Legacy publisher Cheryl Morrow of the San Diego Monitor News and Chris Williams, publisher of the firebrand cannabis newspaper, Candid Chronicle, announce a media partnership.

“Together, we will have an enhanced ability to empower our journalists, publishers, and the communities we cover. Frankly, Chris and I have worked together before, I served as the mentor of the Candid Chronicle team a few years ago, Chris was so determined, and Candid Chronicle was going to happen regardless, so I saw his vision, and he wanted to be a part of whatever he was creating, and that was the magic.” Cheryl shares with SDMNews editor.

Disrupting the underserved industry of black and brown media is the mission. “We would talk on the phone periodically, and we would always come back to this vision, Chris says.”

The goal behind this collaboration is to deliver pride in Black culture, in Black lives, the way we see things, the way we live; reporting on these aspects will be the foundation of the partnership. “We will package it in a fresh and innovative format with shape-shifting effects and energy, Cheryl says.” The real conversations and true engagements that are transforming our environments will be captured in ways that make it real to the community themselves.

Actual news curated through music, cinematic, video, podcasts, and virtual reality.

Cheryl says, “We’re excited, by stepping up our game here in San Diego, we hope to inspire all Black media mavens and future Black journalists, to explore what we’re doing and follow or better blazing their own trails of Black media in their communities as well.”

Black media’s vision for Black futures

When Black business owners connect with other Black leaders and influencers it creates a network of resources and opportunities for everyone to succeed. There are already so many amazing platforms available for the Black community to access these platforms and all that they have to offer.

The Black Business Lists is a directory of over 700 Black- owned businesses, BlackBuyBlack.com a new list that has emerged during the #Blackout movement to address racial and economic injustice in the black community and BuyBlackSD a platform local to San Diego that highlights and uplifts Black entrepreneurs in all fields.

Fighting for representation in the media that is healthy and true to the realities of Black lives has brought us to this moment today, and still the work is not finished. The current political climate in America has created an increase in opportunities for Black businesses to take on new consumers.

The new trend is supporting Black people and even if much of the support is performative on behalf of our non-Black counterparts, Black people must take advantage of this spotlight.

Black businesses can and will thrive without the gaze of White America, but we cannot disregard the influence that White America has had on marginalizing and silencing the voices of Black business owners. We should not expect them to give us a platform to succeed, we must create our own.

Pushing the limits

Going back to the collaboration being launched by Cheryl Moore and Chris Williams, this is a challenge to all Black innovators to go beyond the limits of what we believe is possible. Black media can provide the platform for Black businesses and influencers to gain the exposure and support that their work deserves.

One of the greatest challenges in the Black community is getting Black people to support Black people. Imagine if we established a trust in Black business owners that could also work to restore confidence in Black people as a collective. We must believe that we can create a world that does not make us victims of our circumstances. It is time to push back.

Black media is everything from news outlets, magazine and newspapers to YouTube and social media influencers. Using every platform that we have access to promote and uplift the Black community is our next step to success in our own right.

When we take initiative to go beyond the limits of what we have been told we can and cannot do we open new doors for future generations to break down the barriers in their own paths. The work that we do today to put Black businesses on the map is the work that will create strong, resilient Black economies in our future.

The goal is to replace the capitalist practices that tokenize Black business owners, making business ownership seem like something that only a select few have access to. All Black people have the potential to be successful business owners. The Black media has a responsibility to create new opportunities and spaces for us to recognize the many ways that Black people are doing business and expanding our access in different realms.

Our legacy rests in what we have already accomplished, there is no need to prove ourselves or what we are capable of. Our mission is to push ourselves into our greatest potential and transcend the conversations beyond the Black dollar to Black wealth.