March 16th is Black Press Day, an annual observance of the publication of the first Black-owned newspaper in the United States. The “Freedom’s Journal” in New York City was first published on this day in 1827. John Brown Russwurm and Samuel Eli Cornish started the paper to not only share the news for New York’s Black community, but also campaigned to abolish slavery in the South and raise awareness and fight against racial discrimination in the North. The first Black-owned newspaper in California was the “Mirror of the Times” in San Francisco. The first edition was published on October 31, 1856 and the first editors were Mifflin W. Gibbs and Jonas H. Townsend. The Mirror of the Times newspaper was published until 1858 when the name changed to the Pacific Appeal under new editors and was published weekly until June 1880. Sacramento’s first African American owned newspaper was “The Forum,” first published in 1906. The Sacramento Observer, first published in 1962, continues to serve the ...