WS Chronicle

By Judie Holcomb-Pack

As The Chronicle continues to celebrate its 50 years as Winston-Salem’s award-winning community newspaper, an array of memorabilia from the past 50 years is on display on the second floor of the Forsyth County Public Library downtown on Fifth Street. The items were curated from the collection being stored by the African American Archives located in MUSEWS (www. https://www.musews.org/).

The library display follows a public panel discussion held on Sept. 5, 2024, which marked the 50 years since the publication of the Winston-Salem Chronicle’s inaugural issue. That evening, MUSE Winston-Salem and the Winston-Salem African American Archive (WSAAA) welcomed the community to a pop-up exhibition and a panel discussion of Chronicle alumni, who reflected on a half-century of the city’s African American newspaper and its place in the history of the Black press. The event was held at MUSE Winston-Salem, located at 226 S. Liberty St. The Archive has partnered with MUSE for over 10 years.

Billy Rice, president of the Winston-Salem African American Archives (WSAAA), said that they acquired the artifacts from former publisher and founder Ernie Pitt. “Long-time Chronicle publisher Ernie Pitt has contributed some wonderful material from his career and Chronicle newsroom to our archive over the years,” said Rice. “This was a great occasion to share it with the community.” Rice noted that attendees came early and enjoyed viewing the exhibit featuring highlights from the Chronicle’s coverage, along with select artifacts and imagery from the holdings of the WSAAA.

The panel discussion with Chronicle alumni included Ernie Pitt (Chronicle co-founder and former publisher), Allen Johnson (formerly the managing editor of the Chronicle and current executive editorial page editor at the Greensboro News & Record), Robin Adams Cheeley (former Chronicle reporter), James Parker (former Chronicle staff photographer), and Angela Daniels (former Chronicle senior account sales representative). 

Dr. Mike Wakeford, executive director of community history museum MUSE Winston-Salem, moderated the panel. “The Winston-Salem Chronicle was, and still is, a pioneering Twin City institution. For 50 years its reporting on the Black community has been an indispensable part of the local media landscape,” said Wakeford. “From a historical perspective, its archive allows us to tell the city’s history more fully and truthfully.”

Rice added, “The artifacts include bound copies of the Chronicle from the first paper published until the sale of the paper, along with thousands of photos from the paper’s archives, awards and proclamations the paper had received over the years.”  

The display at the downtown library is more than an exhibit of archives; it’s a walk down Memory Lane for current and former employees and long-time readers of The Chronicle. Notable in the display is the first Apple Macintosh computer that was used to lay out the pages of The Chronicle, along with the first edition of The Chronicle in a black and white tab format. 

Another display case holds the Mayor’s Proclamation in celebration of its 50 years of publication. There are also a few of the many awards that The Chronicle and its staff have received over the years. 

Special sections have always been a staple of The Chronicle and the display cases have examples of special sections in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr., Black History Month, the National (now International) Black Theatre Festival, The Lash/Chronicle JV Tournament, For Seniors Only, and others. 

The displays are located in the area just off the second floor elevator as well as inside the North Carolina Collections room. On display in that area are two large framed collages of photos from the archives with a question: Do you know these people? There is a sheet at the information booth where you can identify the photo number and the people or event in the photo. 

There are also a couple of the bound volumes of a year’s newspaper issues, the way that newspapers were preserved before they became archived in digital form. Not only viewing the news stories of the time, but the ads and prices of items are interesting. That was also the time when alcohol and cigarettes were advertised in newspapers and magazines. How times have changed!

After working with the current Chronicle staff to set up the display, Rice said, “The most exciting part of going through the collection is looking at the photographs in the collection. It is really a treasure of the African American history of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. Preserving this collection is a very important resource for the community as it impacts future generations.”

The display will be up through January 31. Please stop by and look at the display and let us know what memories it brings back to you by posting your reflections on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/@WSChronicle.