St. Louis Post-Dispatch Fires Sylvester Brown Jr., Its Black Columnist

I am always interested when a newspaper that has relatively few black or Latinos on their staff fires one of their black or Latino columnists. I am not saying this was racially motivated, but it does pique one's interest. According to media reports, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has fired columnist Sylvester Brown Jr., "the metro columnist covering African-American issues and he is one of very few black journalists working at the local daily." According to Riverfront Times, he was terminated "over allegations that officials in East St. Louis paid for a trip he took to Washington, D.C."

Brown called a news conference on Monday to deny the charge, and presented his side of the story on his blog. "Last week, I learned through my union, the St. Louis Newspaper Guild, that upper management at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had decided to discharge me for violating the company’s ethics policy," he said.

"On March 27, I was told by upper management to leave the building, pending an investigation. I have not been allowed access since — not even to gather my personal belongings or to shake hands with the colleagues and friends I’ve made over the past nearly six years. ". . . I’m here today to stand up for my name and reputation, which in the end, is all we really have." ". . . I did not expect my bosses to jump to an erroneous conclusion and immediately reduce me to nothing more than a stereotype. ". . . I’m too stubborn to keep my mouth shut, too proud to cast down my eyes, and too old to shuffle."

Brown said management alleged that he took the March 26 plane trip as a gift in return for a column he wrote on and turned in the day before about a renewable energy project in East St. Louis.

"I’m here to tell you that these charges are a gross distortion of the facts, which in my view, have been purposely manipulated to provide cover for far more desperate and nefarious acts within this once proud and honorable institution," Brown said. Source: Richard Prince's Journal-isms

I am not here to point a finger, but we all know that when you start speaking up about unfair treatment and even racism, you automatically become a walking target. The paper has been accused of engaging in discriminatory practices, which is quite serious and bears a second look.

Brown joined the Post-Dispatch in 2003 after the death of Gregory B. Freeman, then the paper's most prominent black columnist. Brown had been editor and publisher of a local black publication, Take Five. By giving this incident a place on my blog, Hinterland Gazette, it is my hope that it will help to shed light on what so many of us tend to ignore in the workplace -- discrimination. If the allegations are true, then the St. Louis Post-Dispatch should be called out on their behavior. We have come too far as a country to continue to sweep racism under a rug. I wish Mr. Brown all the best in his endeavors and I am sure he will land on his feet.