AC Phoenix, December 1991, Page 3
Celebrating Our 10th Year
TheA.C. Phoenix- Continuing To Rise From The Ashes
by Patricia Smith-Deering
Phoenix Managing Editor
The legend of the mythical bird
called the phoenix has it that,
destroyed in flames, it rises again
alive in all its splendor and bright
red-orange plumage. It is a symbol
of new beginnings and the struggle
for surviv^ in the face of adversity.
In many ways, the phoenix is
symbolic of the Black community -
fighting adversity through centuries
of humiliation, racism, dis
crimination, and injustices, only to
overcome adversity and survive.
The publication was an outgrowth
of the collaboration of Sam Davis,
who was editor-in-chief of the
News Argus - Winston-Salem
State University's campus news
paper, and Rodney Sumler, owner
of Associate Consultants. TTirough
Sumler's massive advertising ef
forts, the campus publication
prospered. Things were going well
until WSSU's then-business ma
nager took exception to the contract
that Davis had signed with Sumler
for his consulting efforts and
terminated it
Davis and Argus writer,
Malcolm Pharr, following grad
uation, approached Sumler with the
proposition of starting their own
newspaper, one with appeal to the
Black communitv vet with a focus
on WSSU, patticulariy it’s social and
economic impact on Winston-Salem
as a whole. Sumler agreed, and the
rest is, as they saying goes, history.
The A.C. Phoenix was bom.
It began first as a quarterly,
centering largely around WSSU
Homecoming, the CIAA Basketball
Tournament, spring sports, and the
beginning of footbSl season. Davis
and Pharr would put the paper
together, doing most of the writing
and layout. Other local writers
would contribute, but through the
years they have come and gone.
As the paper aged, so did it
AA FOOTBALL PREVIEW
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mature, moving from a fledgling
quarterly into a monthly pub
lication. In May 1989, the
Phoenix changed its face and
format under a new managing
editor. The publication continues to
grow in size and circulation.
Like the mythical phoenix bird,
the Black community that we at the
A.C. Phoenix serve is rising
again from the ashes of Blacks who
have fought and died to secure
human rights for those who fol
lowed them. Our mission is to put
on display those issues that affect
the Black community in its struggle
for economic development, self-
determination, and human rights.
For ten years, our publication has
struggled to maintain a presence in
the Black community, to do what
other publications in the Triad area.
Black or white, do not or cannot do
- tell it like it is. The cost of doing
that is high.
Our publisher/co-founder.
Rodney Sumler, faces the most
serious time of his life as he stands
the test of an investigation that we
believe stems from one of the very
issues this publication has spoken
out against - the systematic, sys
temic persecution and prosecution
of Blacks who would influence
their community in its well-being
and survival. Yet, the Phoenix
continues, undaunted.
If for no other reason than to
continue to make the Black com
munity aware of what is helping or
hindering their progress and to
awaken the people to active
participation in shaping their own
future, the A.C. Phoenix will
live through the flames of adversity
and rise that much stronger to
continue our mission. Ten years is a
hallmark achievement for a small
but growing business, so we must
be doing something right, which is
why we remain priceless!