Doreen Wade

Voices In Black
The Black Voice And Its Importance

By Doreen Wade

 

 

 

 

 

 

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     I, Doreen Wade, former publisher of N.E. Informer newsmagazine, lost my spirit and hope with the destruction of Black news media by the political arena and the cancel climate war in America.  This result caused a deficiency in the black community with the loss of an ability to have a voice.  That decision left me with a lingering feeling, a realization, no voice, meant silence, a deafening silence. 

     I had to find a new purpose, so I used my energy for a special project.  That project is known as Unmasking of Negro Election Day, a history enacted into law as a State Holiday in MA, July 22, 2022.  Its unmasking exposed a conspiracy to maintain the first Black voting system as nothing more than a Picnic.  Even after its declaration, a white employee with the City of Salem stated, “It has always been called “The "Black Picnic” and I will continue to call it that.”  Ignore the disrespect in that statement just look at the ignorance of his adaptations of history since the word "Picnic" – is a legacy of the lynching of Black Americans.  I guess that is why Andrew Jackson’s portrait in City Hall is more important than his racial policies.

     Through my efforts as President of Salem United, Inc. I learnt what it truly meant to amplify the Black voice.  It became evident when a City of Salem official told me: “my services would be best served in the POINT community”.  The Point is labeled as an immigrant minority community by the officials of Salem.   Minority is a word I will not use; its meaning: “a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group”.  I am NOT a subordinate.  No one in my family or my community is or will ever be considered less than anyone or anything else.    

     The Black Voice has engaged in Massachusetts, since the 1600’s.  Our voices and contributions are hidden in plain sight, names changed to cover the reality of what our history stands for and a state of division built to destroy those who stand up and use their voice.  This has been verified by Essex County political leadership. 

     My journey has forced me to confront a huge disconnect between those leading media corporations and those fighting to maintain a Black voice.  I quickly learned a year after George Floyd’s death, Inclusion and Diversity for People Of Color will not mean Black people. 

An unlikely media source, Salem News, gave me a column and offered a Black voice to their readership.  I am not proclaiming I am the spokesperson for black people; I will tell the stories through my eyes, the eyes of Salem United, Inc. and those who share their stories but are afraid to tell them aloud.

It may or may not be your experience but my “truth is my truth”.  Whether you agree or not, this opportunity is available, and I will do my best to express the truth as accurately as I can. 

     I introduce myself and say thank you Salem News for understanding what it means to have a more equitable voice and true inclusion and diversity with launching “Voices in Black”. 

During a time when Black America is too loud and persistent to ignore, “Voices in Black” will become the story tellers of today’s truth and tomorrow’s history.

     Join me, for my next column.  And I leave you with Salem United, Inc.’s motto, “We Are America’s Black History And We Will Not Be Hidden!”