Editorial

Thomas H. Watkins built and sustained N.Y.’s Black press

Published

January 23, 2026

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA
https://blackpressusa.com/

Thomas H. Watkins, who died in December at 88, founded the New York Daily Challenge and made it the first Black-owned daily newspaper in the
city’s history. -NNPA PHOTO

Thomas H. Watkins built a daily Black newspaper in New York City when few believed it could survive and even fewer wanted it to succeed.

Watkins, who died in December at 88, founded the New York Daily Challenge and made it the first Black-owned daily newspaper in the city’s history. From its Bedford-Stuyvesant headquarters, the paper delivered sustained, unapologetic coverage of Black political power, economic interests and community life — produced and controlled by Black ownership.

Stacy Brown is NNPA Newswire’s senior national correspondent.

In this article:Stacy M. Brown, Thomas H. Watkins built and sustained N.Y.’s Black press

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