How We Got Over in 2007

The AmericUSumter Observer will be eleven years old next month. We want to thank our readers and advertisers for making this newspaper the success it has become. We have a great community that we hope is better because of our clarion call for fairness and justice for all. Our readership is expanding and unofficially we know that our cross section of the citizens regardless of race is growing. We have some critics who will never accept our liberal positions but thank God they are beginning to show signs of tolerance and understanding. We want to thank our staff for the friendly atmosphere that we work in to produce this newspaper. Our lay out persons are Christopher Davis and Travis Walker who work long hours into the night when the paper goes to the printer. We have a strong editorial board with Emmanuel Freeman who is the chief editor. He and our publisher always clash about the hard hitting versus the more conservative style and of course, our publisher wins most of the battles. Our contributing columnists, Matt Wright, Elizabeth Dede, Eugene Edge and Dr Ridgely Muhammad are very dependable and have some strong editorials that make our paper the powerhouse that it is. We are so proud and thankful to have them.

We have one of the most gifted cartoonists in the United States. He is Elmer Kinder of Americus. He is a quiet soft spoken man who is a registered nurse by trade. We get so many compliments and even rave reviews about the quality of our political cartoons. One doctor in Americus told our publisher that he checks out the cartoon first and then he reads the newspaper. We are so proud of Elmer and we can't thank him enough for his significant contribution. The newspaper office is managed by Mrs. Sybil Patterson, a native of St Vincent in the Caribbean. She makes the office like home with a motherly touch that she adds to our environment.

Our paper would not reach the citizens if it were not for our distributor, Calvin Minter. He is responsible for bringing our paper from the printer and distributing them in the closed and open racks. We have Brandon Morgan and Malcolm Johnson who help us distribute unused papers to the citizens free of charge. Finally, our publisher, Dr John Marshall distributes the newspaper once a month to several churches in the Sumter County area without charge. He says that it is his ministry to spread the word to the religious community. It informs them of the things of this world that they truly need to know. Our people perish because of the lack of knowledge. Our mission is to empower this community by infusing truth and demanding justice.