Save the Wilmington Journal Building – Virtual Telethon Set to Reach Fundraising Goal
by Kathy Grear 02/01/2021
January 27, 2021, Wilmington, NC. – Community organizers led by Mrs. Linda Thompson have held meetings in preparation for a Virtual Telethon set to go online February 20, 2021. The Telethon expects to build on the growing effort to Save the Wilmington Journal Building. Funds in excess of $24,000 have already been raised on the Go Fund Me Page that has been established to save The Journal’s Building.
The Telethon promises eight hours of information, entertainment, and memorable history that The Journal has covered in its nearly a century of being the African American media fixture in the Wilmington community. Organizers are inviting friends, former Journal employees, pastors, and political officials to join in the telethon. Rev. Dr. William Barber, head of Repairers of the Breach has lent his support to the effort.
Hundreds of donors already understand that the loss of The Journal would echo across the State of North Carolina, shouting “Black Lives Don’t Matter.” They did not matter in 1973 when the Journal Building was bombed by a white supremacist organization, and they “Won’t Matter Now,” as The Journal faces extinction if it is unable to raise $93,000 to pay off a note held by the North Carolina Dept. of Health & Human Services.
The Journal throughout its storied history has fought for paved streets in the African American community, as well as housing and jobs. The Journal also has fought for and obtained full pardons of innocence for the Wilmington Ten. As the late T.C. Jervay, Sr. put it, “after everybody else had given up, single-handedly, we crusaded for several years for black police officers, appeared alone before City Council, and came away with the officers.
The newspaper, established in 1927, is an outgrowth of R. S. Jervay Printers which was established in 1901. In 1898, Wilmington’s only black-owned daily newspaper, “The Daily Record” was destroyed during the 1898 Wilmington Massacre and Coup D’état, the only government takeover in American history. The Journal is the first and longest running black-owned daily since that bloody insurrection that destroyed Wilmington’s Black businesses and massacred an untold number of Wilmington’s Black citizens.
In 1898, following a white supremacist takeover of our prosperous city, we lost a black daily newspaper that served all southeastern NC. It would be unfortunate to lose our historical black paper after watching white supremacist stage an insurrection on January 6, 2020 meant to disqualify the votes of millions of black Americans.
Be a part of this community Telethon! Find us on Facebook at “Save The Wilmington Journal” to sign up. For information contact Dorian Cromatie at email: [email protected] phone/text 910-512-2846, or send your contribution today to: The Wilmington Journal c/o NBLC, P.O. Box 10686, Wilmington, NC 28404; and make your check or money order out to: National Black Leadership Caucus, for Save The Journal Building, or better yet call 910-762-5502, and use your Debit or Credit card to make your contribution. Contributions can also be made through Cash App ($SaveJournalbuilding).
“Black Lives Matter” at The Wilmington Journal! Make your contribution today and join us on our “Save The Journal Now” Telethon to preserve our voice in the community for you, your children, and grandchildren, who in these challenging times need the Wilmington Journal to Fight for You!
-GoFundMe: Save the Wilmington Journal
