| Type | Weekly newspaper (Thursday) |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Tracey Williams-Dillard |
| Founder(s) | Cecil Newman |
| Editor | Mel Reeves |
| Founded | August 10, 1934 |
| Language | American English |
| Headquarters | 3744 Fourth Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55409 |
| City | Minneapolis |
| Country | United States |
| Circulation | 9,800 (as of 2019)[1] |
| Readership | Twin Cities |
| OCLC number | 43310423 |
| Website | spokesman-recorder |
The Minnesota Spokesman–Recorder is an African-American, English-language newspaper headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and serves readers in the Twin Cities. Founded in 1934 by Cecil Earle Newman (who remained editor until his death in 1976),[2] it is the oldest continuously operated black newspaper and longest-lived black-owned business in Minnesota.[3][4][5] The current CEO of the paper is Newman's granddaughter, Tracey Williams-Dillard.[3][6] The current editor is Mel Reeves.[7][8]
The newspaper's first issue appeared on August 10, 1934, as the St. Paul Reporter.[9] Until 2000, it released weekly alongside The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, also published and edited by Newman (until his death in 1976).[2][10][11] The newspaper office moved from St. Paul to 3744 Fourth Avenue South, Minneapolis, in 1958.[12] Under Newman's leadership, the newspaper played a key role in the civil rights movement in Minnesota.
After Newman's death in 1976, his wife Launa took over operation of the papers. In 2000, she merged them into a single title, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. In 2007, Newman's granddaughter Tracey Williams-Dillard became CEO of the paper.[3]
The late photographer, filmmaker, writer, and composer Gordon Parks was a photo-journalist for the newspaper.[13]
The newspaper building on Fourth Avenue was declared a historic landmark in 2015 for its association with the civil rights movement in Minnesota.[13]
The Minnesota Spokesman–Recorder is a member of the National Newspaper Association, Amalgamated Publishers, Inc., Metropolitan Economic Development Association, Minnesota Minority Media Coalition, and Minnesota Newspaper Association.[14][15]
In 2021, the newspaper's archives from 1934 to 1964 were publicly digitized in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Minnesota Historical Society.[5][16]