NASHVILLE, TN — If resilience, a sense of purpose and a strong community of family and friends are part of the DNA recipe for a long and prosperous life, then Rosetta Miller-Perry has cooked up a pretty good one.
The founder and publisher of The Tennessee Tribune newspaper recently celebrated nine decades surrounded by family and friends at her home July 7.
“I am grateful,” said the 90-year-old publisher, affectionally known as the ‘Queen Mother’ of the Black press. “I didn’t do things the traditional way. I wasn’t interested in playing bridge or other things some women did; I focused on my business.”
That focus paid off and produced a publication that has been in existence since 1991. During a 30th anniversary celebration for the newspaper, four years ago, Miller-Perry said, “I’ve never in my life said it’s about me. Everything I’ve done in this city is to help other people.”
Wanda Miller-Benson, Tribune associate publisher
The intimate birthday party was organized by her daughter, Wanda Miller Benson, and her niece Alexis Deberry. The festivities occurred over a three-day period with a family brunch, congregation of friends, and a special dinner. At the July 7 gathering, the birthday celebrant wore an elegant white chiffon pleaded dress adorned with rhinestones and a beautiful tiara specially made in Saudi Arabia and ‘fit for a queen.’
“Our family was blessed to come together to celebrate my mother’s 90th birthday and acknowledge what it truly means to reach such an extraordinary milestone,” said Wanda Miller-Benson, associate publisher for The Tennessee Tribune. “Although it has not been without challenges, her unique journey has been purposeful. She has touched lives in the Nashville community and beyond and has left an indelible footprint that will live on in the pages of history and through the voices of griots.”
During the afternoon, guests reminisced about how they met Mrs. Perry and laughed about her sometimes harsh but motherly reactions as well as shared heartfelt testimonies acknowledging her generosity, kindness, and willingness to open doors and help others.
She is a serial history maker and her track record continued in 2021 when she opened the first of two Tennessee Tribune retail stores at the Nashville International Airport (BNA) in the Southwest Airlines hub. The stores have repeatedly made history ranking among the top 10 performers for highest sales and most units sold featuring more than 120 minority-owned business suppliers.
“Mrs. Perry is a gentle giant with a selfless heart of ‘lifting up entrepreneurs’ without expectation of receiving anything in return,” said Janice Woodard, one of Mrs. Perry’s many devoted supporters. “She continually creates opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs to market their products in a major retail location. She is an advocate for entrepreneurs.”
Among special guests attending included Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell who made a special trip to her home to extend birthday greetings as well as Nashville District Attorney Glen Funk. State Representative Rev. Dr. Harold Love, Jr. was also in attendance and provided a special prayer honoring Miller-Perry’s leadership in the community and wishing her continued happiness and health.
“I will never forget and will forever be grateful for the impact Mrs. Perry has had on my life,” said Dr. K. Dawn Rutledge, a communications executive and educator, and The Tennessee Tribune’s first and youngest editor. “She gave me an opportunity to serve as the first editor of her newspaper at a very young age. That exposure and training allowed me to experience new things, meet and interview important community leaders and stakeholders and helped to prepare me for other prominent roles throughout my career.”
Born Rosetta Irvin on July 7, 1934 in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, she has served in several roles throughout her distinguished career including in the United States Navy, as a funeral home embalmer, a clerk typist with the United States Civil Rights Commission, Nashville Area Director of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and as a publisher.
She founded Perry and Perry Associates in 1990 and pulished Contempora, a Tennessee-focused African American magazine and, in 1991, started The Tennessee Tribune – America’s most influential continuously published Black newspaper in the South. In 1998, she established the Greater Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce (GNBCC) and created the Anthony J. Cebrun Journalism Center in partnership with Dell Computers to prepare young people for careers in journalism. Her list of awards is extensive, receiving the National Newspaper Publishers Association Publisher of the Year and Lifetime Achievement awards. Several scholarships have been established in her honor, including The Rosetta I. Miller Scholarship at the University of Memphis, the Rosetta Miller-Perry Scholarship Fund at Tennessee State University and an annual $1,000 Rosetta Miller-Perry Award for Best Film presented at the Nashville Film Festival.
“Mrs. Perry is a woman who builds mountains and invites others to climb to see the world from the mountaintop. She willingly helps everyone, and it is so easy to learn by being in her presence,” said Dr. Phyllis Qualls, vice president for Institutional Advancement, Communications & Marketing at American Baptist College.
“Her accomplishments at 90 years young outdistance a multitude of people because she believes and achieves.”
