A belief in equal justice and opportunity, as well as a fierce desire to serve and aid those less fortunate, distinguished the impressive life of Rosetta Miller-Perry, publisher of the Tennessee Tribune, the country’s only statewide African American newspaper. Perry passed away on Friday at age 91. 

While the Black community and experience were at the forefront of her many activities, Perry was equally vocal about the disparate impact of poverty, homelessness, drug addiction and many other social ills that affected numerous people regardless of race and background. Above all, she wanted to continually spotlight Black success stories, pioneers and trailblazers, presenting them as examples of folks who persevered and thrived despite the odds and obstacles they faced.  

Prior to her long and storied career in publishing, Perry was a dedicated and passionate activist. 

“Everything I’ve ever done in my life really has been for other people, not me,” Perry told NewsChannel5 in a 2021 interview, and that accurately summarized her pre-media career. She spent two decades on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and also worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

Perry was an observer in Memphis during the turbulent period of the late ’60s, when the sanitation workers strike and the subsequent assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put Memphis into an unfavorable national spotlight. Though she wasn’t the type to boast, brag or name drop, during that time she was among the inner circle of key figures that included Dr. King, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Andrew Young, Julian Bond and many others in the movement.

One thing that continually angered Perry was the lack of attention given to Blacks in mainstream newspapers at the time, other than articles about crime or other negative portrayals. So she decided to do something about it. Rather than just complain she wanted to create her own publication. But to the banks in Nashville during the early 1990s, loaning money to a Black woman so she could start a newspaper made zero fiscal sense. One after another they turned her down, so she used her own money to create Contempora magazine in 1990, and then the Tennessee Tribune in 1991. The Tribune‘s mission then and now was a straightforward one: Publish positive, inspirational and uplifting stories about the Black experience, while also being an advocate and watchdog for those constituencies and issues frequently overlooked by the mainstream press.

Over the course of her time as publisher-editor of the Tribune, Perry gained a reputation for toughness, a quality that was certainly required for any Black woman entrepreneur who came up in that era. She was unafraid to be bold and uncompromising in her editorial decisions. A prime example came in 2008. Throughout her life, Perry was always upset when people didn’t participate in the electoral process. When she discovered that folks registered to vote had not cast their ballots, Perry published their names and addresses in the Tribune. 

“Sometimes when you embarrass people, they do the right thing,” Perry said in a 2008 interview.

As someone who has worked at the Tribune in two different stints, the current one since 2010, I can attest to her sometimes blunt critiques of stories or assessments of individual conduct. She also didn’t hesitate to take strong, sometimes unpopular stances if she felt she was right. But behind that tough veneer was someone truly concerned about the quality of life for her readers, and she would help anyone truly in need. She was extremely proud of having an office on Jefferson Street, and continually wary about the impact of gentrification on North Nashville residents. 

Under her leadership, the Tribune has evolved into the largest Black-owned publication in the state, and is available not only in Nashville, but Knoxville, Memphis and Chattanooga. However Perry didn’t stop there in terms of community service. She established the Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce and the Anthony J. Cebrun Journalism Center. She was a Golden Heritage Member of the NAACP. Her influence and impact within Nashville’s Black political circles was immense, and the tributes rolled in as news of her passing circulated.

“When I thought about making my entrance into politics, I knew there was one place I had to go by, and that was to go by and talk to Ms. Perry,” Rep. Harold Love Jr. (D-Nashville) and pastor of Lee Chapel AME Church said in a statement Friday. “There were times before I got to know her where I was very scared of Mrs. Perry, because she had such a powerful influence.” 

“Today my heart is heavy,” Nashville and Davidson County Assessor of Property Vivian Wilhoite said in a statement. “I have lost not only a giant in our community, but a dear friend and mentor. Mrs. Rosetta Miller-Perry poured wisdom into my life through countless late-night conversations about politics, family, leadership, faith and life. … She built institutions, elevated voices, and opened doors for generations of leaders.

“Thank you, Mrs. Perry, for believing in me, challenging me, and reminding me that leadership is always about serving others.”

Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Yuri Cunza also praised Miller-Perry’s career and cited her as a big influence. Cunza, in a statement to WKRN, celebrated Perry as “one of Nashville’s true community builders. She was a trailblazer whose impact extended far beyond the pages of the Tennessee Tribune. She understood the power of journalism to inform, unite, and strengthen a community.,” Cunza added. “You will be deeply missed.”

Fortunately, Rosetta Miller-Perry lived long enough to receive the honors she richly deserved for her accomplishments. These included getting a Publisher Lifetime Achievement Award from the NNPA in 2019 for her contributions to the Black press. In 2025 she was inducted into the Nashville Entrepreneur Center Hall of Fame. Her family plans to continue publishing the Tribune weekly.