Publishing Pioneer Samuel Martin Passes to His Next Assignment

SAN BERNARDINO, CA – Funeral services for Samuel Martin, Sr., founder of the San Bernardino American Newspaper, co-founder of both the Precinct Reporter Newspaper and the Black Voice News, and a U.S. Army veteran, were held last Saturday, February 11, at the Arlington Mortuary in Riverside, CA. He was 86 years of age. Mr. Martin was born in Edwards Mississippi, and was the second child of Will and Mary Martin, who had a large family of 20 children. After completing his World War II military service, Mr. Martin married his wife of over 60 years, Willie Mae Wilbourn Martin and moved to Needles, CA where he worked for the Santa Fe Railroad and became active with the local NAACP and advocating for veterans. The couple would have four children, Violet, Mary, Sam Jr. and Barry. The family moved to San Bernardino in 1954 and worked in aerospace at the former Norton Air Force Base and also became a reserve deputy sheriff for the County of San Bernardino under Sherriff Bland. Always a generous and proactive community leader, Mr. Martin worked to reduce crime in his neighborhood, registering voters and encouraging participation in the political process. He and his friend Arthur Townsend co-founded both the Precinct Reporter Newspaper and a Black Democratic Club, and together they led the drive for improved Black representation in city government, resulting in the formation of the Sixth Ward. Sam also organized a contingent of citizens to participate in the 1963 March on Washington, helped establish both the local Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) , and he became the first African American to be elected to the Democratic Central Committee in 1962. Sam also assisted former Mayor Bob Holcomb in his fight to secure the city’s water rights. Sam responded to requests from Black students at the University of California Riverside, and along with student and U.S. veteran Ardess Lilly, co-founded the Black Voice News at UCR in 1970, and partnered with Cheryl and Hardy Brown to adjudicate the newspaper in 1974. Sam also provided the Westside Story News with various forms of advice and support from the time it was founded in 1987 by publisher Wallace Allen.. Mrs. Martin, who was Sam’s co-founder the American News in 1969, preceded him in death, and she and their daughter Violet helped him operate the American News for many years. Mr. Martin retired in 2001 and the American News is now published by his daughter Mary and her husband Clifton Harris. (Lita Pezant, WSSN 2-16-12)