miles, thus making it not truly a marathon. Nonetheless, the race was won by Johnny Hayes, an assistant in the sporting goods department at Bloomingdales who trained on the roof of the department store and even became the manager of his department after the win. Hayes would go on to win the Olympic gold and set the world record. The Yonkers Marathon still exists today, and it had over 100 finishers in 2019.

After the 1908 Olympics, runners across the U.S. were eager to put on their own marathons, and New York was one of the leading marathon centers. The first marathon to take place in New York City proper was sponsored by theNew York Evening Journal. Taking place the day after Christmas in 1908, the race began in Rye, Westchester, and followed Boston Post Road to Pelham Bay Park, after which runners made their way down to Columbus Circle.

The winner of that marathon, Matthew Maloney, would later compete in a 1909 marathon at thePolo Grounds, often nicknamed the Manhattan Derby, As many as 25,000 people and many more in Times Square awaiting the news were in the crowds that day. The grand prize was $10,000, or about $300,000 today. That same year (and the year before), there was a marathon inside the second Madison Square Garden. The organizers constructed a track inside measuring a tenth of a mile, or 262 laps around, but this marathon did not achieve anywhere near the acclaim of the Yonkers course.

It was a few years before the next official yearly marathon took place; there were a number of modified marathons, including a 12-mile run from Fordham Road to City Hall in 1912; a 15-mile race in Coney Island in February 1922; and a 16-mile race from Worth Street in modern-day Tribeca to 225th Street. There were a handful of others, such as one in 1926 ending at City Hall and another in 1928 concluding at Luna Park. In 1925, the Port Chester Marathon, which began at Columbus Circle, became a yearly tradition extending until 1941. According to NYC Parks, a runner at the 1933 iteration was hit by a car, but was still able to complete the entire race. With the early success of the Port Chester Marathon came the 1927 Long Beach Marathon, won byHopi Native American runner Quanowahu after an LIRR train temporarily delayed his competition, Albert Michelsen.

All of these marathons, plus one in 1948 in Queens commemorating the 50th anniversary of the citys consolidation, led to the development of the New York City Marathon which itself took inspiration from the Cherry Tree Marathon in the Bronx that for 12 years occurred on George Washingtons birthday. The first New York City Marathon was perhaps not as exciting and sightseeing-friendly as the previous marathons, which traversed the five boroughs; the New York Road Runners organized the first iteration with just 127 competitors and a few dozen spectators, and runners would simply pace themselves running loops along Central Parks Park Drive.

Only one woman competed in the first marathon, and prizes were equally as strange: cheap watches and old baseball trophies. This somewhat anticlimactic first race also seemed underwhelming compared to an earlier supermarathon in Alley Pond Park, which was a whopping 35-mile course. It wasnt until 1976 that the marathon extended across all five boroughs, although popularity for the marathon grew with each year even after marathon organizers printed lettering for the banner on the wrong side in 1971.

The marathon truly picked up speed in 1976 with the success of the all-borough course, which became a yearly tradition and traveled near many parks and neighborhood institutions across New Yorks diverse neighborhoods. That year, Dick Traum became the first person to ever finish a marathon with a prosthetic leg. The sheer number of world records broken at the New York City Marathon gave the course increased praise, and each year seemed to attract more and more world-renowned athletes. Women also achieved greater equity in 1972 after six women protested a quickly revoked rule that they start their race either 10 minutes before or after men.

Just nine years after the first iteration, the marathon drew in over 10,000 runners who completed the race. Alberto Salazars records (or so many thought, since the course was measured to be just 150 meters short) led many to start tuning into the marathon on ABC Sports.

The marathon was pushed back to November in 1986, after some incidents in which runners experienced heat cramps including the victor of the 1984 contest, Orlando Pizzolato. Fred Lebow, the races co-founder, ran the marathon in celebration of his 60th birthday after learning of his brain cancer diagnosis. The coldest marathon took place in 1995 when it was just 40 degrees. The 2001 marathon occurred just two months after the 9/11 attacks.

As runners gear up for this years 50th marathon, especially after the 2020 iteration was canceled, many will run the same streets that the greats of a century ago sprinted down, whether trying to break a world record or gracing the historic streets and breathing in the New York City air.

Next, read about 10 fun things to look out for along the NYC marathon route!

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A Look Into the History of the New York City Marathon - Untapped New York

During his Drink Champs interview, Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, doubled down on his thoughts about Black History Month. While drinking and conversing with N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, the Donda emcee stated his belief that the annual celebration of African American history and achievements should come to an end.

Put this on Black Twitter right now: Ye says Black History Month, he said. Why? I need a Black Future Month, I need Black Possibility Month. Im tired of seeing us getting hosed down. Im tired of talking about slavery and about how we should only be so lucky to vote for a woman we ain't seen since the election, he added, throwing shade at Vice President Kamala Harris.

Wests feelings about controversial comments are not surprising to those who have kept up with the entrepreneurs interviews over the years. In 2020, he shared similar sentiments during his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience.

Most Black people, we dont know [where we come from]. We think we came from slaves, he said at the time. We dont know our bloodline, and were given Black History Month, and we take that like its some gift to us. No, its a programming to us. Racism doesnt end until we get to a point where we stop having to put the word Black in front of it because its like were putting the rim a little bit lower for ourselves.

We shouldnt have to have a special box, a special month, the Chicago native went on. What they show on Black History Month is us getting hosed down, reminding us that we were slaves. What if we had, Remember When I Cheated on You Month? Remember When You First Found the Text Messages? How does that make you feel? It makes you feel depleted and defeated.

Yes Drink Champs interview, which has dominated social media conversations since it dropped, also sees him discussing Verzuz, his ongoing back-and-forth with Drake and his relationships with Big Sean, John Legend, DaBaby and more. Watch the two-hour and a half video above!

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Kanye West thinks Black History Month should be canceled - REVOLT TV

This week in history as reported by The Summit County Journal the week of Nov. 5, 1921:

Farncomb Hill, home of the Toms Baby gold nugget, is again coming into favor with lessees. There are now five or six leases in operation in the mines which, from 1885 to 1905, produced probably $1 million worth of coarse gold. Most of the gold was prepared for shipment to the United States Mint by hand, using a mortar to pulverize the rock adhering to the gold, then washing it in a pan, amalgamating it with mercury and retorting it into ingots that sold for over $17 per ounce in Denver.

There are good chances for finding new gold-bearing veins in unprospected blocks of ground on several of the properties. Of the present leases, there are said to be five that are working in virgin ground.

The lease which County Judge D.W. Fall is backing is reported as looking very favorable, as the vein is showing the characteristic copper ore as an indicator.

Plans have been completed for a grand celebration to be held in Breckenridge next Friday, Nov. 11, for Armistice Day. The American Legions Blue Valley post will be in charge of the celebration, and the program will consist of speakers at noon in front of the firemens hall if the weather permits.

Reverend Mr. Large will be the principal speaker for the occasion. The fire bell will be tolled at noon and a firing squad from the Legions members will fire a salute in honor of the unknown hero who will be buried at that hour in the Arlington Heights Cemetery at Washington.

At the requires of the president of the United States, all citizens are asked to stop from their duties for three minutes at noon and bow their heads in prayer of thanksgiving that we are at peace and for the successful outcome of the great war.

As the result of a special camber of commerce meeting, A.B. Crosswhite wrote to the state highway engineer in Denver that the Leadville has withdrawn its opposition to the proposed Red Cliff-Wheeler cutoff over Shrine Pass. Representatives from Red Cliff convinced local Leadville members that the proposal would be a great advantage to Lake County.

Crosswhite also requested the necessary funds from the state highway commission to complete the portion of the Leadville-Dillon highway that is in Summit County. The Leadville-Dillon highway will make Leadville only 106 miles from Denver, the shortest route now being through South Park and Colorado Springs, a distance of 210 miles.

The road, in general, will be easy to travel and the possibilities of going to Denver and returning by car in one day is an assured fact. The proposed Shrine Pass on the Wheeler cut-off and the 3-mile tunnel on the Midland highway will make Leadville the center of attractions that will be easily accessible to tourists from all parts of the country.

Local news notes from all around Summit County

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This week in history Nov. 5, 1921: Armistice Day celebrations, gold to be mined - Summit Daily News

Nov 6th 2021

IN PREPARATION FOR a third five-year term as the Communist Partys leader, Xi Jinping has been changing the rules of politics, business and society. He has also been pursuing another project that he sees as essential to his continued grip on power: rewriting the history of the party itself. Mr Xi wants to show his country that he is indispensable, a political giant on a par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping who is turning China into a global power by building on their legacy.

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On November 8th about 370 members of the political and military elite will gather in Beijing for an annual four-day meeting of the partys Central Committee. The only advertised topic on their agenda is a resolution on the partys history. It will be the third in the partys 100-year existence. The first, in 1945, and the second, in 1981, were triumphs for Mao and Deng respectively, consolidating their grip on power at crucial junctures. Mr Xis ability to secure one of his own suggests that he has quelled any meaningful opposition to extending his rule at a party congress that is due to be held late in 2022. The resolution will be an extraordinary demonstration of power, says Jude Blanchette of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank in Washington.

The plenum is the second-to-last conclave of the Central Committee before the five-yearly congress, and a crucial one for setting its tone. Next years event will mark a decade of Mr Xis leadership. By loosely established convention, it would be his political farewell. But he is all but certain to secure another term. In the past year, once again, he has been working hard to silence critics and crush potential rivals, purging the security apparatus, promoting political allies and showing the partys muscle by unleashing regulators on big private firms. Before the congress he will probably make his choice (in secret) of replacements for senior officials who are expected to retire at a meeting of the national legislature in March 2023. They include a new prime minister and domestic-security chief.

The resolution on history has been circulated among senior officials, but its contents will not be made public until after the plenum ends on November 11th. Speeches by Mr Xi and the writings of official commentators offer clues. It is expected to celebrate the partys achievements, minimise the horrors unleashed by Mao and suggest that Mao, Deng and Mr Xi have shared the same vision. The reigns of Mao and Deng will be presented as essential preliminary phases before the start of Mr Xis new era. Mao helped the Chinese people stand up after a century of humiliation by foreign powers. Deng set China on a path to get rich after centuries of poverty. Now Mr Xi is helping China to get strong. The resolution will hail Mr Xis judicious leadership in managing social, economic and national-security challenges, and suggest a continuing need for his wisdom.

Mr Xis predecessors used history differently in their resolutions. In 1945 Mao justified a purge of his enemies, blaming them for past mistakes so he could position himself as the unquestioned leader. In 1981 Dengs resolution said that Mao had made serious mistakes and that the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76 had been a grave blunder, causing chaos. By criticising Mao, albeit cautiously, Deng rebuilt public support for the party and freed his hand to pursue free-market reforms.

But history presents a different challenge to Mr Xi. On the partys left wing are neo-Maoists who have long agitated for a restoration of their hero, and have criticised Deng, whom they blame for such problems as corruption and inequality. On the right are those who worry (very privately) that China is sliding back towards a Mao-style dictatorship and losing its commitment to Dengs reforms.

Mr Xi has declared that neither Mao nor Deng should be used to negate the other. He does not want a history filled with mistakes and contradictions, nor one that raises questions about one-man rule. He believes the collapse of the Soviet Union was hastened by a failure to protect the legacies of Lenin and Stalin. He has campaigned vigorously against historical nihilismessentially anything that casts the partys past in an unfavourable light. Tomes that excavate Maos worst mistakes, once tolerated, are now strongly discouraged.

A new official history of the party, published in February, gives a glimpse of Mr Xis preferred approach. It touches only briefly on the Cultural Revolution. It does not mention the famine caused by the Great Leap Forward that killed tens of millions, nor any casualties in the crushing of the pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989. The section on Mr Xis tenure takes up more than a quarter of the book. Mr Xis predecessors, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, are given much less space.

The new resolution will suggest that China needs Mr Xi in order to fulfil long-term goals such as turning the country into a modern socialist nation by 2035 and a prosperous and strong one by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the Peoples Republic. It will probably mention his common prosperity campaign to reduce inequality and his dual circulation strategy to make the economy more resilient to external shocks like the pandemic and trade disputes with America. It is expected to describe a grim international environment, though America and its allies may not be named. And it will probably repeat the partys ritual language about Taiwan, saying it must be reunited with the mainland. Chinas failure to retake Taiwan has been a sore point for every leader since Mao. The resolution is sure to mention Mr Xis call for the great revival of the Chinese nation by 2049, which suggests that he aims to secure reunification before then. A specific promise is unlikely.

In anticipation of the plenum, the propaganda apparatus has begun cranking out fawning articles about Mr Xis wisdom, hoping, it would seem, to foster enthusiasm for the idea that he will carry on ruling. On November 1st Peoples Daily, the partys mouthpiece, began publishing a series of editorials under the title Crucial decisions in the new era. They hail the partys achievements since it was founded in 1921, and praise Mr Xis contributions to them. From Mr Xis perspective, the resolution not only has to look back over the past, but it has to look to the future, says Joseph Fewsmith of Boston University. And according to Mr Fewsmith, Mr Xi thinks, The future, cest moi.

This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "Control the present, control the past"

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Xi Jinping is rewriting history to justify his rule for years to come - The Economist

The house has been used as an antique shop, a cancer rehabilitation center, and a drug rehabilitation facility

MACON, Ga. This report has been contributed by Samantha Homcy, a student from Mercer Universitys Center for Collaborative Journalism.

If you drive around downtown Macon, it's a sure bet that you've gone up (or down) Georgia Avenue. You've probably passed by a large mansion with a rounded porch too, but do you know what it is?

Burke Mansion is now the home of a bed-and-breakfast, but the historic Macon hotel has served a variety of purposes over the years.

The house, located on Georgia Avenue, was built in 1887 by T.C. Burke, an Irish immigrant and construction worker who found fortune in a paint and hardware store.

Burke started a family raised his two daughters, Mae and Martina, in the house.

The house was used as an antique shop, a cancer rehabilitation center, and a drug rehabilitation facility before the bed-and-breakfast opened.

This place has been kind of known for a loving, nurturing place," Jessica Slaughter, the innkeeper of Burke Mansion. It kind of fits into a bed and breakfast, to take care of people.

The house is part of the National Register for Historic Places and features a rounded front porch designed by Neel Reid, individually designed suites, and antique collections.

I love how peaceful it is, Slaughter said. When youre here, you feel like youre just at a homey-feeling place.

The house has been renovated four times and sees a steady stream of guests, many of whom return after their first visit.

As many times as you come here, when you look around you still see something new every day and it just wows you, Slaughter said. Theres always something new to find.

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Just Curious: What is the history of Burke Mansion? - 13WMAZ.com

On this date in Texas Rangers history, Prince Fielder earned recognition as the American Leagues Comeback Player of the Year.

On Nov. 5, 2015, the Rangers won the American League West and fell in a dramatic five-game series to the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Division Series.

Fielder was a big part of that run to the playoffs. Fielder came to the Rangers in the 2013 offseason as part of a trade for Ian Kinsler, but was unable to make an impact in 2014 due to injuries. He played in just 42 games, hitting .247 with three home runs and 16 RBI. This came after Fielder played in at least 157 games per season from 2006 to 2013.

But, in 2015, Fielder got healthy and he was back to his previous form. He played in 158 games for the Rangers, hitting .305 (the only time in his career he hit .300 or better in a season) with 23 home runs and 98 RBI. Along the way, Fielder earned his sixth and final All-Star appearance.

Fielder returned for the 2016 season and played 89 games, hitting .212 with eight home runs and 44 RBI. On Aug. 10 of that year, Fielder announced that he was retiring after he underwent his second neck surgery in three years.

In an odd bit of synergy, Prince Fielder finished his career with 319 home runs, the same amount that his father, Cecil, hit in his MLB career.

New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey was the National League Comeback Player of the Year.

Are we missing a moment from this day in Texas Rangers history? Were happy to add it. Hit us up on Twitter @PostinsPostcard and let us know what to add.

Make sure to like SI's 'Inside The Rangers' on Facebook

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Rangers History Today: Prince Fielder Wins AL Comeback Player of the Year - Sports Illustrated

BATON ROUGE Fans can now own a piece of Tiger Stadium history as the Tiger Athletic Foundation is auctioning off pieces of the goal posts that once stood in Death Valley.

The Tiger Stadium Win Bar Auction is currently underway and runs through Nov. 29. Those participating in this auction will be bidding on an 18-inch piece of goal posts that stood in Tiger Stadium from 1993 to 2016.

The Win Bar is one of the most recognizable traditions in college football and represents a long standing commitment of excellence and doing all that it takes to secure victory. LSU players tap theWin Bar as they leave the Jeff Boss Locker Room on their way to the field Tiger Stadium each game.

To bid on this unique one-of-kind piece of Tiger Stadium memorabilia, simply download the LiveSource app on the Apple or Google Play stores, or click here to visit the online auction. For more information concerning LiveSource Auctions, visit http://www.LiveSourceApp.com.

TAFs online auctions will serve as another fundraising opportunity for the organization and will directly support LSU student-athletes.

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Own a Piece of Tiger Stadium History with TAF Auction - LSUSports.net

LACONIA Join the Laconia Public Library for Life Downstairs: British Servant Culture, in Fact, Fiction, and Film on Tuesday, Nov. 9 from 6:30 to7:45 p.m. While servant narratives have been popular for centuries, there seems to be a resurging interest in these stories in recent decades. Many contemporary British and North American writers, filmmakers, and television executives have turned to master/servant relationships as their subject matter. Join Ann McClellan, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs at Plymouth State University, as she explores the history behind the rise and fall of British servants and why Americans are so fascinated by their stories on page and screen.

Attendees will be entered to win a limited edition Downton Abbey Collector's Set, complete with all six seasons of the hit series and a working Downton Abbey pull-bell. Sign-up by emailing info@laconialibrary.org, or calling 603-524-4775 ext. 12 as space is limited. This program is sponsored by the NH Humanities and the Laconia Public Library.

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Film about history behind the rise and fall of British servants on Nov. 9 - The Laconia Daily Sun

SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) A sold-out venue. A national television audience. March 1983 the late Scranton Mayor and showman James Barrett McNulty orchestrated the World Boxing Council Heavyweight Championship Bout at the Waters Armory.

It is March of 1983. Scranton Mayor James Barrett McNulty has arranged for a nationally televised boxing match from Scrantons Waters Armory. The participants of the Easton Assasin Larry Holmes, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and Lucien Rodriguez, the European champion. Here is a story from our archives of a preview of that upcoming boxing match.

Round 1 could have been fought this morning at lake Scranton, except the hands of time just werent working fast enough. Both Larry Holmes and Lucien Rodriguez were taking on the lake just minutes apart. The Rodriguez group had just begun its trek around the rain-soaked pathway when the Holmes entourage rounded the far corner. Their paths never crossed and Holmes said it was a good thing, reported Sue Miller of Newscene 22.

How you doing larry, asks Joe Butash. Alright. I want everybody to watch us. Right here Scranton lives when I knock out Lucien Rodriguez, said Holmes He just went the other way, says Miller, He knows better, remarks Holmes.

On this day ten years ago (March 21, 1973), Larry Holmes threw his first professional punch for sixty-three dollars at Scranton CYC. And today to mark the anniversary, the mayor paid tribute at city hall, said Miller.

It epitomizes the true definition of a champion. A hero. A savior, a leader, a friend. Since he has not only fought in Scranton but continues to fight for Scranton and all of the people of northeastern Pennsylvania, said Mayor Barrett McNulty.

I turned down a lot of money to come here, I want you all to know that (laughter). But over my five years as reigning as heavyweight champion of the world, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, I made a lot of money. And I always said as long as I have my ability and my health, which I feel that I am blessed by God that Im able to come back and say these things, I will continue to make money, said Holmes.

Another group of champions were also included in the homecoming. The University of Scranton Royals, who just captured the Division III National Basketball title (Scranton over Wittenberg 64-63 at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan) were also on hand. And when champs meet champs, there is always excitement, reports Miller.

Larry Holmes, the Easton Assasin, won a unanimous decision over Lucien Rodriguez. According to the boxing hall of fame website, the crowd was sixty-seven hundred at the old Scranton Armory. The Saturday afternoon fight was carried live on NBC sports!

Holmess all-time record is 69 wins and 6 losses. Larry was inducted into the international boxing hall of fame in 2008. All told, the Easton Assasin fought ten times in the electric city, nine times at the beginning of his illustrious career, and the nationally televised fight of march 27, 1983.

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Eyewitness to History: Scranton nationally televised fight - PAHomePage.com

Kay Smith-Yountgrew up in 1930s Mississippipicking cotton with her family and listening to her grandmother's stories about slavery. At a young age, she saw men in white robes and pointed hats ride to her house looking for her uncle.

Church was one of the few places she felt safe.

Her first memories of reading the newspaper are not from the Northeast Mississippi Daily, the region's largest paper. Although she remembers there were rarelymentions of Black people, unless they committed a crime.

Instead, her memories came from second-hand and days-old copies of the Chicago Defender, a fabled Black newspaper taken on trains and distributed in the south. This was a newspaper that campaigned against Jim Crow-era violence and segregation in the military and urged Black people to move north.

It was how Smith-Yount learned her life could be more than picking cotton.

She moved to Cincinnati when she was 17. And, for decades now, the Cincinnati Herald has been her newspaper. Founded in 1955, it has been that newspaper for a large part of a community other newspapers didn't care about, her go-to for everything from hard news to church news, from births to deaths and all that her community felt and said and did in between.

The Cincinnati Herald operates in a two-family home on Reading Road. On the walls, bright artwork captures people reading the newspaper. The office has the feel of a place thats been abandoned, and it has been during the pandemic as its four full-time staffers and 10 part-time staffers have worked from home.

For years, the paper struggled financiallyand publisher Walter White explains subscriptions slipped during the pandemic.

But this paper, like most historically Black newspapers, has never been just about the news.White, who is sitting in the newspaper's empty office in North Avondale, says people come to the Herald for just about everything.

Youd be surprised how many people call about work, he says. People ask questions like were the Urban League. Or social services.

He pointsto a full-page color advertisement about the COVID-19 vaccine, of which much of the country remains unconvinced. White decided to publish this ad for free.

It cost the Herald $4,500.

This is important, he says.

The Herald makes no apology for being a partisan newspaper. Unlike many other publications, it has an objective and that objective is to advocate for Black people. Staff members say the goal is to show Black people are not a monolith,but also to provide a community space.

That was always the idea.

Gerald Porter was running the African-American Dayton Tribune in 1955 when he realized he could fill thelocal void the only Black newspaper in Cincinnati had ceased publication in 1920 and created the Cincinnati Herald.

Sadly, in 1963, Porter died in a car crash. He was taken to a hospital on Cincinnati's east side, where they refused to treat him.

"The nurse's exact words were, 'We don't accommodate Negro bed patients,'" his late wife, Marjorie Parham, told The Enquirer in 2005.

By the time they got him to a hospital that would accommodate him,it was too late. And Parham inherited the Herald at a time when racial tensions in the country were high.

Avondale saw some of the worst unrest.

But Parham, along withson Bill Spillers, made sure the paper came out. She wrote and editedstories, recruited staff, swept floors and found advertisers.

In 1994, someone threw a firebomb through the rear windows of The Herald's offices. No one was injured, butthe newsroom was destroyed. The paper still came out on time that week.

In 1996, Parham decided she had done all she could, but she still believed in the paper. So sheapproached Eric and Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and asked them if they were interested in buying it. (Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney was just reelected to Cincinnati city counciland Eric Kearneyis a former state senator and is now the president of the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce.)

They were.

Soon enough, the pair understood all too well the commitment they had made.

In 2001, Lemon Kearneywalked the streets with the rest of the city after a police officer shot and killed Timothy Thomas in Over-the-Rhine. A police horse almost trampled her while she was covering civil unrest that would make national news.

"We walked corner to corner, neighborhood to neighborhood asking people how they felt,"said Lemon Kearney. "People often forget if you're going to talk about what's good for a community, you have to get out there and ask people what they need, what they want."

Newspapers and the world they once dominated have changed radically in the last few decades. News is a 24-hour cycle business. Outlets that deliver it are more numerous, more diverse, more available and sometimes tailored for a niche audience.

It's reasonable to ask if Cincinnatistill needsa Black newspaper.

Last summer, protests eruptedacross the country after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck and restricting his ability to breathefor nearly nine minutes. In Cincinnati, thousands marched, occupying city blocks andat timesdisruptingcouncil meetings.

Lemon Kearney said the Herald worked to explain why people were protesting. And she said the newspaper stuckwith the story long after the protests ended.

"It's not writing for or about the community," Lemon Kearney said. "It's writing with them and making sure everyone is heard.

But that might be harder than it sounds. Dan Yount, a longtime Herald editor,says he is disheartened by the answer he receives whenhe asks his interns which paper they read.

They often respond they read no paper at all. (The storiedChicago Defender no longer publishes a print edition.)

Morgan Owens, who is 35, says her family has read the Herald her entire life and still thinks it occupies a unique spot in theCincinnati media world.

"We've been left out of the conversation for so long," Owens said. "It's also a great gateway and a great bridge for people of other communities to learn about Black communities."

Smith-Yount, that girl from Mississippi who isnow 90 and married to the editor, still finds plenty to keep her reading. She says sheenjoys the positive news, the community calendar and the church news.

Walter White can't help but be proud of the loyalty his paper has inspired.

And about the range of its impact that, even now, has expanded its mission.

Take the annual Daddy-Daughter Dance, a community event the Herald has been organizing since 2006.Something that started small with a few families connected to the Herald has grown into an event big enoughfor the Duke Energy Convention Center.

It is not just a celebration for Black families anymore, but one for the entirety of the city.

Like the Herald itself.

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A reliable advocate: The history of the Cincinnati Herald and why it still matters - The Cincinnati Enquirer