In 1990, the Baltimore Press started publishing under the leadership of R. B. JONES. 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 hope 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. Its 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 heroes put out a newspaper every day reporting on the carnage.
Long before Black Lives Matter, they reported on police violence against black bodies. They were reporting from the front lines of racial injustice.
We hope to upload the names of all the heroes involved in the Baltimore Press. 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. After a lengthy illness, Mr. Jones passed away on Sunday, November 26, 2017. A Princeton graduate, he was best known for a weekly column entitled “The Realside” 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 Wallace
One of the original journalists was named Keith Wallace, but he dropped off the face of the earth. He reported on women being incarcerated without cause. He wrote fearlessly about corruption in city hall and about violent police officers.
Keith is fearless in his pursuit of truth. He’s the type of journalist who can cut through the clammer and get the story into the hands of citizens.
R. B. Jones
Keith mostly wrote about the injustices inflicted upon the Black citizens of Baltimore, and he set the tone for reporting about crime and race in Baltimore in the 90s. Decades before Black Lives Matter, he was a lone voice speaking out about poverty, human suffering, and violence against Black America.
He was a civil rights soldier decades before Black Lives Matter was founded. Then he disappeared. People who knew him draw a picture of a young man with a bright future who suffered an unimaginable tragedy while working at the Press. According to several people, he left Baltimore for a position at National Public Radio in Boston (WBUR).
After that, the trail goes cold. One of his friends from his time here, a neighbor who used to live near him in Fells Point at an artist’s cooperation, believes he is now working as a winemaker in California. While that seems unlikely, there are no current reports on his whereabouts.
Article from the Baltimore Press
We have been able to collect a number of articles from the original Baltimore Press, mostly clippings from Mr. Wallace, which were being held by his former neighbor. We hope to retrieve more articles and information as this project gains awareness.