Local media, like many other institutions in our country, has failed communities of color in so many ways.

In particular, Charlottesville’s local media ecosystem has misrepresented African American communities in important conversations and failed African American audiences in its coverage.

The events of August 2017, the disproportionate impact of the pandemic, and the killing of Afrian Americans at the hands of police in 2020 have shown us that each of us, as individuals and in our organizations and communities, must commit fully to confronting the poison of racism if we are to make progress, restore trust, and create a better way forward for ourselves and our children.

This effort underpins the inspiring role that the Fourth Estate, the Free Press, must play in representing our people to our government and to one another. It is our shared responsibility to help ourselves and the country move forward. We believe in the power of Black forgiveness and the truth of racial justice. We also believe that the effort to change our systems requires every type of person from every type of background. It’s not a Black thing or a POC thing, it’s an everyone thing.  If you want to be part of what we do, we ask you to share our values and share your commitment to them publicly in your work.