Historic Afro newspaper to make permanent home at Upton Mansion in West Baltimore
BALTIMORE - The Historic Upton Mansion was once a private residence in West Baltimore.
It has been home to a radio station, the Baltimore Institute of Musical Arts and the Upton School.
It has been vacant since 2006, but soon it will be the new home of the Afro, the longest-running African-American family-owned newspaper in the United States.
The mansion sits on one acre of land.
"We are so excited to be moving back into this wonderful community that is being redeveloped for and by African Americans," said Francis "Toni" Draper, CEO of Afro-American News.
The Afro has told the story of the Black community in Baltimore since 1892.
With more than 130 years of history, Afro will have a permanent home.
"The Afro archives is one of the strongest reserves of information about the African American community in our country, and it's right here in Baltimore," Senator Ben Cardin said.
Protecting that history was a major point of emphasis for this multi-million dollar project.
The Afro's archives contain millions of photographs, thousands of documents, and audio recordings of Thurgood Marshall and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"This is sort of personal in many respects," said Congressman Kweisi Mfume. "The fact that I'm older now than a dinosaur and the Afro is still doing what it has always done, provided news and provided information to our community, but also, for all of the little persons like myself, through all of those years, it also provided a sense of pride."
The Upton Mansion will be the permanent home for the Afro's archives as well as the Afro newspaper and Afro charities.