With support from the community, The Black Lens is set to relaunch in February. The community wants to make sure the publication stays running for the long run. This is why No-Li Brewhouse has pledged to donate $10,000 to the newspaper. The Bryants are also encouraging other community members to join the cause.

“This is important to us and our culture, our community,” John said in an interview with The Spokesman-Review. “This represents who we are, and we want to be involved in, and support, the Black community, the Black voice, the foundation and all people of our community.”

The Bryants are well known for their philanthropy efforts.

“We have been raising money and embracing nonprofit community movements since our inception in 2012,” John said.

The Spokane business owner said his family’s support for The Black Lens is also part of their effort to honor Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.

“My grandmother, her two favorite people were Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. King,” John said. “No-Li built really a lot of characteristics of those two people that influenced my grandmother, who influenced my father and my mother, who influenced us.”

John is inspired by the story of how his grandmother stepped up for the community during the Great Depression.

“She wrote a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt; she said, ‘Our town is starving, and we need help’… everybody had shared, everybody had bartered, they were just out,” John said. “Within a month, two large trucks of fresh produce and meat and peanut butter and cheese came rolling into this little small town in Mossyrock, Washington.”

The Bryants are also making sure they preserve the legacy of Black Lens founder Sandy Williams, who died in a plane crash in 2022 with her partner Patricia Hicks.

“Sandy was an amazing person. And The Black Lens did so much for Spokane,” Natasha Hill, interim editor for The Black Lens, told The Spokesman-Review. “And since it has been gone, we have a lot of people in our community, especially the Black community, who are doing some amazing things but not always getting spotlighted.”

Hill, a former congressional candidate who is now an attorney, said readers can expect to see more stories highlighting the community. The new version of The Black Lens will include a print circulation and a digital edition, which will be available through the publication’s website. The print edition will be found for free in magazine racks or as an insert in The Spokesman-Review.

The Bryants hope to raise at least $50,000 for the newspaper before the first edition comes out on Feb. 4. The family encourages the community to come together and support this key resource that will provide valuable information.

“I think it’s important that this publication can bring everyone together,” John said.