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Many people who know me know that at
some point, in discussing the financial future of movement
organizations and institutions I ask: “How
do we expect to run this project, on magic?”
While
I know that some people tire of hearing that, in this age of the Web,
I actually think that for many people the answer is “yes.” In
other words, there is a semi-magical aspect to the Web that leads
many of us to deceive ourselves about what it takes to make something
happen in cyberspace. Think about it for a second. All YOU have to do
is sit down at your computer, get onto the web and type
www.blackcommentator.com
and presto! - you get one of the best of the online magazines!!
Doesn’t
it feel like magic?
It’s
not.
Unfortunately,
and I have seen this with other online magazines (such as “The
Black World Today”), despite the professionalism of the project and
the quality of the result, online magazines are very difficult to
sustain. If someone is going to treat this as a serious piece of
work, devoting themselves as the publishers of BlackCommentator.com
do every week, they simply cannot do that on a shoe-string or as
volunteers. That might work for a periodic newsletter or blog entry,
but it does not work for a genuine online magazine.
So,
we are at the proverbial fork in the road. BlackCommentator.com
needs YOUR financial support, but it also needs to know that you will
advocate for the magazine. The responses we receive to the magazine
are tremendous. We have developed important connections with media
outlets in Canada, Africa and Latin America. People have indicated
that there are stories and analyses contained in BlackCommentator.com
that they just do not find anywhere else. In addition, over many
years now, we have worked especially hard to expand the ideological
diversity of BlackCommentator.com
so that it is truly a center for debate on issues facing people of
African descent.
Well,
team, if the money does not start flowing in, this project cannot
last, pure and simple. I wish that I could sugar-coat this request,
but I do not want to insult or mislead you. We need YOU to contribute
to BlackCommentator.com.
For some of you, a one-time contribution may be all that you can do
at this time, and we respect and appreciate that. Others of you may
be able to contribute on a monthly basis. And still others may be
able to both contribute but also get some of your friends and
colleagues to contribute (you can even sponsor an ad!!)
I
have never particularly liked asking people for money. I have always
hoped that someone else would do that. But as a member of the
Editorial Board of BlackCommentator.com (a position for which I
receive no financial compensation) I feel morally and politically
obligated to tell it like it is. Please click here to Contribute.
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