James Washington, the president and general manager of The Atlanta Voice, a longtime advocate of the Black press, and the 2019 National Association of Black Journalist Legacy Award winner passed away surrounded by family and loved ones on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
He was 73.
Washington’s column “Spiritually Speaking” was published in the St. Louis American for many years and was carried by many National Newspaper Publishers Association newspapers.
The NNPA trade association represents more than 250 African American-owned newspapers and media companies in the Black Press of America.
“A gifted writer, Jim was a forward thinker, a resourceful publisher, close personal friend and mentor. I and many other colleagues and friends will deeply miss him.” – St. Louis American Publisher Donald M. Suggs
“James Washington was devoted to the Black Press and its future success,” said Donald M. Suggs, St. Louis American publisher and executive editor.
“A gifted writer, Jim was a forward thinker, a resourceful publisher, close personal friend and mentor. I and many other colleagues and friends will deeply miss him.”
According to an NNPA Newswire article by Stacy M. Brown, Washington said he considered a run to chair the NNPA in 2019 and 2021.
Highly principled, he declined to compete against his friends, Houston Forward Times Publisher, and former chair Karen Carter Richards, who held the post for two terms, and the current chair, Westside Gazette Publisher Bobby Henry. Instead, Washington pledged to support them.
“We’ve got to somehow forge a unity that this organization hasn’t seen in a long time,” Washington said.
“The potential for the NNPA has never been fully realized, but I know one day a light bulb will turn on among the greater population of the NNPA, and everybody is going to reap bountifully.”
For over four decades Washington had been involved in nearly every level of the communications field.
From his time as the publisher of The Dallas Weekly, a Black-owned and operated publication, to his work as the public relations manager for the Dallas Ballet, Washington had always been a strong representation of Black excellence and intelligence.
Washington had twice served on the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce board, the Dallas Arboretum, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. He was a former tri-chair of Dallas’ Commission on Race Relations and the Dallas Together Forum. He was also a former member of the Federal Reserve Bank’s Small Business and Agriculture Advisory Committee in Dallas.
Washington was named “Man of the Year” in 1986 by the Dallas Metropolitan Club of Negro Business and Professional Women. Additional honors he received for outstanding community service came from many organizations such as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, The Links, Inc., United Way, Dallas Independent School District, Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, Daniel “Chappie” James Learning Center, the NAACP, KKDA, and KRLD radio stations, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas Museum of Arts, and the State Fair of Texas.
Washington earned his bachelor’s degree in English and Instructional Media from Southern University, an HBCU. He also earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Washington is survived by his wife, The Atlanta Voice publisher Janis Ware, his children, daughter Elena Bonifay (husband David Bonifay) and son Patrick Washington (wife Jessica Washington), his grandchildren James Spencer Emanuel Washington, Penelope Elena Jimenez Washington, and William Emmanuel Edward Austin Bonifay, and his nieces and nephews.