By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
AFRO CEO Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, AFRO Managing Editor Alexis Taylor and Afro Charities Executive Director Savannah Wood were proud to participate in a panel discussion at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. The women spoke to how they elevate Black voices, preserve their stories and influence the future of media. Deyane Moses, Afro Charities director of programs and partnerships, moderated the discussion.
Draper and Wood are descendants of John H. Murphy Sr., who founded the AFRO in 1892 with $200 his wife, Martha Howard Murphy, provided. The publication is the oldest-running family-owned Black newspaper in the country. The AFRO is part of roughly 225 Black newspapers around the country.
“The AFRO is a vehicle that belongs to the people,” said Draper during the panel discussion. “It may have been founded by a family, but it really belongs to the people we write about, the people we cover, the people we navigate for.”
The panel, titled “Titans of Media: From Newsroom to Media Innovators,” recognized the decades of hard work and intellect the AFRO has contributed to the media landscape and to capturing African-American history as it happens. The panel, held March 22, aligned with two exhibits currently offered at the museum: “TITAN: The Legacy of Reginald F. Lewis,” which offers an extensive look at Lewis’ life, and “iWitness: Media and the Movement,” which was curated with research and assistance from the Afro Charities team.
While the AFRO forges ahead in telling community stories, the Afro Charities team curates and cares for the AFRO Archives. The collection includes more than 3 million photographs, thousands of letters, business records and copies of the paper that at one point had 13 different editions. The stories and content housed in the AFRO Archives detail all aspects of Black life.
Draper encouraged everyone to be storytellers.
“Regardless of your race, regardless of where you’re from, somebody needs to hear your story,” said Draper. “If we don’t tell our story, then our young people won’t have any hope.”
Draper and Taylor stressed that not only is the AFRO a trusted source, but so are the readers of the publication.
Taylor reflected on a recent visit to Cheltenham Youth Detention Center, formerly known as the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children in Cheltenham, Md. As part of a program, leaders of the institution discussed how the institution has changed over time in a session with present-day detainees. To do so, they used letters sent to the AFRO decades ago, detailing experiences of slave-like treatment experienced at the hands of jail staff and leadership.
As early as 1898 the AFRO archives printed content on how people detained in the detention center were treated. In 1925 a man who was incarcerated at Cheltenham in 1912 wrote in to the paper about how he was “beaten nearly to death” because he “sobbed too loud” when he learned of his mother’s death in the third month of his stay.
“These young men knew change would come if they could only get their story printed in this publication,” said Taylor. “You all are still– in 2025– that trusted source, even when other publications won’t take your story,”
Wood said the AFRO Archives represent the resilience and innovation of a company with history that spans nearly 133 years.
“One of the things that’s so remarkable in the archives is to see the ways in which the AFRO has adapted over time and been an innovator within the media space,” she said.
Wood said photos in the archives show the AFRO moving from people using hand lettering in the print shop to using the linotype machine and then computers.
“It just speaks to the way that you always have to be ahead of the curve in order to stay relevant no matter what,” said Wood.
Moses shared the different ways people can view AFRO News content, both current and archived. She pointed people to the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which allows access to the AFRO and other Maryland newspapers with a library card. As of March 2025, the archive material available online includes content from 1893-1988 and from 2003 to present day.
For those looking for hard copies of photographs in the archives, she recommends emailing the team at archives@afro.com or visiting the Afro Charities website and filling out a short online form.
“It’s easy to access the AFRO Archives collection,” she said. “Our physical collection is also accessible through our website. It might be a little empty in certain areas, but it’s being updated on a regular basis by members of our team.”
Terri Freeman, president of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, encouraged attendees to subscribe to the AFRO, saying “right now, more than ever, it is important for us to have sources of information that are reliable.”
For more information about the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, please visit www.lewismuseum.org. For more information about Afro Charities and the AFRO Archives, please visit www.afrocharities.org.