HISTORY
The history of the Black Star cannot be articulated without reference to the now defunct publication "The Fire This Time". The title of the paper comes from the title of the James Baldwin novel, The Fire Next Time and although it is obvious that a slight change to the title was made it is unclear the reasoning behind it. "The Fire…" first came on the scene here at Emory December of 1990, a full 26 years ago and labeled itself as, Emory's Black Student Newspaper. The first issue of "The Fire…" was a modest four page newsletter, if you will, containing only 4 major articles. However the future for the paper would prove to be bright for the young publication, which was created by none other than world renowned Journalist Toure, it was here at Emory that this gifted writer was to first tackle major issues through the medium of Journalism. Toure served as the first Editor-in-Chief and along with a group of writers who named themselves the Media Assassins, founded the paper on the principle of Kujichagulia, self-determination. This idea of self-determination meant that the paper would be completely "created, guided, written, directed, produced and (most importantly) funded by African American." With that principle set "The Fire This Time" matured over the years and although at times publication was not active it never remained that way too long. "The Fire…" would eventually be put out in the 2002-2003 school year due to some financial issues that proved to be its downfall. Black Star rose out of the ashes left behind by "The Fire…" and was formed out of necessity for a voice that the Emory black community, for the most part, felt was not present in other publications. The name Black Star was chosen because of the various meanings within that symbol and name in history. The Black Star line was the shipping lines created by Marcus Garvey to take blacks back to Africa a nod to the principle of Kujichagulia, or self-determination. The Black Star seeks to represent to Emory black community in a fair and open manner, through journalistic articles, and opinions. We hope to further the work started by "The Fire This Time" and to address new challenges to Blacks at Emory and in the local Atlanta area.