By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

In North Omaha, the legacy of The Omaha Star lives on, steadfast through decades of change and challenge. Since 1938, Nebraska’s only Black-owned newspaper has been a voice for the community, and now, under the leadership of Terri Sanders, it’s poised to become a national cultural landmark.

“Paper’s been going 87 years. We have never missed a publication day. So, we can’t start with me,” Sanders said in a telephone conversation with NNPA Newswire. The mother of former vice-presidential advisor and MSNBC News journalist Symone D. Sanders-Townsend, Sanders said she remains committed to preserving Omaha’s beacon of Black journalism.

Dr Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., NNPA President and CEO, Emphasized, “The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) congratulates Terri Sanders and The Omaha Star for outstanding service and leadership of the Black Press of America. Now there will be a national museum dedicated to the Black Press because of Sanders’ leadership”

The Omaha Star is a member of the NNPA, the trade association representing more than 200 African-American-owned newspapers and media companies across the country. The NNPA is commonly known as the Black Press of America.

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Since its inception, The Omaha Star has seen only five publishers, all Black women—a testament to the resilience and continuity that Sanders proudly upholds. She took the reins almost resistantly but with a sense of duty in 2020, right as the pandemic disrupted daily life, presenting her with an immediate trial by fire. “Our ad dollars were hit hard,” Sanders recalled. She said the performing arts had been a core part of the Star’s advertising base, but theaters went dark during the pandemic. “But we kept publishing every two weeks, as we always had,” she declared.

Despite the challenges, Sanders wasted no time updating the paper’s approach. She amplified its digital presence and reinstated beloved features like Family of the Week, a fixture from founder Mildred Brown’s era. “Imagine a paper that’s 85 years old; original subscribers weren’t around anymore. Young people didn’t know what the Omaha Star was,” Sanders explained. By photographing families on their porches and sharing their stories, she re-engaged the community, making the newspaper a familiar part of daily life again.

Her journey to leading the Star began long before she held the title of publisher. Sanders previously led the Red Plains Black History Museum, where she revived its operations after a two-decade closure. “The building was almost condemned, but we used to say, ‘the building is closed, but the museum is open,’” Sanders recalls. Her determination to preserve Black history eventually brought her to the Omaha Star, where she was asked to step in as interim publisher as a board member of the Mildred D. Brown Memorial Study Center. What began as a temporary role quickly became a full-time commitment as Sanders took charge during a pivotal moment for the paper.

In 2023, determined to ensure the Star’s future, Sanders established the Omaha Star Institute and purchased the newspaper outright. She focuses on transforming the paper’s historic headquarters into a world-class journalism museum serving as a national destination for Black history. “I wrote a grant solely for the Omaha Star. They said, ‘Put your dreams on paper and dream big,’” she recalls, having secured $830,000 from the state to jumpstart renovations on the North Omaha building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sanders’ plans for the museum are ambitious. She envisions a space that honors Black journalists, features historical exhibits, and preserves the personal quarters of founder Mildred Brown, which remain remarkably intact. Next door, Sanders is creating the Mildred Brown Strolling Park, which will include a “walk of fame” to honor Black Omaha legends, including media mogul Cathy Hughes and Father John Markoe, who was instrumental in Omaha’s integration efforts. The park will also include a historical marker dedicated to the Omaha DePorres Club, a civil rights group that Father Markoe led in close partnership with the Omaha Star.

Bringing this project to life is a pair of pioneering contractors: Blair-Freeman, the only two Black women contractors in Nebraska, who specialize in historic buildings. Working with Architectural Offices, they’re preserving the building’s historic character while transforming it into a space that will educate and inspire future generations. “It’s symbolic that we’re the only Black women-led publication in Nebraska, and now we’re working with the state’s only two Black women contractors. It’s come full circle,” Sanders said with pride.

As she steers this massive $3 million project, Sanders also reflects on the strength of the Black women who led the Omaha Star before her. “All of the publishers have been Black females. I’m the fifth,” she shared, emphasizing that this legacy of Black female leadership has always been central to the paper’s mission. She’s determined to keep that tradition alive, working with young people to pass on the art and craft of journalism through training programs at the Omaha Star Institute.

For Sanders, the Omaha Star is more than a newspaper—it’s a community anchor, a storyteller, and a testament to Black resilience. “Everybody says, ‘newspapers are dead.’ Not true, they are not. But you have to understand the value of a newspaper,” she said, pushing back against modern cynicism. With the museum expected to open in 2025, Sanders sees a bright future for the Star and a legacy that will resonate far beyond Omaha. “This will be a national treasure, not just for Omaha,” Sanders exclaimed. “We plan to use our office space to teach journalism to a younger generation. We will not be silent; we will tell our stories. That’s the power of the Omaha Star.”

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