By Dr. Frances “Toni” Murphy DraperAFRO CEO and Writer
As we shut the pages on 2025, we achieve this clear-eyed in regards to the second we live in and grounded within the duty we supply. Journalism, particularly Black journalism, just isn’t merely about recounting occasions. It’s about reminiscence, witness and insisting that what occurs in our communities is neither disposable nor distortable.
This yr, we wrote about what was taking place to us and round us, regionally and nationally, urgently and thoughtfully.
We wrote about symbols and tales—cash and monuments, museums and reminiscence—and the quiet however consequential selections about whose historical past is preserved and whose is questioned. We defended Black establishments, together with the African American Museum of Historical past and Tradition, as a result of historical past just isn’t a luxurious merchandise. It’s infrastructure.
We wrote about violence in locations that ought to be sacred and secure: shootings on faculty campuses, in colleges and in sanctuaries. We wrote to not sensationalize ache, however to refuse its normalization. We insisted that security, dignity and peace aren’t unreasonable expectations.
We wrote about youngsters, not solely their safety however their preparation—about instructing monetary literacy early, and about Black well being, as a result of freedom and wellness are inseparable. We examined disparities in maternal well being, persistent illness, psychological well being, entry to care and environmental situations, understanding that well being is a coverage concern, an financial concern and a group concern.
We wrote about elders, honoring them and listening to them, and about Black cemeteries and the combat for recognition and dignity in demise, as a result of respect doesn’t expire when life ends.
We wrote about Black companies, lifting them up and naming financial realities plainly. Possession nonetheless issues. Circulation of {dollars} nonetheless issues. Group economics stay group survival.
We wrote about tradition and conduct—about pleasure and accountability—to not police Blackness, however to affirm that how we present up nonetheless carries which means, particularly for the subsequent technology watching intently.
And sure, we wrote about sports activities, as a result of group can be constructed via shared pleasure. We mirrored on the longevity of LeBron James’ profession, celebrated progress in sports activities the place illustration has lagged, together with a milestone NHL Draft with 10 Black gamers chosen. We marked defining cultural moments—from Beyoncé’s Album of the 12 months win on the Grammy Awards to Kendrick Lamar’s Tremendous Bowl halftime efficiency—affirming that Black creativity continues to set the usual.
We wrote near house, as a result of Baltimore and Washington aren’t footnotes to the nationwide story; they’re typically the place it turns into actual first. We fastidiously lined Baltimore Metropolis and Washington, D.C. authorities, together with the management of Brandon M. Scott and Muriel Bowser, in addition to the work of Gov. Wes Moore, the one sitting Black governor within the nation.
We reported actually on public security whereas acknowledging progress. Baltimore’s crime charges moved in the best course this yr, reminding us that accountability, group effort and good coverage matter.
We lined lots of of social, civic, faith-based and group occasions and organizations, as a result of on a regular basis folks doing trustworthy work not often make headlines, but they’re the spine of our cities. And we didn’t solely report on our group—we gathered with it.
We paraded at our annual Excessive Tea, acknowledged veterans and Division of Public Works workers, convened Who’s Who in Black Baltimore, hosted our Juneteenth Breakfast, Salute to Veterans and Black Enterprise Issues Expo occasions and marked moments that strengthened group ties.
We additionally celebrated legacy in distinctive methods, producing a 24-page commemorative book honoring the a hundred and fiftieth working of the Preakness Stakes and the inaugural Preakness Competition, capturing not solely a historic sporting second, however Baltimore’s place inside it.
2025 was a consequential yr for journalism and the free press, notably for the Black Press, as independence, reality and belief have been examined in new and acquainted methods.
We wrote about voting rights below renewed assault, in regards to the rollback of range, fairness and inclusion, and about how a three-letter acronym was intentionally become a four-letter phrase. We wrote in regards to the harm achieved when management traffics in cruelty, particularly towards ladies, and the way language from the highest shapes tradition beneath.
We encountered a second that crystallized a lot of this: a possible advertiser steered that our title—standing for Black reality and self-definition for greater than a century—would possibly want to vary to earn their assist. We declined. Survival with out integrity just isn’t sustainability.
We additionally paused to mark loss, reflecting on elders like Viola Fletcher, Assata Shakur and H. Rap Brown. We additionally took time to honor the passing of cultural icons corresponding to Angie Stone and Sly Stone.
All year long, we shared glimpses from our intensive archives, work persevering with via AFRO Charities, which is preserving and increasing entry to irreplaceable Black historical past. Preservation is resistance.
We additionally continued to construct ahead technologically. We expanded our digital footprint throughout Fb, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Nextdoor, and Apple Information. We prolonged video protection, deepened audio storytelling via podcasts corresponding to The Hen Boxx, and for a lot of tales on AFRO.com, readers can now pay attention in addition to learn.
As we embrace accountable makes use of of synthetic intelligence, we’re enhancing storytelling, accessibility, archiving, viewers engagement and effectivity—with out compromising accuracy or belief. Expertise just isn’t changing journalism on the AFRO, it’s strengthening it.
That work didn’t go unnoticed. This yr, our journalists, photographers, editors, designers and digital groups earned a number of native and nationwide journalism awards, and the AFRO was named among the many nation’s high Black information shops on Feedspot’s curated lists—affirmation of the excellence our workers brings to this work on daily basis.
Above all, we’re grateful to God. We have now come this far by religion, sustained by goal and perseverance.
None of this occurs with out folks.
We thank our writers, columnists, photographers, editors, designers, social media, video, digital, gross sales, enterprise and administrative groups; our board members and shareholders; our advertisers and sponsors; and our companions, together with the Nationwide Newspaper Publishers Affiliation and Phrase In Black.
And to our readers and subscribers, thanks. You aren’t passive customers. You might be companions.
2025 marked our 133rd yr of publication, and our 133 for 133 marketing campaign displays that milestone—133 years of uninterrupted Black-owned journalism—and what it can take to maintain this work for generations to come back. It’s not about nostalgia. It’s about necessity.
If this yr affirmed something, it’s that journalism nonetheless issues. Native journalism issues. Black journalism issues.
Nonetheless right here. Nonetheless writing. Nonetheless standing.
