The Sacramento (California) Bee has established a groundbreaking new beat at the paper focused on covering the city's Black communities. Marcus D. Smith, the new reporter who will cover those communities for The Sacramento Bee’s Equity Lab, said his intentions are "to amplify Black voices in the Sacramento region, and in doing so, to contribute to the empowerment and advancement of Black people."
He is the first reporter in The Bee’s 164-year history focused exclusively on serving Black communities.
In an opinion column published yesterday, Smith wrote: "The Bee, like most other mainstream media outlets, has failed to adequately serve Black communities for decades. The paper has too often hurt the community or has fallen short of reflecting its needs. And this isn’t just ancient history; as recently as the 1990s, at times The Bee inflicted harm on the Black community.
"While the paper has had reporters covering diversity issues in the past, it wasn’t until 2020 — following a summer defined by a social justice movement — that The Bee launched the Equity Lab, a team of community-funded journalists focused solely on serving communities long neglected by mainstream media. My position is part of that team."
He said: "My commitment is to provide the type of coverage that allows Black communities in Sacramento to be heard. The type of coverage that acknowledges our viewpoints, celebrates our highs and elevates the conversation on social issues."
