Together we press on

Together we press on.

Those words are included in an advertisement distributed by the Arkansas Press Association for use by member newspapers, including The Sentinel-Record, in memory of our newspaper brethren in Maryland.

Five employees of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., were shot and killed on June 28.

They were:

• Editorial writer Gerald Fischman.

• Editor Rob Hiaasen.

• Reporter and editor John McNamara.

• Sales assistant Rebecca Smith.

• Reporter Wendi Winters.

It was the deadliest assault on journalists in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to USA Today.

According to the international advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, 40 journalists, nine citizen-journalists and two media assistants have been killed worldwide since January 2018.

Why is that important as we celebrate Independence Day? Because without a free press, there can be no freedom.

The Founding Fathers realized that when crafting the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

In honor of the Capital Gazette victims, their colleagues, and their families in Annapolis, a fund has been established through the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County to “provide immediate relief and long-term recovery support to those individuals directly and indirectly affected by the tragedy. Grants can be applied to grief and trauma counseling, medical expenses not covered by insurance, funeral expenses, and other associated expenses and services,” according to the website at https://goo.gl/SUxZLB.

Tronc, the parent company of the Capital Gazette, has established a families fund through the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County. You can call 410-280-1102, go online to cfaac.org or send a check to CFAAC at 914 Bay Ridge Road, Suite 220, Annapolis, MD 21403 with “The Capital Gazette Families Fund” listed on the memo line to donate, according to a GoFundMe page set up for the fund.

We know the Capital Gazette family seems a world away, separated from us by hundreds of miles. But as we stated at the outset, “Together we press on.” That’s what being an American is truly about. Pressing on despite poor odds and adversity. That’s how our fathers and grandfathers and great-great grandfathers prevailed in global conflicts; that’s how the oppressed prevailed to win their civil rights; that’s how we recovered after 9/11. And that’s how journalists will continue to do their jobs, day after day, even under threat of violence. Because that’s what being an American is all about.

Happy birthday, America.