RACINE, Wis.— Lisa Parham is the last set of eyes to look over The Racine Mirror before it’s distributed to the Racine community. It’s the community she grew up in. Now she is responsible for telling her neighbors' stories.
“Every month, we prepare the paper and this month is our salute to Black History Month,” she says. “I usually do a 'Letter From The Editor' as well.”
Inside these pages, you’ll rarely find a story that does not reflect the positive news happening in Wisconsin’s fifth-largest city. In fact, the newspaper’s slogan is just that: A Reflection of the Positive in the Community.
“A meal is not complete if dessert is not on the table,” Parham says. “I like to think of The Racine Mirror as a piece of dessert for our community.”
A refreshing take on storytelling that Parham says she’s proud to have spearheaded. The editor-in-chief has a degree in communications from Gateway Technical College and has been a working journalist for about two decades, she says.
“I have worked for a few other newspapers here in our community and I enjoyed working with different individuals and companies,” Parham says. “I wanted to start something in our community that I thought was very much needed which was bringing out the positive in our community.”
The name of the paper itself even has a deeper meaning.
“'Racine,' which is the city we live in and then, 'Mirror,' like looking in the mirror and seeing your reflection,” she says. “When you look into the pages of The Racine Mirror, I would hope you see a reflection of our community.”
The Racine Mirror is not the only newspaper she has her hands in. She manages three.
She also oversees Insider News Racine, where she worked for 12 years and recently purchased. The paper focuses on stories within the Black community.
Parham launched Hispanic Reflections in September, which focuses on stories within the Latino community.
There’s a clear pattern to the stories Parham connects with. They give a voice to minorities, people who often feel their voice is silenced.
“In the minority communities, I think we still need a voice,” Parham says. “Whether that voice is male or female."
Each of these three newspapers is published once per month. Parham hopes to gain enough stability in the future to have the papers come out bi-weekly and eventually, weekly.
Dominique Lambright is a contributing writer for all three papers and has known Parham for years. The mission and message speak to her.
“I am a minority myself and we do need a voice,” Lambright says. “Because we are the minority, a lot of times the majority gets the voice.”
Lambright has an impressive resume herself. She owns her own business and is also a published author of 10 books.
“I achieved my dream of being a published author, so that’s exciting,” she says.
In the moments when she feels overwhelmed, Lambright says she thinks of people like Parham.
“There are days where I get discouraged, but then you look at people like Lisa who are literally doing it all and you’re like, 'I can do this,'” Lambright said. “It’s inspiring.”
These two minority women are speaking up for the voiceless, all while hoping to inspire the next generation.
“For other young minority girls, it lets them know they can do it too,” Parham says.