On this date in 2002, the first issue of The Liberator Magazine was published. This is a Black internet and print publication.
Its mission is to help preserve humanity by creating and supporting excellent spaces of dialog that provide fresh and forceful analysis and critique of art, culture, education, and politics. Founded by Brian Kasoro, Gayle Smaller, Tazz Hunter, Kenya McKnight, Marcus Harcus, and Mike Clark in Minneapolis, its first issue was published July 21, 2002. The Liberator, as stated by Kasoro, is a journal that has emerged from the urban enclaves of America. It is not just a magazine; it is a state of mind, one that is conscious of its own potential to contribute to and help maintain life itself.
It provides an inlet to underexposed culture, exposing artists around the world while providing creative and functional analysis of a mainstream culture in order to help build and maintain strong, culturally rich communities. It lends a voice to the voiceless and provides social and political analysis rooted in those same urban enclaves from which it has come. Its content helps free minds from negativity, stress, and uncertainty, according to its stated principles.
It assists those engaged in artistic, cultural, educational, and political struggles for humanity. The Liberator is a collective, one of the conscious human beings--street observers, historians, journalists, poets, scientists, comedians, writers, philosophers, soap boxers, artists, and griots who are dedicated to ensuring that everyone's story, be it artistic, cultural or political, is told, heard, digested, analyzed and, most importantly, respected.
The Liberator has featured interviews with artists such as Chuck Dee, Saul Williams, and Talib Kweli and has featured articles on issues ranging from immigration to homelessness. The Liberator is a global publication, making its presence known from Minneapolis, Washington D.C., New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philly, to London, Nairobi, and Dakar.
to be a Journalist or Reporter