The following is an excerpt from the actual film transcript.
MUSIC
Vernon Jarrett : We didn't exist in the other papers. We were neither born, we didn't get married, we didn't die, we didn't fight in any wars, we never participated in anything of a scientific achievement. We were truly invisible unless we committed a crime. But in the BLACK PRESS, the negro press, we did get married. They showed us our babies being born. They showed us graduating. They showed our PhDs.
Phyl Garland: The black press was never intended to be
objective because it didn't see the -- the white press being
objective. It often took a position. It had an attitude.
This was a press of advocacy. There was news, but the news
had an admitted and a deliberate slant.
MUSIC
Narrator : For over 150 years, African American newspapers
were among the strongest institutions in Black America.
They helped to create and stabilize communities. They spoke
forcefully to the political and economic interests of their
readers while employing thousands. Black newspapers
provided a forum for debate among African Americans and gave
voice to a people who were voiceless. With a pen as their
weapon, they were Soldiers Without Swords.
Complete film transcript
Interview Transcripts
George Barbour
Frank Bolden
Wallace Burney
Libby Clarke
Chester Commodore
Evelyn Cunningham
Phyl Garland
Walter Gordon
Ruth and James Hairston
Charles "Teenie" Harris
Vera Jackson
Robert Lavelle
Alice McGrath
Edna McKenzie
Jane Rhodes
Abie Robinson
Mary Walker
Patrick Washburn
Clinton Wilson