PRST STD U.S.POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES MN PERMIT NO. 6391
To Subscribe Scan Here Inside this Edition... Read about Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Day on page 2.
Counting down to our 90th Anniversary
August 15 - 21, 2024
Vol. 91
No. 3
Phone: 612-827-4021 www.spokesman-recorder.com
The MSR welcomes the community and Black publishers of America to join us as we celebrate our
90TH ANNIVERSARY!
This special issue showcases a collection of historical opinions, articles, and covers honoring our journalistic commitment since 1934. You are invited, young and old, to reflect on our incredible journey and participate in commemorating this remarkable milestone.
Tracey Williams-Dillard leads MSR into the future By Jerry Freeman Senior Editor and Tony Kiene Staff Writer racey Williams-Dillard recalls her first job at her family’s newspaper when she was eight. After school, she ran the old addressograph machine under the supervision of her grandmother, Launa Q. Newman. She credits that experience as the formative encounter with the concept of a work ethic when she first learned the meaning of responsibility and the importance of working to earn a living. “I’ve come a long way since then,” she says, “but those values are still my guiding lights.” Over the next 33 years, Trac-
ey performed a wide range of duties at the paper, including receptionist, billing and advertising, and office manager. However, the path to her current role as president and CEO was not direct; several major detours broadened the range of her experience, beginning with an interest in chemical dependency counseling she acquired as a high school student. That led to an internship with the Institute on Black Chemical Abuse and enrollment at the Minnesota Community and Technical College with a counseling major. When her career goal shifted toward business, Tracey moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where she worked for five years in accounting and human ■ See TWD on page 5
MSR front pages throughout the years 1930s August 10, 1934
1930s June 14, 1935
1940s May 10, 1940
1940s April 26, 1940
1950s April 15, 1950
1950s June 21, 1950
1960s March 4, 1960
1960s June 10 1960
1970s March 2, 1972
1970s February 12, 1976
1980s cover 1 Oct. 6 1983
1980s April 23, 1987
1990s April 30, 1992
1990s Oct 19, 1995
2000s Jan 20, 2000
2000s Sept. 26, 2002
2000s Nov. 5, 2008
Aug 8, 2024