Our Truth Our History Our Story: Our THS
Our Truth Our History Our Story: Our THS is a podcast launched in 2026 on W. E. B. Du Bois’ birthday, February 23. It is grounded in the belief that every Black person in America deserves to be seen, heard, and respected for their lived understanding of what it means to be Black in this country.
The series explores how personal stories become collective memory, and how history is too often erased, distorted, or left untaught. Reclaiming and telling these narratives ourselves is a powerful act of leadership, guiding the historical narrative as the griots we were always meant to be. Now more than ever, this is an urgent cultural act of truth.
Moving beyond dates and documented facts, the podcast centers truth as lived experience. It explores the emotional, spiritual, and generational perspectives, revealing the depth, complexity, and resilience of Black life. Through intimate conversations, historical reflection, and contemporary voices, Our Truth, Our History, Our Story creates a space where memory is preserved, identity is affirmed, and the fullness of Black humanity is honored.
Our Truth Our History Our Story: Our THS
Black Journalism in a Time of Erasure: A Conversation with NABJ President, Errin Haines
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🎙️ Episode 8 Show Notes
Episode Title: Black Journalism in a Time of Erasure: A Conversation with NABJ President, Errin Haines
In this timely and urgent conversation, we sit down with Errin Haines, President of the National Association of Black Journalists, to explore the evolving landscape of Black media, truth-telling, and democracy.
As media consolidation, job cuts, and anti-DEI efforts reshape the industry, where do we go to find trusted voices? And what does it mean to protect truth in an era of misinformation?
This episode unpacks the challenges—and opportunities—facing Black journalists today, voting during this critical election, and why supporting Black media is more critical than ever.
🎧 In This Episode, We Explore:
- The shifting landscape of Black journalism and media representation
- How media consolidation and job cuts impact access to trusted voices
- The rise of misinformation—and how it disproportionately targets Black communities
- Where to find credible Black journalists today (YouTube, Substack, independent platforms)
- The role of Black journalists in protecting democracy and informing voters
- Why supporting Black media is essential for future generations
🗳️ Why This Conversation Matters
From public health crises to elections, access to accurate information is power. This episode highlights how misinformation can have real consequences—and why intentional engagement with trusted sources is key to community empowerment.
📣 Resources / Links
Connect with Errin Haines
https://19thnews.org/author/errin-haines/
https://www.instagram.com/emarvelous/
Support Black journalism.
Learn more about the National Association of Black Journalists and support their mission:
👉 NABJ.org
No contribution is too small—your support helps sustain journalism that informs, protects, and empowers.
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W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel with a Cause premieres May 19, 2026
Share the trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kMsik6rDQM
Transcript is available here https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598323
Watch here https://youtu.be/5fg-aydRHLA
Listen here https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598323/episodes/19009870
Stay connected https://linktr.ee/ritacoburnmedia
🎬 About the Series
Our Truth, Our History, Our Story (Our THS) explores the people, ideas, and cultural forces shaping Black history and storytelling today.
👥 Production Credits
Host: Rita Coburn
Guest: Errin Haines
Executive Producer: Andrew T. Carr
Producers: Christine Coburn Whack, H. Lee Whack
Music by Damien Sebe - so good - https://thmatc.co/?l=D6BE065E
We encounter the wholeness of WB Ward. It's time for our truth, our history, and our story. And I don't know a better person to talk to about where we are at this moment than you, Erin. Because at this moment, you're the president of NABJ, the National Association of Black Journalists. And what we're going to do in this moment is try to figure out what's the truth, what's the history, what's our story, and how we get it out there. And there are a lot of challenges. I mean, there was a point where I could find black journalists that I trusted. And the landscape is different. Will you talk a little bit about that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, well, listen, first of all, it's so good to be with you, Rita, because you have been somebody who's been telling our truth. You have been keeping our history, and you have been a keeper of the story. And that is a moment, I mean, that is a thing that has always mattered, but it feels like it matters so much right now. We are in, as you said, this moment of erasure, of exclusion of folks who don't want our stories out there. And so, uh, you know, for me, while it is certainly a challenging time for black truth tellers, black journalists, uh, it is also an extraordinary opportunity for us to just really recommit to telling the story, to telling the truth, because we know that our people need us to do that now more than ever.
SPEAKER_01So when we're no longer in a central place, when we can't turn on the news and really see ourselves every night, and when the people that we do see have been truncated, uh how do we find each other now?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I'm so glad that you said finding, because I think that that is the moment that we find ourselves in. Once upon a time, not that long ago, uh, black people who were looking for trusted information and are trusted messengers did have a range of places to go on cable news, uh, in various print uh outlets, digital outlets. But we know that with the media consolidation, the job cuts that are happening, this anti-DEI climate that's happening, it is harder uh to find a lot of our journalists in some of those same places and spaces. And so what does it mean for us to really be deliberate and intentional about seeking out those trusted news sources, right? Uh people like Don Lemon or Droy Reed or Roland Martin or Michael Harriet, who we can now find on YouTube, for example, uh, people who have their own Substacks. And so they have taken uh their writing uh perhaps to that platform. We are definitely still out there. And and and again, you have black journalists who recognize that they still have an important role to play in terms of getting trusted information to our people, and especially in this age also of myths and disinformation, which we know is disproportionately targeting our communities. So the good news is that, you know, Black America is absolutely seeking out information. The scary thing is that not all that information is good information. And so uh I would also say within your networks, if you are finding those trusted messengers, sharing those with the people in your network so that they can also be getting that information that they can rely on is honest and accurate.
SPEAKER_01You said a word targeting. Do you feel like the misinformation is being targeted to the black community?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. I mean, because we know that information is power. Think about what was able to happen, for example, just with the pandemic, the miss and disinformation around COVID-19, how that hurt our community. That was a life or death situation in many cases in our communities because they were not getting the accurate information about staying safe, getting vaccinated, those types of things, right? And then of course you have voter suppression, the 21st century version of that so often is misinformation, still telling people uh, you know, the wrong polling location or the wrong day to participate in the election. And so the role of journalists right now uh is also, I mean, not just to inform, but really to make sure that people are empowered, right, to be civically engaged and to make uh decisions on behalf of their household, on behalf of their communities, and beyond. There are absolutely actors who want to prevent us from doing that uh because they know how powerful it is for us to be properly informed.
SPEAKER_01We're going to have an election in November. Journalists are giving us information. We're in Atlanta. Uh, we have people like Stacey Abrams who have been fighting voter suppression. What does November look like for us from your perspective? We all hope that we're really going to have some changes. What can we be doing now as journalists, as people to really make a change? Because I see seas of people out protesting that want a change. And many of them don't look like us. And I heard one woman, a grandmother, say, don't come out here. Black people don't come out here. We got this. We know why you're not out here and we're going to protest. If you take that group of people, and some of them must have been at some point Trump supporters who were converted because the numbers speak to that. At the same time, what are we going to do for November?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, listen, I think the good news is that you are going to see black journalists on the front lines of democracy in November. And what I mean by that is you do not have a healthy democracy without a healthy and truly representative press. And so what does it mean for black journalists to be out there getting, making sure that voters have access to the polls, free and fair access? We know, we've already heard that maybe there will be National Guard or some other kind of troops that could be at polling places, intimidating, potentially intimidating voters. We know that there's a threat right now to mail-in balloting, which is essential for so many communities that need that to be able to cast their ballot and participate in our democracy equally. And so Black journalists are going to be informing the public about how they can vote, making sure that they have the information that they need to know where to vote, right? What the rules are, what the deadlines are in their communities, because uh, you know, voting is the way that we are, everyone is able to make their voice heard on election day. Everybody's vote counts the same. We are all equal on election day. But but, you know, any efforts to try to suppress that or prevent us from fully participating are frankly anti-democratic. That is not what this democracy is about. And we have to remember that, especially this year, as this country is marking its 250th anniversary. What does it mean to be a citizen? What does it mean to participate fully in democracy? Voting is one of the most tangible ways that we do that. So I think uh, you know, uh as Black journalists, our our crucial role is going to be to inform the public. And as uh Black America, your role is to get engaged, be informed so that you can be empowered, right? To vote. Don't um, you know, the First Amendment is absolutely not optional for us as Black journalists. We should be able to do our job of journalism without it being criminalized, without it being weaponized against us. We already saw that with Don Lemon and Georgia Ford in Minneapolis as they were trying to cover the protests, that's they were doing their job, right? Journalists covering the business of democracy should never be criminalized or weaponized. And but, you know, frankly, I will say that that is that is a concern uh that that we have going into November. Will journalists be able to cover democracy even as we are trying to make sure that the American people are able to participate fully in democracy.
SPEAKER_01I love that. I think that what we're hearing is we're going to have to take some extra agency. You've got some time. There's some months before we get to November to make sure people in your community know where the polling places are to help older people get there if there is an attack on mail-in ballots. Then we need to make sure that people can get to the polls. I think I'm going to show a picture here of my mother when she she made it until 99, but she was around 90, and one of the biggest things that she felt was important for her to do was to go cast her vote. And I just have to tell you, Erin, I'm really proud of what you're doing with NABJ. I'm glad that you're there. Is there anything else that you want to tell our public, uh, whether it be voting, journalism, truth, history, is there anything that you want to give us as a parting statement?
SPEAKER_00You know, I think what I would just say, I would encourage uh all of your listeners to just remember, I mean, to support Black journalism, support your local journalism, support your black media, because we support you. We are out here up against very challenging circumstances, determined to continue to tell the truth right now because it matters. It matters not just for the people that are here, but people that are here a hundred years from now who are going to wonder what happened, right? And how do we just support you? Well, uh, so uh NABJ.org, uh, we are actually in the midst of a capital campaign, and you know, no donation is too small or too large. Obviously, never know who's listening out there. Uh, and so um NABJ Online is how you can find out more information about the National Association of Black Journalists. We just marked our 50th anniversary as well. And so, I mean, we have been on the front lines advocating not just for more representation in these mainstream legacy newsrooms, but also what does it mean for us to have our own, to own our own platforms? Because this is really going to be so important as we think about what it means to continue to get trusted information to our communities. Um, obviously supporting the black journalists that you read, that you trust, that you watch, um, you can subscribe to, you know, their platforms as well. That really means a lot to people. You know, you may think, you know, that $5 that you're giving to somebody's SubSec account doesn't matter. But if if tens of thousands of people are doing that, then that is sustaining journalism that you have come to depend on and that you trust. And so kind of making the connection, I think, for a lot of people, and I think that they are, to be honest with you, in this climate, the connection between the press and democracy is really something that people are realizing more and more and want to know how they can support.
SPEAKER_01Thank you very much. Thank you, Erin. It's always wonderful to be with you.
SPEAKER_00It's great to be with you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01I am the producer, director, and writer of W.E.B. Du Bois Rebel with a Cause, a PBS documentary that will air on American Masters PBS May 19th of this year, 2026. Please search for the YouTube trailer and share it today.