Dear AFRO readers,
I hope this memo finds you well and warmly welcomes you to turn each page filled with carefully curated stories. Each week the AFRO shares a collection of stories in hopes of helping you make well informed decisions for yourself, members of your family and extended loved ones. For nearly 132 years, the AFRO has published weekly, weighing in on the most trying circumstances of our time, while yielding its cover to the unimaginable achievements of Black leaders across the country. It has been an honor to serve as AFRO assistant editor. I look back with gratitude, even as I move on to other endeavors.
It is faith that has brought this crucial entity to the forefront of newsstands and newsrooms each week. It is hope that has led innovators, thought makers and gamechangers to escape the modern clamor of denial to a path of documenting trying truths through storytelling and investigative journalism. I believe it was fate that steered me to this organization, conviction that has kept me and courage that allowed me to act when God revealed his calling for my life.
Over the past year, I have grown exponentially, connected with our global audience and took a chance at developing a natural gift. I am forever thankful for the life lessons instilled in me by AFRO CEO Dr. Frances Draper, Vice President of Marketing and Technology, Kevin Peck, and Digital Solutions Director Dana Peck. I’ve had the help of mentors within the company like Executive Director Lenora Howeze, Editorial Assistant Ama Brown and Finance Officer Bonnie Deanes.
However, none of this would have been possible without Managing Editor Alexis Taylor who saw the potential for greatness in me. Her guidance over the span of the last 12 months has been an essential asset that has helped me not only fulfill but further my goals and aspirations. Under her leadership, the AFRO has and will continue to thrive.
Last but not least, I would like to thank every subscriber, viewer and supporter. The relationship between writer and reader at this publication is a unique and treasured bond that I know cannot be found anywhere else.
As my tenure with the AFRO comes to a close, I will use John Murphy Sr.’s words as I chart a course for my own legacy.
“A newspaper succeeds because its management believes in itself, in God and in the present generation.”
Sincerely,
Ashleigh Fields, AFRO Assistant Editor
