Bay State Banner

It’s been a long and remarkable journey for the Banner, since publisher Melvin Miller first opened the Banner’s doors, stepping into the shoes of William Monroe Trotter and other black publishers who blazed the trail in the 19th and 20th centuries.

When the Bay State Banner’s first edition hit the streets in September 1965, the motto atop the front page reflected the values of the tight-knit Roxbury neighborhood where publisher Melvin B. Miller grew up. “Unity, Progress” and “Let’s Do It Ourselves” were not just self-help catch-phrases but statements of purpose drawing on a long history of Boston’s African-American community.

The year 2023 marks 57 years of publication for the Bay State Banner — more than a half century during which the newspaper's reporters, photographers and contributors recorded the events and ideas that have made history in Boston and beyond.

After 57 years as publisher of the Bay State Banner, it is time for me to step down.

My partner Andre Stark and I have purchased the Banner to preserve its legacy as a voice for people of color and expand its operations to better serve its readers in the 21st century.

A younger but seasoned generation of journalists is leading the Bay State Banner into its second half century in the wake of its sale Feb. 28 to a new Black ownership team.

Kay Bourne, who served as the Banner’s arts editor through the paper’s first four decades, passed away Sunday, Jan. 31. She was 82.