Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 15 February 2008 — Page 12

Page 12 • The Muncie Times • February 15, 2008

Mrs. Foster with husband, Dr. Robert Foster, other community leaders

continued from page 1 segregated South, she never saw herself as “less than” because of the loving tutelage of her grandmother, Hattie Moten, and her parents. “I drank from water fountains marked “colored” and ate in segregated restaurants,” she said. “My first job was picking cotton.” Like most AfricanAmericans from the South, Mrs. Foster, too, had a “Rosa Parks Experience” while being raised in the Jim Crow era. As a member of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Freedom Movement, she once tested the new civil rights law while traveling on a Continental Trailways Bus from Birmingham, Alabama, to Talladega, Alabama. Blacks were asked to test the law, but when the bus arrived in Talladega, it seemed that the entire police department was waiting for her. “The crime?” she asked. “I had dared to sit on the front seat of the bus.” As a young girl just out of high school, Mrs. Foster moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where she gained a job as a radio announcer. From Birmingham, she moved to Miami, Florida, where she cohosted an all-night jazz show; one of her frequent co-hosts was an up-and-coming comedian named Flip Wilson. Another interesting fig-

ure who was a close friend at the time was a young prize fighter named Cassius Clay, later the Heavy-Weight Boxing Champion of the World known as Muhammed Ali. Mrs. Foster left Miami in the mid-1960s after the radio station she worked for, WFAB, suddenly decided to become a Spanishspeaking station. She tried her skills in New York City where she landed a job at Radio Station WNJR, introducing a radio program called “African Profiles.” It was through this experience that she met many heads of state and diplomats from Africa and became the first African-American radio announcer for the United Nations, interviewing over 65 African Ambassadors, foreign ministers and presidents. She left New York City for Indianapolis where she worked in radio and operated The Bea Moten Charm & Finishing School. She was one of the first people to teach European Manners and Culture. While residing in Indianapolis, Mrs. Foster was on the initial committee that started the Mozell Sanders Thanksgiving Dinners, and also was a founding member of the Indiana Black Expo. While there, she met a Ball State University professor, Dr. Robert O. Foster, whom she would

marry in the early 1980s and make a home with in Muncie, Indiana. Upon arriving in Muncie, she became involved in the city’s civic and social life. She helped launch the Muncie Coalition of 100 Women, organized Muncie’s city-wide celebration of Black History Month, and also helped establish the Muncie Black Expo. Noting the absence of a method of mass communication, Mrs. Foster inquired about the possibility of an AfricanAmerican newspaper for the community. She was told that several people had tried to accomplish that goal, but none were able to keep the paper going for more than a few years. Ignoring the doubters - something Mrs. Foster is still known for - she set about the business of starting The Muncie Times in 1991. After being told by her husband not to use any of their personal money

towards the venture, Mrs. Foster launched the newspaper with just fifty dollars. With the help of Dr. Tendayi Kumbula, a professor of journalism at Ball State University, she achieved her goal with a determination that would not be denied. Although she had little knowledge of the newspaper business, she succeeded in providing a newspaper that focused on positive news in Muncie’s African-American community, with a strong emphasis on the history of the AfricanAmerican experience in this city, nation and the world. The paper now serves the cities of Muncie, Anderson, and Richmond. It has now been in operation for nearly 18 years, and has a circulation of over 10,000 readers. Published twice a month, the newspaper has helped many struggling African-American

businesses with free advertisements, business workshops, and leadership within the majority-business community. Her efforts have also enabled many young AfricanAmericans to know and appreciate their history and the contributions made by their predecessors. In addition to publication of the newspaper, Mrs. Foster has allowed nearly fifty young people to work at The Muncie Times, giving them their first job in the workforce. She also organized the MLK Dream Team (consisting of members of all races and the city’s mayor), bringing dignitaries to the area such as the mayor of Selma, Alabama and television Judge Greg Mathis. Each year for the past 5 years, the MLK Dream Team has registered over 1,000 new continued on page 38