Northside journalist reflects on life, race and his new memoir

Harry Colbert Jr. was North News editor in 2020 and 2021. Photo by David Pierini

By Azalea Petry-Towns, North News Intern 

Harry Colbert Jr., an accomplished journalist who lives in North Minneapolis, recently published his memoir, “My Sliding Doors." 

The book details many stories that shaped him into who he is today. 

The perspective Colbert brings to this conversation of race and unique journalistic experiences showcases the eloquence and gentle wisdom he brings to the world and those around him. 

Colbert’s career includes the editorships of Insight News and North News, where he led the staff in covering the police murder of George Floyd and the uprising that followed. He is the managing editor at MinnPost. 

This interview was lightly edited for clarity and brevity. 

Q: What led you to writing your book? 

A: The book was in my head, probably 10 years before it was on paper. The reason is I was going through a dark time in my own life, and I said, ‘Okay, let me sit down. This is a way for me to offer therapy to myself. You have the killings of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile and Dante Wright and George Floyd, where I had to reflect on those incidents and how they impacted both me as a human being and as a journalist. It was written for others because though my circumstances are unique to me, the situations have a universal appeal. 

Q: How did you first discover your passion for journalism? 

A: My grandmother, Juanita S. Martin. She’s a big part of my life, and she was a journalist herself. She wrote for the Chicago Defender, which was part of the Black Press and Jet Magazine. Being exposed to her for so much of my life, I think it just kind of became a part of me, indirectly, without it being thought of as a career path. It wasn't until I was in high school when I had a teacher who said they liked my writing and voice that helped spark the passion. 

Q: How have your life experiences impacted your journalism? 

A: I tell people that I am a Black man first and a journalist second. So my Blackness helps to inform and dictate the way I approach the profession. It gives me a better understanding of life's conditions. I recognized that when I was going into the profession, one of the things I wanted to do was be a part of the solution, not the problem. 

The way in which Blackness was being framed in the media was one that was from a deficit standpoint, and I wanted to make sure that I was telling our story truthfully, from all angles. 

Oftentimes, when Blacks are portrayed in the media, even now, it's still from a position of negativity. I wanted to make sure that we could tell our stories in a fair, positive, and equitable manner. 

Q: How have the heavy events you've covered in the past, for example, the riots after the deaths of George Floyd, Jamar Clark, and Daunte Wright, impacted you? 

A: Being in a profession where words are extremely important, when I was covering those killings I was very mindful in terms of my word choice. I would not allow the word ‘riot’ to go in the paper. I chose to use the word “uprising” because that way it showed that there was a level of discontent, and ‘riot’ connotes mayhem. I brought a level of sensitivity to the coverage. 

Q: Is it ever difficult to remain objective in those situations? 

A: It's not difficult to remain, quote-unquote, ‘objective,’ because I think that any journalist wants always to make sure that we're remaining objective. Understanding that in being objective, understanding perspective. This means you can have three different people witness the same incident, but it depends on which vantage point they're witnessing the incident. Oftentimes, we are seeing people at their worst possible moment, and we need to be mindful of that when we are doing this job. We are a service to the community. 

Q: How were you treated as a journalist during those protests? 

A: Because of the credibility that we built up in the community and them knowing that we were going to treat the story with the respect that it deserved, we were given access where other reporters were being kicked out of protests. During the uprising of Jamar Clark, when five protesters were shot by a white supremacist, many reporters left immediately. Myself and others stayed overnight to make sure that we captured the full story. 

Q: With all of the attention on those protests in 2020, 2021 and 2022, have you seen a difference in how those types of stories get covered? 

A: We've seen changes, but they're small. For instance, people are no longer just taking the police report as is. People were starting to question the source a lot more. Newsrooms also started going away from using mugshots for photos when dealing with incidents of crime and things of that nature because it automatically connotes that this person is somehow guilty before a trial. Many promises were made after the uprising following the murder of George Floyd. As journalists, our job is to make sure that those promises are being maintained. 

Q: How do you see the role of storytelling versus journalism? 

A: I don’t think that it’s a versus. A good journalist is a good storyteller. We are telling fact-based stories. We're both reporters in the present, but we understand that we have greater significance as historians. If more journalists understood their role as historians, that we are leaving a record for future generations to come back to, it affects their storytelling.