In 1998, the Baltimore Press started publishing. A progressive daily newspaper for Baltimore’s African-American community, it was also a key media outlet for the Green movement. The newspaper stopped publishing many years ago, but we are hoping to create a memorial here.
The newspaper had its offices at 336 N. Charles Street in Baltimore. It was sold via subscriptions and at newsstands from Monday through Saturday. It cost 25 cents per issue.
The newspaper was influential and broke stories that the mainstream press ignored. It’s focus on the black community of Baltimore was unwavering and heroic. The Press really mattered at a time when Baltimore was at its lowest point. Crime and corruption were at an all time high in Charm City, but these heros put out a newspaper every day reporting on the carnage.
Long before Black Lives Matter, they were reporting on police violence against black bodies. They were reporting from the front lines of racial injustice.
We are hoping to upload the names of all the hero’s involved in the Baltimore Press. Currently, we have only what was available on the internet and our memories. In time, we hope to upload articles and possibly full editions of the Baltimore Press.
The Top of the Masthead
R. B. Jones
R. B. Jones, formerly of the Afro-American and Baltimore Times, was the managing editor. Mr. Jones passed away on Sunday, November 26, 2017, after a lengthy illness. He was best known for a weekly column entitled the “Real Side” that first appeared in the Afro-American Newspaper and, later, in weeklies throughout the country.
Paris D. Davis
Paris D. Davis, publisher of the Metro Herald newspapers in Washington, was the chief executive officer of the Baltimore Press. Before running the regional publishing company for Black Americans, he was one of the first Black officers to be part of the Army’s Special Forces.
Albert Belle
Albert Belle, the former Baltimore Oriole slugger, wrote a well-received column for the paper. Albert started writing for the Baltimore Press in June 1999. One of his first articles was an ode to public school teachers.
He’s the Cyber Slugger. He’s a free-lance writer.
He’s the competition, for crying out loud!
The Sun gave Albert Belle his big break in journalism, publishing his Christmas poem. But suddenly, he’s turning on us like we’re the Cleveland Indians.
Belle teased “the Baltimore media” in his latest Web site posting. And today, he makes his reporting debut for the Baltimore Press.
Somehow, Belle found time last night to break away from the keyboard, going 2-for-4 with his 15th homer in the Orioles’ 2-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
He was silent afterward, but it’s all starting to make sense now. Belle can’t be sleeping with the enemy if he’s going to be a one-man media conglomerate.
Ken Rosenthal, The Baltimore Sun
Keith? Karl?
One of the original journalists was named Keith (or maybe Karl), but he dropped off the face of the earth. He reported on women being incarcerated without cause. He mostly wrote about the injustices inflicted upon the Black citizens of Baltimore. He was one of the great heroes of Black Lives Matter decades before such a thing existed. Does anyone know what happened to him?