The founding of the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper began when journalist and community activist Nathan Conyers (1st photo below, center), a political aid for Monroe Swan at the time, met Louvenia Johnson (1st photo below, right), community activist, retired nurse and executive director of Project Focal Point. Johnson tapped Conyers to be her administrative assistant for the intergenerational social services organization. The two shared a strong interest in politics, community affairs, and issues of faith.
In 1981, Conyers joined forces with Johnson and local realtor Luther Golden(1st photo below, left) to establish a bi-weekly newspaper devoted to church news within the city’s African American faith community dubbed, The Christian Times. Starting out of the basement of the Conyers basement, The Christian Times within its first year of publication, grew in appeal to cover more general community news and was renamed The Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper. The Christian Times remains as a standing feature section to this day.
In the 1985 the Milwaukee Times was offered the opportunity to run a franchise location of Econo-Print here in Milwaukee. Seeing this as a opportunity to further service the local African American community here in Milwaukee and provide much need services, The Times would open the Milwaukee Times Printing and Publishing, Co. right on historic Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive, making the Times the first black-owned print shop in the city of Milwaukee. As both the weekly newspaper and printshop grew they would purchase a building and relocate down the street to 1936 North Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive. and remain there for more than 20 years.
Also in 1985, the Milwaukee Times publishing team launched the annual Black Excellence Awards. This program pays tribute to the good works of ordinary people from Milwaukee’s black community who were accomplishing extraordinary things. To date, nearly 1,000 black Milwaukeeans have been introduced to the community from various professional and community endeavors as Black Excellence Awards honorees. At the third Black Excellence Awards program in 1988, Conyers helped his co-founder, Mrs. Louvenia Johnson, launch The Louvenia Johnson Journalism Scholarship Fund, to assist college-bound high school graduates seeking to pursue careers in print and broadcast journalism. The scholarship now offers financial support to graduating high school seniors seeking a degree in any major. To date, the Fund has awarded more than half a million dollars to area students. The Milwaukee Times also created an annual event called “A Golden Moment in Time,” which honored couples celebrating 50-year wedding anniversaries. In 1991, the newspaper also sponsored The Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper High School Journalism Workshop, an internship program which operated for three years. This gave area students hands-on, paid experience in news writing, editing, photojournalism, printing and publishing skills.
Louvenia Johnson would retire and later pass in February of 2008. Due to health concerns Nathan Conyers would take a break and day to day operations would be overseen by his wife, Lynda Jackson Conyers. She would also oversee the Black Excellence Awards. Eventually, Mr. Conyers would pass away in April of 2018. The Conyers family would continue to run The Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper and Printing & Publishing, Co. until July of 2021 when the both business were sold to local Pastor and business man Rev. Harold Turner (2nd photo below), fonder of Trinity Baptist Church. The change in ownership also prompted another move, this time to the Times current location at 2238 N. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive, closer to the Times original location. The new location reflects a new more streamlined operation that is more in line with the current digital age.
