A reader of BC who made a generous donation had the following comment this past week:

It's hard enough to live here and maintain one's psychic equilibrium--losing Black Commentator could be a tipping point for more than this subscriber. Unless there's a holdup on your end or I can't find an internet connection, at some point in the early hours of Thursday morning, no matter the time, I start the thinking portion of my week with Bill Fletcher's African World. I then make my way through the best weekly read I know, expectantly pouring over everyone of your great columnists, feeling the heavy loss of Professor Ronald Walters and pondering David Love's must read commentaries. I'm often done before Thursday evening closes, no matter what else I might be doing.

Can't imagine a week without it. If more people would try to picture their own week without BC, the money will come pouring in.

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Dear Reader of BlackCommentator.com,

At BlackCommentator.com, we measure the health of the economy by one simple metric: the number of BC readers requesting a no-cost subscription through the Low Income Readers Program.

The economic outlook isn’t good.

As BC approaches Issue #400, we have more non-paying subscribers than ever before. A higher percent of all BC readers need no-cost subscriptions. We turn no one away who wants to be a BlackCommentator.com reader, regardless of one’s ability to pay.

Nonetheless, our hard-hit readership can afford less in contributions to support the Low Income Readers Program, and this has lead to a serious drop in financial support. More and more readers, fewer and fewer funds, expenses that only rise, it’s a discouraging scenario all around.

If you are at all able, would you consider making a contribution?

http://www.blackcommentator.com/contributions.html

We are grateful for donations of any amount. Even if you don’t feel you can become a subscriber, are you able to help out at all? Are you able to take advantage of one of the BC subscription payment plans?

http://www.blackcommentator.com/contributions.html

Thank you for considering making a contribution. Thank you for being a reader of BlackCommentator.com. We wouldn’t be sending you this letter if it weren’t so very necessary to do so.

http://www.blackcommentator.com/contributions.html

In struggle,

Publisher and Staff

BlackCommentator.com