Since 1938, women have been at the helm of Nebraska’s only Black-owned newspaper, The Omaha Star. The legacy began with founder Mildred Brown, a trailblazing journalist and publisher dedicated to sharing positive news to and about the Black community in Omaha. There were regular features like the family of the week, new business openings, and community event coverage, particularly events at local churches.

The original motto for The Omaha Star was “joy and happiness,” sharing positive stories about African American families, role models and accomplishments throughout the late 1930s and early-1940s, before becoming a champion of civil rights media coverage by the 1950s. The newspaper received national respect by reporting the perspective of Omaha’s Black community on local and national news, and for encouraging their readers to vote and run for office.

In the early 1950s, The Omaha Star's headquarters became the meeting place for the DePorres Club, a youth-led Omaha-based civil rights group founded in 1947. Founded by Father John P. Markoe, S.J., a priest, and made up of Creighton University students interested in civil rights issues, the students boycotted and picketed several businesses to challenge segregation laws throughout Omaha. They were kicked off the Creighton University campus for their efforts, but Mildred Brown welcomed them to her building with open arms.

Sanders has also led the charge of restoring the The Omaha Star's headquarters, a small building located in North Omaha that Mildred Brown originally purchased in the early 1940s. It was here where Mildred Brown worked and lived in a small apartment in the back of the building until her death in 1989. Since then, the site is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has also received a 2020 grant from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to support restoration work.

The space is on its way to a new life in 2025 under Sanders, who plans to unveil the transformation of the newspaper’s headquarters into a world-class museum and gallery dedicated to excellence in Black media and journalism this summer. The part of the building that served as the home of The Omaha Star founder, Mildred Brown, will be restored to as it was when she lived there, down to the gold wallpaper and red carpeting.

Down the street, the Omaha Star Park, currently named the Mildred Brown Strolling Park, will also open this summer and include a “walk of fame” to honor Black Omaha legends, including media mogul Cathy Hughes. Perhaps even Sanders’ own daughter, Symone Sanders-Townsend, a political strategist and co-host on MSNBC will have a star of her own.