Dear NNPA Member Publishers, Editors, Partners, Sponsors and Supporters:
On behalf of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), we express our profound sense of sadness on the passing of Rosetta Miller Perry, the distinguished founder, publisher, and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Tennessee Tribune, and an admired national civil rights leader. On Friday, June 26, 2026, Rosetta Perry at the age of 91 joined the pantheon of freedom-fighting ancestors. She passed away peacefully in Nashville, TN in the present of her immediate family.
Rosetta M. Perry served on the National Board of Directors of both the National Newspaper Publishers Association and the National Newspaper Publishers Association Fund. Rosetta was affectionately known as the “Queen Mother of the Black Press of America.” Rosetta Perry was also the recipient of the NNPA Lifetime Achievement Award.
A trailblazing publisher, civil rights pioneer, author, and entrepreneur, Rosetta Miller Perry dedicated her life to ensuring the stories, achievements and voices of Tennessee’s African American community were told with accuracy, dignity and purpose. Before founding the Tennessee Tribune in 1991, she spent more than 25 years in public service, including working for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and serving with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In 1991, after being unable to secure financing from local banks, Perry invested $70,000 of her personal savings to launch the Tennessee Tribune. Under her leadership, the newspaper grew into one of Tennessee’s most influential Black-owned, statewide newspapers that remains as a “trusted voice” for civil rights, community advocacy, and Black-owned businesses. She later moved the newspaper’s headquarters to historic Jefferson Street, establishing its permanent home in the heart of Nashville’s historic Black community.
Tentatively the “Celebration of Life” for Rosetta Miller Perry will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2026 at a time to be later determined according to Lewis & Wright Funeral Directors in Nashville.
