My Truth
By Cheryl Smith
I Messenger Media
The day is drawing nearer, and yes, I am excited. On Friday, October 17, 2025, the official unveiling of my portrait in the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication at Florida A&M University will occur. There are so many people I wish could attend, and I will probably take a page out of the book of the late, great Nikki Giovanni, and go off into a room by myself and listen to my breathing pattern and heartbeat as I take in the moment.
To think I have ancestors who never saw the inside of a classroom, or never read a book, and my picture will be on the wall at one of the greatest institutions in the world. What does it mean? It means I have work to do. Dr. Thelma T. Gorham lives because of the work she did. More than four decades ago, she poured into me, and I still remember her lessons today. When I was inducted into the African American Education Archives and History Program, I thought about the impact professors and other educators had on my life.
I reflected back on Miss Constantinople at Chancellor Ave., Elementary in Newark, New Jersey, then there was Mr. Dawson at Franklin School in East Orange, and Mrs. Francis Hill and Mr. Frank Green at East Orange High School. Then it was off to FAMU, where there was the then-frightening Atty. Williams, who taught history, and the head of the History Department, the super dynamic Dr. Barbara Cotton.
Classes were also challenging with the likes of Dr. Gladys Lang, Journalism Dean Bob Ruggles, and print and broadcast professors Shively, Kierstead, and James Hawkins. I have never forgotten the bad, bold Dr. Gorham. For some reason, I was blessed to have very challenging professors, and for that I am grateful. I hope that I have challenged a lot of students as well.
And as I was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame, I said, “Here I am, a little Black girl from New Jersey who grew up reading the likes of Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Toni Cade Bambara, Ann Petry, and Iceberg Slim. I also read the Harlequin Romances, Nancy Drew, and actually anything I could get a hold of because the library was my sanctuary. It was a haven from some rough and unforgiving streets.
At FAMU, I will be the first member of the Black Press to appear on that Distinguished Alumni Wall, and I will pay homage to the likes of Ida B. Wells Barnett, Frederick Douglass, and so many others who came before me who stood up for what was right, even when they stood alone. I often think about how I wanted to tell the stories of my people, even if sometimes those very people act like they didn’t care or respect the work, the journey, the commitment.
Sometimes I have wanted to shout from the rooftops, “I’m doing it for you. I’m doing it because I love you. I’m doing this for my people. I chose an HBCU. I chose the Black Press! You see, I don’t want another young Black girl to grow up not having anything that remotely resembles her experience for her to read, listen to, or see.
I wanted to make sure the days were gone of people disrespecting our stories because of their lack of knowledge about our greatness.
But more importantly, I want Black people to cherish the words I write just as much as I cherish writing them. I want them to know that all ice is 32°F. I want them to pick up a Black-owned and operated news publication or turn on the channel, log on to a site, or a station where we are celebrated and not ridiculed or dehumanized.
When people ask about me retiring, I tell them I was born to do this until my pen is no longer on fire. I have work to do, and as long as I can, I will continue to do it. That is why I chose to seize the opportunity to use the unveiling, not only for raising scholarship money, but also to help people understand that we have to do all we can, while we can.
In the world we live in today, where we have to fight the power and the power structure, I have to keep doing what I’m doing because I have something to say, and I have to make sure that it is placed in your face to combat all the miseducation and misinformation that you receive. I hope you can look at my work and feel as though you have been uplifted, informed, inspired, challenged, and educated, and that you will say, “I read or heard something Cheryl Smith wrote or said and that’s why I don’t believe the hype!”
The Auction ends 10-11-25
Here are the Links:
https://bit.ly/TMNSilentAuction
