By Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, AFRO CEO and Publisher Nearly 20 years ago, historian John William Templeton and engineer Frederick E. Jordan Sr. declared August as National Black Business Month to “drive the policy agenda affecting the 2.6 million African American businesses.” Today, according to the latest data, there are more than three million Black- […]
Author Archives: Frances Toni Draper AFRO Publisher
Posted inNEWS
Affirmative action, student loans and transparency in government: a note from the desk of AFRO Publisher Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper
On SCOTUS Affirmative Action Ruling: “The Supreme Court majority’s ruling is a shameful step backwards for equality, education, and the pursuit of prosperity for Black students in particular. This outcome reaffirms the importance of teaching and understanding Black history, rather than ignore it, as the majority justices are keen to do. The decision to reject […]
Posted inNational News
Celebrating Juneteenth
By Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper, AFRO Publisher and CEO CORRECTION: This article has been updated to reflect that June 19, 2023 is the 158th anniversary of Juneteenth. This year we celebrate Juneteenth National Independence Day for the 158th time, and the third time as a national federal holiday. Many Americans are still learning about Juneteenth’s […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Above and beyond: remembering Mrs. Paysour and the many educators who propelled us to greatness
By Frances “Toni” Draper, AFRO Publisher and CEO July 10, 1994 Dear Frances, Having just checked the calendar, I am amazed that it has been almost two months since I requested and received your address from Bernardine. When she happened to mention your name, I explained to her that I have been sharing “My Treasure […]
Posted inBaltimore News
From the AFRO publisher’s desk: financial training can’t start too early
By Frances “Toni” Draper, AFRO Publisher and CEO It was a colorful 3×5 card (more like a booklet) with patriotic symbols and slogans about money. Every day, I put a dime in one of its tiny slots. If I recall correctly, the card held about five dollars worth of dimes that I could take […]
Posted inNational News
A time to learn: the importance of cherishing Black history
By Frances “Toni” Draper, AFRO Publisher and CEO Over 110 years ago, Booker Taliaferro Washington penned this letter to my great grandfather, John H. Murphy Sr. – AFRO founder and publisher– urging him to encourage the schools of Baltimore City to teach Black history. Washington, the first president and chief architect of Tuskegee Normal and […]
Posted inNational News
The movement continues: we still ‘have a dream’
By Frances “Toni” Murphy Draper, AFRO Publisher In 1963, the AFRO meticulously chronicled the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now-famous “I Have A Dream Speech.” As more than 240,000 people of all races and creeds prepared to gather in front of the Lincoln […]
Posted inBaltimore News
No New Year’s Resolution for me – it’s one minute at a time
By Frances Murphy “Toni” Draper, AFRO CEO and Publisher If a doctor gave you 48 hours to live, what would you do? How would you react? Who would you spend your last days, hours, minutes, or seconds with? Friends? Family? Co-workers? Complete strangers? Would you spend time planning your funeral, putting your affairs in order, […]
Posted inBaltimore News
This digital immigrant loves technology
By Frances Murphy “Toni” Draper, AFRO CEO and Publisher Let me say from the outset that I love technology. Some might even call me an early adopter, as I’ve been told by my Gen X children and Gen Z grands that I’m tech-savvy. But, make no mistake about it, I am a digital immigrant (more […]
Posted inNational News
Continuing the legacy of John Henry Murphy Sr.: it may not be easy, but it’s worth it
By Frances “Toni” Murphy Draper, AFRO Publisher and CEO A few months ago, in preparation for its 130th anniversary, the AFRO embarked on an ambitious quest to identify the direct descendants of my great grandfather AFRO founder, John Henry Murphy Sr. We knew that he and Great Grandmother Murphy (nee Martha Elizabeth Howard) had 11 […]
Posted inNational News
We’re still here: the AFRO highlights the importance of Black homeownership, Black realtors and housing policy
By Frances Murphy “Toni” Draper, AFRO Publisher When I was a young child, my mother, my brother, my sister, and I made weekly trips to the “country,” as we called our grandparents’ home. It took nearly an hour to travel from our West Baltimore home, near Elgin Avenue and Poplar Grove Street, to the end […]
Posted inNational News
The AFRO at 130: a word from Publisher Frances “Toni” Draper
The not-so secret of success: “Believe in yourself, in God and the present generation.” “A newspaper succeeds because its management believes in itself, in God and in the present generation. It must always ask itself: whether it has kept faith with the common people; whether it has no other goal except to see that their liberties […]