(dramatic music) (dramatic music continues) (soft dramatic music) >>Welcome to the "Legacy Series: Living a Legacy."

I'm your host, Bremante Bryant.

In this episode, we chronicle the lives of a larger-than-life, but caring and compassionate father and a daughter left in his shadow, the two committed to being the voice of their communities in their own respective ways, but unknowingly on a parallel mission.

Their story begins in the mid 1960s in the heart of the nation's capital during a time when Black people needed a leader, a glimmer of positivity, a voice.

This is the story of Dr. Calvin Rolark and Denise Rolark Barnes.

(soft dramatic music continues) Now, this is about the legacy of Denise Rolark Barnes, but that means it's connected to her dad, Calvin Rolark and "The Washington Informer."

>>Yes.

>>And you've had experiences with Mr. Rolark.

Tell us about him and your interactions with him.

>>First of all, he was not to be messed with.

You know, you could tell very serious, he was a very serious man who was definitely about the mission of making lives better, you know, for Black people, meeting unmet needs.

That was United Black Fund's motto.

And so he also had a sense of compassion.

And when I first met Dr. Rolark, I knew I was, like I was in the presence of greatness.

And but he was very accessible and he really cared about grassroots people.

>>Can you tell us about Calvin Rolark?

>>I was the chief of staff for his wife, Mrs. Rolark, and I learned from the very first day on the job that they were true partners.

He was involved with her and supportive of her and just worked closely with her from his capacity in the city.

>>And what you think of him?

>>Oh, I thought he was a dynamic leader in the city.

He just inspired so many people.

I often remember his slogan, "If it is to be, it is up to me."

>>Do you remember your grandfather?

>>I do, my grandfather always had the best Christmas gifts.

And then, you know, basically sometimes during the holidays, you know, it might be a different financial situation in our household.

You know, we are small business and, you know, we gotta pay, you know, the employees.

So sort of Christmas might come last, and my grandfather would always show up with one of the best Christmas gifts.

You know, I remember one time he got me a little like Corvette that I could drive.

And then, yeah, it was just, you know, great experiences with him.

>>I mean, his personality was very strong.

So I definitely remember, you know, being around him and just seeing him kind of take control, like being a person that was like in control of his situation.

It's crazy that I was only alive for six years for him to have such an impact on me, you know, throughout my years of growing up.

I remember even times just being in DC, my experience would change based off of him being my grandfather because of the effect that he had on so many people in the community.

So that's something I always look forward to, like, I want to be someone that people, when you say their name in a room, everyone has positive things to say about them.

>>My father was born in Texarkana, Texas.

My grandmother and grandfather lived there, and he had a brother, an older brother, and they were, well, my father said his father was wealthy because he dealt in oil.

My grandfather was a mechanic and he used to change the oil in people's cars.

This was my dad's story.

So, you know, they struggled, they really struggled, lived in public housing, blah, blah, blah, you know?

But, you know, both he and my uncle went to Prairie View and then they both went into the military.

And my uncle moved to Washington after that and my father followed him here.

And, you know, my uncle married, my father married.

And he worked for, he worked at the Pentagon for a minute, but he recognized early that he was not the kind of person that could hold a job because he just was too, he was angry.

He was angry about a lot of things.

I mean, he said he had saw Black men being lynched in Texarkana, what they went through in the military, coming here and seeing DC, the kind of city, you know, a large Black population but no power, no leadership, no anything and working in the federal government at the Pentagon and knowing that, you know, he's on one floor and four floors above him are folks that work there, but none were Black.

You know, I used to wonder why he said, "I was the first Black person to work on the third floor of the Pentagon."

I'm like, "Who tells that story?"

But I understand it now, right?

So, you know, when he and my mother, who is still living, Vera Abbott, you know, were very engaged with the U Street Business Association and Black businesses in DC.

He worked for a little while with the "New Observer" newspaper, which was located at 9th and Florida.

And then, eventually, he and my mother divorced and married my stepmother, who kind of always had this idea about starting a newspaper.

And so he went on and started "The Informer."

She helped to support, you know, fund that, the launch of the paper.

>>I remember when I met Dr. Rolark and he talked about "The Informer," he made it very clear that "The Informer" was to be a news outlet about the positive aspects of Black life.

You can always turn on the TV or you read a newspaper and you can always see some mugshot of some Black person, you know, who's gotten in trouble and everything.

Dr. Rolark made it very clear, "The Informer" was not going to focus on that, it was going to be the positive news the news that you would not see about Black folks in "The Washington Post," or at that time, "The Washington Times."

>>He was very Black, Black, I mean, to the heart.

You know, I came home one day and told him that one of my classmates and I were a little upset 'cause my fifth grade teacher called us pickaninnies.

And he came to the school the next day, told her who he was, and from that point on, he went to every class trip that we were on.

He said, "You're gonna know who I am and you're gonna know how to treat these kids."

>>What did you imagine for yourself when you were little, Denise?

>>Probably around the age of seven is when I met my stepmother, a couple years before she and my dad married.

>>And she was a lawyer?

>>And she was a lawyer.

And so I said, "Well, when I grow up, I'm gonna be a lawyer."

All the way up until I went to law school and actually graduated from law school, that was still my intention.

But I had an experience at Howard University School of Law which I really appreciate.

And while I was at Howard, you know, I became the editor of the law school newspaper and that was the first time I was able to carry the role of being an editor, it was the barrister, and finding that I kind of knew what I was doing.

It kept me in law school 'cause I had to get the paper out.

(laughs) And, you know, just like a lot of times in the Black press, people don't always understand, appreciate, or support what you do, which was definitely the case at Howard until Justice Thurgood Marshall came to speak.

And I love telling this story, because we were doing something, you know, with the Moot Courtroom at Howard And he came to deliver an address.

And I was editor of the newspaper and I had to be a part of the program.

And I asked the classmates, you know, folks who would work with me, I said, "I need a reporter.

I need somebody to write this story because we're gonna get the paper out tomorrow and we've gotta do it while it's hot," blah, blah, blah.

And the guy said, "Yeah, Denise, I'll do it."

I said, "Great."

So we had the program.

The next day, I called him and I said, "Do you have the story?"

He said, "Yes," and he came to me and he gave me a transcript.

I said, "What am I supposed to do with this, Leroy?"

He said, "Well, you said you need a reporter.

I'm a court reporter and this is what I do."

I'm like, "No, I need a story."

Then I thought about it, you know, and I said, "You know what?

We've got great photographs.

We're gonna run Justice Marshall's entire speech," because he didn't prepare a speech, you know?

He spoke contemporaneously at the event.

And when we published it, the dean of the law school called me to his office and he said, "Denise, when is the paper coming out?"

I said, "It'll be out this afternoon."

"I need as many copies as you can get me 'cause I'm getting calls from around the world for copies of Thurgood Marshall's speech."

I was like, "Wow."

But then I realized, you know, there's some power in ownership and being in control of the medium, you know, that you have responsibility for.

And that's when I fully appreciated what my father was doing and what "The Informer" was all about.

So after I graduated, I said, "Look I don't wanna go work at the FCC."

I got offered a job there.

I had done an internship there.

I said, "I don't wanna do that.

You know, I'm gonna come work for you for a couple years and then I'll, you know, go off and practice law."

You know, it was in my blood.

>>I was gonna say it was you couldn't run from it.

could you?

>>I couldn't, I couldn't.

It was in my blood.

And he used to say that, "Ink runs through my blood."

And I was like, "Yeah, yeah, you passed it on to me."

>>Did you feel pressure in having to take over the paper?

I know we've talked a little bit, your dad said, you know, "Ink runs in your blood."

Did he pressure you to take over the paper?

Did you feel like you had to do it, or was it something you wanted to do?

How would you sort of describe your ascension as the editor and publisher of the paper?

>>He used to say to me all the time, "When I die," you know, or, "When I'm gone, the newspaper's yours."

And I was like, "Really?

(laughs) I don't know if I want it that badly, you know?"

But that's what he said.

And so I always felt like, and when he died, it was so quick, you know?

He was sick in September and he was gone in October and so I didn't even have time to think about it.

I mean, he died on a Sunday night and the staff was in here Monday morning, we put the paper out on Thursday, a whole tribute to him, and we haven't stopped since.

>>What do you see in Denise in terms of her following in her follow father's footsteps?

Do you see similarities, you see differences?

>>Well, let me first of all, say the difference, the thing about Dr. Rolark, as I said, you knew when you were in his presence that you better come to him correctly.

And some folks could have found that intimidating.

Denise is sweeter than a 10-pound bag of sugar.

You know, once you're in Denise's presence, I mean, you know, she has such an embracing personality.

But she is very much her father's daughter because she's about business, she's about results, she's about action.

>>What's that been like growing up, having your mother, you know, run "The Washington Informer?"

What's that been like for you to see that and even be part of it?

>>I mean, it's very inspirational and also I guess sobering because, inspirational in the fact that, you know, my mother is very well connected in the community.

You know, she'll show up to like anybody's event or, you know, every time she shows up, she has to say a speech.

So, you know, just seeing the way that she's able to interact with people and inspire people and, you know, just maintain her connections is something that I'm inspired by.

But also it means that, you know, she has to work long hours and, you know, there are times where, you know, growing up, we might not see her for two days in a row because she was like, maybe here, you know?

Luckily, we grew up right down the street.

So she would, you know, be just really dedicated to her job.

And I also think that, you know, there are a lot of, I grew up Interested in business, and so I went to Wilson High School and I was in the business academy and I studied, you know, the millionaires and the billionaires, you know, like Bob Johnson or just other famous people.

And I realized that, like, our family's sort of trajectory wasn't matching that, you know?

I was like, "Okay, she works super hard and we have all this influence, but we're not necessarily seeing, I don't necessarily see the same things that I see from other, you know, entrepreneurs that have achieved all the success and fame and fortune and all that."

So I'm saying that to say, you know, my mother's very community-oriented and she's never been very I guess profit-oriented.

So, you know, know she's always willing to give money to a strange person who walks up to the door and says, you know, "Hey, I lost my bag and I need a of couple bucks."

And she'll pull some money out and give it to them.

So saying that, it's also sobering knowing that, you know, a life of service in the community can sometimes be, you know, not as rewarding financially or in material ways, but certainly is rewarding in community and connections.

>>Well, what was it like seeing your mom work and publish "The Informer" while you were growing up?

You know, she's the editor and publisher, but she's also your mother.

>>I mean, it really showed me, like what it means to really and truly be dedicated to something.

Living in the southeast, you know, we would hear gunshots and everything at night, you know, so much violent stuff and things going on.

But my mother, she would be here till everyone's at home.

We're all in the house and she's like, "I'll be home in a couple hours.

I gotta finish the paper."

And I'm just like nervous in the house, like, "I hope my mom will make it home safe.

Do I need to go up there and walk her back home?"

You know, but just seeing how dedicated she was to something that really brings a positive light on the community that we were raised in, it was very motivating for me and it really brought me into my, like path of entrepreneurship as well too.

>>Is there something that you're most proud of in terms of your work with "The Informer"?

>>One, that we've continued publishing.

(laughs) We've come through a lot of storms, you know?

But we continue publishing.

A few years after my dad died, you know, I mean, there was no money, there was no money.

I mean, actually the bank, I would write checks and then run to the bank and say, "Please cash them, please cash them," you know, for my staff.

And that time runs out.

And then there's actually a Asian guy who owned a liquor store on the corner a couple of blocks down.

And my folks would take the checks to him and he would cash them for them and then call me and say, "Denise, don't worry about it, but when can I get the money back?"

I mean, I loved Mr. Yu, you know, he was my angel.

My father wasn't here anymore.

He used to kind of help in those situations.

But so Mr. Yu was like my banker for a while.

Then finally I said, you know, "I'm done.

I'm done.

I can't do this anymore.

I can't pay the printer, I can't pay my staff, you know, electricity going off."

It was a hot mess for a while.

And someone told me that Don King wanted to buy, had bought the Cleveland "Call & Post" and he was interested in another newspaper.

So a friend of mine introduced me to him and I talked to him and he said, "Yeah, I would love to, you know, let's talk.

I'm not gonna spend a a bunch of money, so, you know, give me a price."

And so we went through this process for about three months.

But it was interesting, 'cause the first time we met, we were supposed to go to lunch.

There was a fight over here at RFK.

It was supposed to be at RFK Stadium, and we were supposed to go to lunch and the printer called me and said, "If you can't get me $2,000 in two hours, we are not gonna print you."

So I told Mr. King, I said, "Mr. King, I've got to get my printer some money, so I will meet you at the restaurant later on."

And I don't know if he saw the stress in my face, but he said, "Do you have it?"

He said, "How much do you need?"

I said, "I gotta get 'em $2,000.

And I'm gonna go to the bank, and then after that, I'll come."

There was no money in the bank.

(laughs) >>Why were you going to the bank?

>>So he said, "Do you have it?"

And I said, "Really, I don't."

And he pulled out twenty $100 bills and gave it to me.

And I was afraid to even put the money in my pocketbook, in my pocket.

I held onto it 'cause, you know, he didn't know me, he didn't know me.

I could have taken that money and walked out the door and, you know, bought me some whatever.

I just didn't want him to, I wanted him to know that, "Really, I'm gonna hold onto this."

I called a taxi, went out to Gaithersburg, gave him the $2,000 cash, came back, and we had lunch.

Well, anyway, to make that long story short, what broke that deal for me was when he told me he wanted to change the name of the newspaper.

He didn't like the name "Washington Informer."

And so he said we would have to change it to something else.

I said, "Nah."

I thought to myself, I said, "I don't care if he," you know, I was so desperate I would've sold the paper for 10 cents just to get it off of my back.

But then I said, "No, I don't wanna go out like this.

I don't, you know, I gotta put everything I have into this business and turn it around and then sell it for the right price if I wanna sell it."

And so those conversations ended.

I told him, thank you, I really appreciated what he did, but, you know, the paper wasn't for sale.

And we did come around, we did turn around.

It took us a while, but things did turn around.

So that's one of the things that we've been able to continuously publish, you know, for 58-plus years.

>>The parade is still here!

I just remember Dr. Rolark, it was Rolark and Council Member Rolark and Petey Greene founded the Martin Luther King Birthday Holiday Parade.

It was there before it became a national holiday.

It was one of the first, and then that legacy is continuing too because of Denise.

>>Lafayette, Tell us a little bit about the paper in terms of not so much the past, but kind of the present and where you're trying to move the paper then into the future.

>>So, you know, newspapers are going through a digital transformation.

There's, you know, a bunch of new technology and sort of places that, you know, we can tell stories.

And so what we've done is we created a new millennial-facing brand for "The Washington Informer" called "The Washington Informer Bridge," which is meant to, you know, bridge our generations and bridge opportunities and bridge people across the city.

And so we have an insert in "The Washington Informer" every month, a 12-page insert that is like branded for young people.

You know, it's very aesthetically different than what you would expect in "The Informer."

We've launched our own website, wibridgedc.com, and we create shows for YouTube.

We have a show called "What's Going on in DC," which is a weekly update with The Media Prince, who's a you know, a great media influencer here in DC, and we have Sounds of the DMV where we feature local artists on a weekly basis that, you know, represent music and all types of, you know, art forms here in DC, as well as we've started the Bridge Creative Salon, which is a monthly meetup for young creators, you know college-age and younger, and even even older, you know, if they need opportunities.

But we're trying to create a place where, you know, the community, the creative community in DC can gather and, you know, create momentum and, you know, network.

And, you know, that's a pipeline for us to hire them and connect them with opportunity.

>>Finally, your dad, big shoes, big presents in terms of his legacy and all that he's done here in the nation's capital.

For you, Denise Rolark Barnes, what would you like your legacy to be?

>>You know, I'm at the point now where there's so many things my father used to say that now apply to me, and one that he used to say that we all know, "If I help someone along the way, then my living's not been in vain," that song.

And that is one of the things that, you know, sort of motivates me, to be able to support or to help people, even if it's just through the stories that we write, the vehicle that I have, the voice that I may have, the little bit of money that I may have, whatever I've done, that Denise has been generous in trying to help and support people, like I said, using those tools or those gifts that I have, even, you know, going up to Howard from time to time and talking to students and trying to inspire them to get it done now.

You know, don't wait.

So I have two sons, and I truly believe that, like me, they believe that this was the last place that they would want to come work and engage when they got older.

And they're beginning to find their way to or even passing through "The Washington Informer" and seeing what its value is, not only to the community but it is to them.

And so that's been interesting to watch, and I'm learning from them.

That's what's keeping us going.

>>So the legacy continues.

>>The legacy continues.

>>This concludes our look into the lives of Dr. Calvin Rolark and Denise Rolark Barnes.

We thank the Rolark Barnes family for allowing us to bring their story to you.

Theirs is a commitment to telling the rich, positive stories of the Black community to the Black community.

On behalf of the many readers of "The Washington Informer," past, present, and future, in addition to the many lives impacted by their dedication to serving the community, we salute them.

(soft inspirational music) (soft inspirational music continues) (soft inspirational music continues) (soft inspirational music continues) (soft inspirational music continues) >>This program was produced by WHUT and made possible by contributions from viewers like you.

For more information on this program or any other program, please visit our website at whut.org, thank you.