Black History Month: Woolridge makes history with firsts in community newspaper work

Alesia Woolridge made history in 2014 when she became the first African American managing editor of The Eagle Lake Headlight, a newspaper started in the 1890s. 
Eagle Lake is located in Colorado County, about an hour west of Houston. 
She served as managing editor there until February 2016, when she accepted the position of managing editor for The Colorado County Citizen newspaper in Columbus. 
Shattering another ceiling for African Americans with this move, she was the first African American managing editor there as well. 
The Colorado County Citizen started publishing in 1857, before the Civil War.
In August 2017, Alesia purchased The Eagle Lake Headlight newspaper, becoming the first African American newspaper publisher in Colorado County. That purchase also made her one of only a handful of African American newspaper publishers in the State of Texas producing news not specifically geared toward African Americans.
In June 2020, Alesia added to her list of history making achievements again when she returned to The Colorado County Citizen to serve as publisher, making her the first African American to lead the county’s newspaper in its 163-year history.
“I’m the first, but I won’t be the last," she said. "I will continue to do my best to make The Citizen of the most diverse, inclusive news sources in this county, region and state." 
Woolridge is an award-winning writer, with  several awards from Texas Press Association and other organizations for her work as a writer and journalist. 
She continues to serve her community with her leadership at The Citizen and also serves as a Fine Arts volunteer mentor for cadets at the Rice campus Texas Challenge Academy in Eagle Lake and the Journalism class at Rice High School. With her guidance, students learn the importance of effective written communication skills, telling stories through photography, and they find their voice through writing. TCA cadets write weekly columns published in The Citizen each week. Her work with TCA, helping students once at risk of dropping out of school discover a love for reading and writing, has earned her local and statewide recognition as this TCA campus is the only one with such a unique relationship with their local newspaper.

Writers, editors and publishers are invited to share their stories during Black History Month through the TPA Facebook page or by email to Candace Velvin, cvelvin@texaspress.com.