Dear Black Lens Readers,
As we published the eighth issue of the relaunched Black Lens and celebrate Sandy’s heavenly birthday this month, I wanted to give you an update on the operations of the paper.
First let me say, “Thank You!” for continuing to support the publication of The Black Lens. Sandy started this paper to celebrate, educate, and connect our community. We are working hard to continue making a paper she and each of you will be proud of. I also want to thank a few of the people who have made the publication of the new Black Lens possible: Rob Curley, Natasha Hill, Scott de Rozic, Robert Lloyd, Lindsey Treffry. Additionally, much appreciation goes to the current Board of Directors: Renika Williams, Luc Jasmin, Alethea Dumas, and Michael Bethely. Along with myself as board chair, we are proud to have increased the publication of The Black Lens from a few thousand copies to roughly 60,000 by including it in the Spokesman Review on the first Sunday of each month. We have created a program to develop current and future contributors to the paper, so that we have a pipeline of new and diverse voices telling their personal stories and the stories of our community for years to come. And, we have not forgotten how we started and continue to provide hard copies of the Black Lens for pick up at our community gathering spots.
In the months ahead you will hear more about our plans to support the continued development of The Black Lens and a new nonprofit organization called Comma that we have developed to provide the publication, back office, and administrative support needed by local papers like The Black Lens. While Sandy was a force of nature and managed every aspect of the paper herself, we quickly realized that we needed a new model going forward. Comma is that model. The goal of Comma is to free local newspapers to focus on developing and creating content to meet the needs of their community. By partnering with Comma, The Black Lens can focus on what it does best - engaging the community and elevating underrepresented voices.
The Board and I are excited about the future of The Black Lens. We want you to know that the paper is governed by its own Board of Directors and as always retains fully editorial authority and autonomy over the content that appears in the paper.
We are in the process of planning an open house at our new office in the Schoenberg Center on the Gonzaga University campus. Keep an eye out for the announcement on our website or social media platforms, and please take the opportunity to drop by and say hello.
Rick Williams, Board Chair
The Black Lens News