Thomas H. Watkins, 1937-2025, the founder, CEO and publisher of the New York Daily Challenge. The first daily Black newspaper in New York City. At the height of its operation, Watkins’ award-winning, flagship publication brought in nearly $30M per year and employed dozens of African-Americans from its headquarters in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
As an advocate for the power of the Black voice and dollar, over the decades, Watkins because a Black print media mogul founding and acquiring titles including the Afro Times, New American, Jersey City Challenge, Patterson-Passaic Challenge and Newark Challenge. He is a past president of the National Newspaper Publishing Association and continues to sit on the board after decades of service.
A successful entrepreneur, visionary and activist, Watkins offered keynote speeches for international non-profit organizations (such as The United Way) and esteemed institutions (including historically Black colleges like Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, and the Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina.) He lived in Brooklyn, New York, where he continued to advocate for the financial empowerment of African-Americans.