The Capital City Hues Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary
The Hues Alive at Five
The Hues Alive at Five
Front Cover and Photo Above Taken by Krystal Images Photography
Some of the Hues partners - Front Row:Frances Huntley-Cooper (l-r),
Jonathan Gramling, Tyrone Glenn and Gwendolyn Jones; Back row:
Alphonso Cooper, LaMarr Billups and Gregory Jones
(Not in photo) Heidi M. Pascual, Sheryl Billups, and Juan Jose Lopez)
Some of the Hues partners - Front Row:Frances Huntley-Cooper (l-r),
Jonathan Gramling, Tyrone Glenn and Gwendolyn Jones; Back row:
Alphonso Cooper, LaMarr Billups and Gregory Jones
(Not in photo) Heidi M. Pascual, Sheryl Billups, and Juan Jose Lopez)
By The Capital City Hues Partners
It has been a general belief that small businesses --
particularly minority-owned -- have a very short lifespan. That if
they survive longer than two years, then they are lucky indeed
but that they have to work even harder to live another year or
two. Truth be told, when we started The Capital City Hues in
March of 2006, we didn’t even think about what the future holds
for this tiny undertaking in terms of ROI. We only had one thing in
mind: to offer an alternative newspaper that feels the pulse and
dreams the dream of our communities of color. We knew we
would be facing an enormous challenge, for the job of gathering
news and features from these communities that do not get
enough media exposure and putting them in print for free
distribution, entails lots of work and money, the latter of which
we did not have. But we were committed to work very hard to
make it happen despite our meager resources. Realizing the
huge impact The Capital City Hues has been making since its
inception, individuals, community supporters and businesses
have come forward to keep us going. We are forever indebted to
you all. TODAY, we celebrate with you our FIFTH Anniversary --
five years of keeping our dreams alive and hopefully, helping to
It has been a general belief that small businesses --
particularly minority-owned -- have a very short lifespan. That if
they survive longer than two years, then they are lucky indeed
but that they have to work even harder to live another year or
two. Truth be told, when we started The Capital City Hues in
March of 2006, we didn’t even think about what the future holds
for this tiny undertaking in terms of ROI. We only had one thing in
mind: to offer an alternative newspaper that feels the pulse and
dreams the dream of our communities of color. We knew we
would be facing an enormous challenge, for the job of gathering
news and features from these communities that do not get
enough media exposure and putting them in print for free
distribution, entails lots of work and money, the latter of which
we did not have. But we were committed to work very hard to
make it happen despite our meager resources. Realizing the
huge impact The Capital City Hues has been making since its
inception, individuals, community supporters and businesses
have come forward to keep us going. We are forever indebted to
you all. TODAY, we celebrate with you our FIFTH Anniversary --
five years of keeping our dreams alive and hopefully, helping to
make them happen.
We would like to share with you what’s inside our hearts while we celebrate this momentous occasion:
*********
The opportunity to be an active contributor to the fabric and future of our community could not have presented itself in a better way
than joining the Hues partnership. The Capital City Hues expresses my highest hopes for African Americans in Madison, and Madison's
many other communities of color, as well as Madison as a whole community. The Hues weaves us together. The Hues helps create the
vibrant tapestry that reflects the brilliance of us all as individuals, as citizens, as brothers and sisters. Our partners share this common
vision, and through our great publisher, Jon Gramling, the Hues lays it all out every fortnight like clockwork. We greatly appreciate the
community's support over these last five years. We hope and aim to meet and exceed the community's expectations that the Hues
represents, celebrates, and honors their lives, achievements and legacies. Thank you Madison - we are family. --LaMarr and Sheryl
Billups, Falls Church, Virginia, 2011
*********
I became a partner with the Capital City Hues because of the editor, Jon Gramling. Jon had extensive experience in working with
Betty Franklin-Hammonds on the creation of the Madison Times. Having served on that board while Jon was still at the helm, gave me a
comfort level to invest in the Capital City Hues. Jon’s commitment to covering news in the communities of color in a professional,
compassionate and accurate way was an easy sell for me join this project.
I don’t know were Jon gets the energy but he makes almost all events in our community on a daily basis. His paper is not only
colorful as you are drawn to the center page, but it is informational as he covers a diverse array of issues, organizations and features
leaders and students and topics that are important to our community. His coverage is balanced and accurate, which is only one reason
that makes me proud of the publication.
Finally, I liked the concept of having a variety of partners from all segments of the communities of color. This gives Jon a sounding
board to run ideas, if needed, but also some professional and articulate partners who can provide feedback to Jon that helps to
strengthen the newspaper. I am so excited to see that the paper is available on-line and moving in a direction to meet the needs of all of
our readers via electronic and/or newsprint.
So I want to applaud Jon for his leadership, sweat and tears as he produces this paper to meet the deadline every two weeks. I
want to “thank” our readers, advertisers and folks who have allowed Jon to tell their story. Wishing Capital City Hues - congratulations
on five great years!--Frances Huntley - Cooper
*********
It is an honor to be a proprietor and member of the Capital City Hues. The quality and commitment of our paper truly reflects the
diversity of our community and it exemplifies the successes and challenges that people of color face day to day. We have many talented
and gifted people in our community that go unrecognized; our paper focuses on these unsung heroes and brings them to light in our city.
I congratulate the Capital City Hues on the 5th year anniversary and wish them continues success. -- Juan José López
*********
I am proud and honored to be a partner of The Capital City Hues. Its creation in 2006 resulted from a person’s love for the community
that has become so diversified and divided in many ways. It wasn’t difficult at all to decide to join Jonathan Gramling in his desire to
offer an alternative newspaper that highlights successes and even problems in the communities of color — groups of people who have
traditionally been left behind. The Hues has become a force that uplifts the spirits of people. It has come forward to help make changes
in a society that shows signs of striving to make people equal, no matter how different they may be. I intend to continue to help Jon
make The Hues the best alternative local newspaper in terms of its content and appeal to the masses.--Heidi M. Pascual
*********
One of the greatest gifts of being a United States citizen is having a voice at what is going on around your level with people’s lives.
The mainstream print newspapers are not getting those grass root voices. The Capital City Hues hears those voices at every grass root
level in the community. This is why I wanted to be a part of this local newspaper five years ago. The community needs to hear every
level of voice within it to grow. The growth of a community is its understanding of its problems and how they can solve those problems
together as a community. I wanted this community to grow with the voices of those people that are never heard at so many different
levels. I wanted People to know where they could read and find a win –win situation for themselves. And that is the Capital City Hues.--
Tyrone Glenn
*********
I could probably write pages and pages about the beginning and the reasons why The Capital City Hues came into existence. As I
was leaving my former employer, I knew that I still wanted to write and over the course of several months, I began to write articles and
e-mail them to a couple of hundred people I knew. I mulled over starting a multicultural newspaper, but I also knew how difficult it is to
start a new business and that 80 percent or more fail. I was driving around Madison one afternoon mulling over possible names for this
newspaper if it was going to be created, dreaming about things like we all do in our spare moments. I didn’t want to call it Diversity
anything or make the name too obvious. And suddenly Hues came to mind and it fit the bill perfectly. I didn’t want to call it Madison
anything either and then I remembered the publication that Betty Franklin-Hammonds put together while I was working with her at the
Urban League. I had coined its name, The Capital City Quarterly. And so the name The Capital City Hues came to be.
Around the first of the year, 2006, I incorporated The Capital City Hues to reserve the name. But I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to take
on the task of creating something from scratch. It wasn’t something that I had envisioned myself doing. People were encouraging me to
do something because they missed my writing. I went to China in late January 2006 to visit my son Andrew who was teaching ESL in a
school in Hefei, China. During that 10-day visit, I decided to go ahead and start the newspaper.
Shortly after I came back from China, Heidi Pascual, who would be the managing editor, went to The Philippines for two weeks to
visit her family. By the time she came back, I had set up the newspaper complete with equipment, software, advertising information,
distribution sites, writers — whom I accidently ran into over the course of those two weeks — and a first publication date of March 22,
2006. We were in business.
It was always my intent to have a diverse ownership of the paper and from February – June 2006, I secured the partners that we
still have today, some of the same people who had given me encouragement and advice. In June 2006, we signed the partnership
agreement and The Capital City Hues truly became a newspaper owned, written and read by people of color in the Madison area.
It is truly an honor to publish The Capital City Hues every two weeks, which we have done for a solid five years. It is rewarding and
physically challenging at times, especially since I still have to do non-profit accounting work to make ends meet. Newspaper publishing
is not where folks go to get wealthy these days. But I couldn’t think of anything that is more rewarding to do. I thank all of our
advertisers, readers and supporters for giving us the first five years and I hope you will be with us for at least five more. Take Care!--
Jonathan Gramling
We would like to share with you what’s inside our hearts while we celebrate this momentous occasion:
*********
The opportunity to be an active contributor to the fabric and future of our community could not have presented itself in a better way
than joining the Hues partnership. The Capital City Hues expresses my highest hopes for African Americans in Madison, and Madison's
many other communities of color, as well as Madison as a whole community. The Hues weaves us together. The Hues helps create the
vibrant tapestry that reflects the brilliance of us all as individuals, as citizens, as brothers and sisters. Our partners share this common
vision, and through our great publisher, Jon Gramling, the Hues lays it all out every fortnight like clockwork. We greatly appreciate the
community's support over these last five years. We hope and aim to meet and exceed the community's expectations that the Hues
represents, celebrates, and honors their lives, achievements and legacies. Thank you Madison - we are family. --LaMarr and Sheryl
Billups, Falls Church, Virginia, 2011
*********
I became a partner with the Capital City Hues because of the editor, Jon Gramling. Jon had extensive experience in working with
Betty Franklin-Hammonds on the creation of the Madison Times. Having served on that board while Jon was still at the helm, gave me a
comfort level to invest in the Capital City Hues. Jon’s commitment to covering news in the communities of color in a professional,
compassionate and accurate way was an easy sell for me join this project.
I don’t know were Jon gets the energy but he makes almost all events in our community on a daily basis. His paper is not only
colorful as you are drawn to the center page, but it is informational as he covers a diverse array of issues, organizations and features
leaders and students and topics that are important to our community. His coverage is balanced and accurate, which is only one reason
that makes me proud of the publication.
Finally, I liked the concept of having a variety of partners from all segments of the communities of color. This gives Jon a sounding
board to run ideas, if needed, but also some professional and articulate partners who can provide feedback to Jon that helps to
strengthen the newspaper. I am so excited to see that the paper is available on-line and moving in a direction to meet the needs of all of
our readers via electronic and/or newsprint.
So I want to applaud Jon for his leadership, sweat and tears as he produces this paper to meet the deadline every two weeks. I
want to “thank” our readers, advertisers and folks who have allowed Jon to tell their story. Wishing Capital City Hues - congratulations
on five great years!--Frances Huntley - Cooper
*********
It is an honor to be a proprietor and member of the Capital City Hues. The quality and commitment of our paper truly reflects the
diversity of our community and it exemplifies the successes and challenges that people of color face day to day. We have many talented
and gifted people in our community that go unrecognized; our paper focuses on these unsung heroes and brings them to light in our city.
I congratulate the Capital City Hues on the 5th year anniversary and wish them continues success. -- Juan José López
*********
I am proud and honored to be a partner of The Capital City Hues. Its creation in 2006 resulted from a person’s love for the community
that has become so diversified and divided in many ways. It wasn’t difficult at all to decide to join Jonathan Gramling in his desire to
offer an alternative newspaper that highlights successes and even problems in the communities of color — groups of people who have
traditionally been left behind. The Hues has become a force that uplifts the spirits of people. It has come forward to help make changes
in a society that shows signs of striving to make people equal, no matter how different they may be. I intend to continue to help Jon
make The Hues the best alternative local newspaper in terms of its content and appeal to the masses.--Heidi M. Pascual
*********
One of the greatest gifts of being a United States citizen is having a voice at what is going on around your level with people’s lives.
The mainstream print newspapers are not getting those grass root voices. The Capital City Hues hears those voices at every grass root
level in the community. This is why I wanted to be a part of this local newspaper five years ago. The community needs to hear every
level of voice within it to grow. The growth of a community is its understanding of its problems and how they can solve those problems
together as a community. I wanted this community to grow with the voices of those people that are never heard at so many different
levels. I wanted People to know where they could read and find a win –win situation for themselves. And that is the Capital City Hues.--
Tyrone Glenn
*********
I could probably write pages and pages about the beginning and the reasons why The Capital City Hues came into existence. As I
was leaving my former employer, I knew that I still wanted to write and over the course of several months, I began to write articles and
e-mail them to a couple of hundred people I knew. I mulled over starting a multicultural newspaper, but I also knew how difficult it is to
start a new business and that 80 percent or more fail. I was driving around Madison one afternoon mulling over possible names for this
newspaper if it was going to be created, dreaming about things like we all do in our spare moments. I didn’t want to call it Diversity
anything or make the name too obvious. And suddenly Hues came to mind and it fit the bill perfectly. I didn’t want to call it Madison
anything either and then I remembered the publication that Betty Franklin-Hammonds put together while I was working with her at the
Urban League. I had coined its name, The Capital City Quarterly. And so the name The Capital City Hues came to be.
Around the first of the year, 2006, I incorporated The Capital City Hues to reserve the name. But I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to take
on the task of creating something from scratch. It wasn’t something that I had envisioned myself doing. People were encouraging me to
do something because they missed my writing. I went to China in late January 2006 to visit my son Andrew who was teaching ESL in a
school in Hefei, China. During that 10-day visit, I decided to go ahead and start the newspaper.
Shortly after I came back from China, Heidi Pascual, who would be the managing editor, went to The Philippines for two weeks to
visit her family. By the time she came back, I had set up the newspaper complete with equipment, software, advertising information,
distribution sites, writers — whom I accidently ran into over the course of those two weeks — and a first publication date of March 22,
2006. We were in business.
It was always my intent to have a diverse ownership of the paper and from February – June 2006, I secured the partners that we
still have today, some of the same people who had given me encouragement and advice. In June 2006, we signed the partnership
agreement and The Capital City Hues truly became a newspaper owned, written and read by people of color in the Madison area.
It is truly an honor to publish The Capital City Hues every two weeks, which we have done for a solid five years. It is rewarding and
physically challenging at times, especially since I still have to do non-profit accounting work to make ends meet. Newspaper publishing
is not where folks go to get wealthy these days. But I couldn’t think of anything that is more rewarding to do. I thank all of our
advertisers, readers and supporters for giving us the first five years and I hope you will be with us for at least five more. Take Care!--
Jonathan Gramling
