The citizens of Kansas City, Missouri, are still reeling from the shooting of Ralph Yarl, leaving the city in emotional turmoil. On April 17, 16-year-old Yarl was shot by an 84-year-old white man, Andrew Lester. The teenager accidentally rang Lester’s doorbell, mistaking it for a friend’s home.

The headline made national news as people questioned Lester’s motive. Outlets covered the breaking news around the story, including the recovery of the resilient teen. However, few were on the ground to feel the racial tension from the incident.

Journalist Roland Martin thanked the Black owned/operated Kansas City Defender for its proficient story coverage. He acknowledged the outlet on his Instagram, stating it owned the glory of “making the story go national.”

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A post shared by Roland S. Martin (@rolandsmartin)

He wrote, “Let me say this right now: NO ONE can claim credit for making the #RalphYarl story go national than Black-owned @kansascitydefender. They were on the ground, doing the hard work and reporting on the shooting. Check the time stamp. They were first to push this story out. And they have stayed on top of it. I want to give them their just due. JOB WELL DONE!!!!”

Martin ended the caption with the intentional hashtag #BlackOwnedMediaMatters.

Kansas City Defender

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