Melvin Miller

When the Bay State Banner’s first edition hit the streets in September 1965, the motto atop the front page reflected the values of the tight-knit Roxbury neighborhood where publisher Melvin B. Miller grew up. “Unity, Progress” and “Let’s Do It Ourselves” were not just self-help catch-phrases but statements of purpose drawing on a long history of Boston’s African-American community.

The year 2023 marks 57 years of publication for the Bay State Banner — more than a half century during which the newspaper's reporters, photographers and contributors recorded the events and ideas that have made history in Boston and beyond.