The Emancipator

Jamil Smith, a former essayist at the LA Times, has been named the new editor in chief at The Emancipator, the digital newspaper hosted by the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University.

When businesses or sophisticated public service operations decide upon a name or a trademark to establish their identity, they are usually careful to avoid a choice that will provoke a negative reaction. However, such a careful process does not seem to apply to publication names that will involve Blacks. It certainly does not seem that the name “Emancipator” was thoroughly vetted.