By Silas Lee
In 2020, I began my work as an independent journalist and writer. As the build up to the 2020 election continued, I recognized the severe need for voices in journalism that did not promote corporatism, that did not promote the Democrats, and that did not promote the Republicans. During the election period, I began working with the Green Party of the United States under my legal name of Jaydyn Button.
During this time, I sent multiple essays, articles, and research papers for review and editing. As time continued, I realized that I was not happy with the style my work was being edited. However, I put up with it as I cared more for promoting a message than whether or not I was happy with the formatting and “corrections.” My time with the Green Party and their youth caucus, the Young Eco-Socialists, was rather brief. Due to disagreements with the Steering Committee and the infighting between caucuses, and the support from some members for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine (though I stress not all members supported Putin’s war), I elected to leave the group and asked that all of my work that was being edited have the work halted.
Not long after this, I was published in a local news source, the Lee’s Summit Tribune. Myself and a few other students had organized a protest of the school’s proposed “Turning Point USA” club. The protest was, in many ways, a success. The club was dissolved and students had their voices heard. Following this protest, I submitted an article to the Lee’s Summit Tribune who were at first weary of whether or not to post content, but later agreed to post the article.
As my time in high school ended, I took an internship with the Kansas City Defender, a Black owned news source that agreed with my own personal values that will become customary for Black Pages. I did not wish to be published often in the Defender, as to ensure that the platform maintained a predominantly Black led status, but I worked with communities during events such as grocery buyouts, holding a vigil for lives lost to the murderer Timothy Haslett Jr, and promoting the organization wherever and however possible.
Eventually, I realized that there is a severe need for more alternative media outlets. Beyond just journalism, there needs to be organizations such as Black Pages Publishing that allow for essayists, novelists, and other writers to share their stories. Video essays and audiobooks regarding writing that is often ignored or neglected. There needs to be a Black Pages.
Black Pages holds strong values towards freedom, anti-capitalism, anti-bigotry, and democracy. The publication is dedicated to worker-led initiatives across all industries, and movements that promote social change. Black Pages operates predominantly with a Left-Wing Libertarian mentality, with myself being an Anarchist.
We look to promote the writings of authors that are not afraid to call out the systems that enslave us. We look to promote the stories of those who are marginalized, attacked, beaten, and betrayed by corporatism, capitalism, fascism, and the likes. We look to share the stories of those who are forced into submission by those who have no true authority.
Black Pages Publishing is not the first of its name nor of its kind. Since the dawn of Anarchism, the dawn of libertarian social movements, and the dawn of a free humanity, there has been a Black Pages. Whether it be the publications such as Black Flag (the Anarchist Black Cross’ annual publication), El Libertario (the Argentinian Anarchist publication), or Le Monde Libertaire, Anarchists and alternative media sources exist throughout the world and have for centuries.
Even non-anarchist sources have a similar mentality. The Kansas City Defender, an abolitionist news source that focuses on Black voices, has been promoting similar values for years. Taking a look at the systems we are subjected to and writing against those systems, while also promoting the voices of youthful alternative writers. This is a similar mentality to that of Black Pages Publishing.
Having spent years on the independent media scene as a journalist, and with published compilations of my essays in school libraries, I’ve come to the realization that there is a severe lack of truth and integrity in American media. Whether it be the news stations, perverted by propaganda and corporate greed, or the publishers afraid to let people speak the truth about life- in fear of controversy. The American media landscape is in dire need of revitalization.
What happened to the muckrakers of yesteryear? The likes of Upton Sinclair, author of Oil! and The Jungle, both of which are stern criticisms of the American Capitalist system that enslaves and punishes the masses. The likes of George Orwell, author of 1984, a book that was banned in the United States for being pro-communist, but also banned in the Soviet Union for being anti-communist when the story was anti-authoritarian. Where are the alternative media authors? Surely they exist, but where are they?
Rather than succumb to the notion that these authors do not exist anymore, I am of the increasing belief that these writers are instead prohibited from publishing their works. If there is anything I have learned from writing for local sources, working with alternative media outlets, and even ghostwriting for some of the biggest major news publications, it is that there are more journalists, authors, essayists, and other forms of writers that stand on the “alternative” side of media than perhaps ever before. From modern political theorists, to activists, to fellow alternative media founders, there needs to be a strong industry that works to build up our media. People willing to share the truth around the world without fear of ridicule, people willing to share their political theories- not merely beliefs- and hope to inspire others, and people who have all the talent in the world with a pen that are not allowed to put their writing to work. We are these people. We need to unify and build a coalition of writers willing to share their work around the world. It is through this that I believe in the founding of Black Pages Publishing.
Black Pages serves as a base for those who have been shunned by the major American media sources. Black Pages serves as truth to counter the propaganda pushed by corporate “news” stations. Black Pages serves to ensure that we are educated together, without the perversion of money or political gain.