The Community Voice was founded by Billy Q. McCray and Wyvette McCray, a couple whose passion for quality information and strong community leadership planted the seeds for what would become a lasting institution.
Billy McCray was no stranger to leadership. He was one of the longest-serving African Americans in the Kansas Legislature, having served in both the Kansas House of Representatives and the Senate. He later continued his service on the Sedgwick County Commission.
The idea for the paper had lived in McCray’s heart long before its first print run. He envisioned something lasting — something that would fill the void left by earlier Black newspapers in Wichita, such as:
The NewsHawk (1966–1984), published by Leonard Garrett, and The Wichita Times/The Kansas Journal/The Kansas Black Journal (1970–1985), published by Jack Hudson.
With their closures, Wichita was left without a Black voice in print. While others attempted to fill the gap, none stuck. Billy McCray wanted The Community Voice to be different — and he made that clear in the very first issue:
- “Our reporters will seek out and examine stories that parallel state and national issues of the day. They will not attempt to compete with the three leading television stations of the city, nor will we try to be current as the leading daily paper of the region on violence and tragedies. Yet our news will be timely and informative; they may often be stories that you will not read in USA Today or see on a local talk show via electronic media. Yet it is the publisher’s intent to convey an honest and meaningful report that the reading audience and advertising constituents would have recognized as a story that needed to be told, and at the same time, offers an insight that other media did not see as a priority.”
That quote serves as a guiding light to this day.
A Family Affair
The McCray family launched the first issue as a true family affair. Billy and Wyvette served as co-publishers. Their daughter, Frankielieen Conley, was senior editor.
The first issue of the monthly publication featured an article by the McCrays’ other daughter Melody McCray-Miller. Newly elected to the Sedgwick County Commission, she wrote about her first 60 days in office. Melody and her husband also owned Miller’s Bar-B-Q, which was featured in that same issue in an article titled “That’s Real Bar-B-Q.”
The first issue also included contributions from community members like Dr. Val Brown Jr., who shared insights on heart attacks, and journalist Brenda Gray, who wrote on topics including Wichita Metropolitan Family Preservation.
Other stories included one on the local Black-owned bus line Thunderbird Express and advocacy group POWER CDC, whose members were headed to Washington, D.C., for a conference. Covering our future and our past, the issue highlighted rising star Valencia Monk and honored community matriarch Bessie Halbrook.
Loss, Transition, and Rebirth
Tragically, Wyvette McCray passed away on June 5, 1995, only two months after the first issue was published. She was just 62. She and Billy had been married for 44 years.
Her death drained Billy and his passion for doing the work he knew producing a quality paper would require. He deeply believed in the importance of the publication and began looking for someone to carry on the vision.
Kansas state Sen. U.L. “Rip” Gooch, a friend of the McCrays, stepped in and encouraged his daughter, Bonita Gooch, to consider taking the reins.
Bonita had just returned to Wichita after decades away. A graduate of the University of Kansas’ William Allen White School of Journalism, she hadn’t pursued a journalism career after graduation. Instead, she earned a master’s degree in public administration and had been working in city management.
She had returned home following the untimely death of her brother, wanting to be closer to her parents, and to raise her young daughter, Lauren, in a nurturing environment.
Although uncertain at first, Bonita agreed to take on the challenge. She purchased The Community Voice in October 1996, releasing her first issue the next month.
Under Bonita’s leadership, the paper changed in appearance, expanded in coverage, and modernized — but it never strayed from the mission laid out by the McCrays. She remained committed to highlighting the best of the community, building connections, and informing with integrity.
Bonita often emphasizes that she is merely a steward of the McCray family’s vision, and that her work has been to protect and grow the foundation they laid.